Crevecoeur

I got some Crevecoeurs at a feed store. They where not kept in the greatest environment (overcrowded, quite a few sick chicks and all the chicks where really young). However, I fell in love at first sight... I ended up with one rooster, who was really sweet and gentle but also had good flock-keeping instincts. The females did not begin lay until ~9 months. However, all are really friendly and where easily trained (they come at my call). They lay white eggs that begin rather small but increase in size quite a bit (medium to large by the time the birds are 1 yr old). This breed (like the polish) is particularly good at acrobatic maneuvering. Combined with their natural curiosity, they are prone to roosting in trees and escaping. They bear confinement well (as long as they are not being bullied by other chickens). However, they are often energetic, fun to watch and love to explore/play free-range. I absolutely am taken by their crests and love watching them. They are a joy to own. To read more about the Crevecoeur breed and my experience with them, please visit my website, The Way of the Chicken: http://thewayofthechicken.com/index.php/2017/05/30/crevecoeur-chicken-breed/




The pullet above, named Elly, has cross beak (which you can read more about here: http://thewayofthechicken.com/index.php/2017/11/09/crossed-beak-chickens/). A crossed beak (also known as lateral beak deviation or scissor beak) is not highly common... but not rare. It is primarily noted in crested breeds, Easter Eggers and Amaraucanas.




Don't worry... the cat was gentle. She never even chased peeps.

For about 20 years, now, Crevecoeurs have been my favorite chickens.

I have had other chickens, including Ameraucanas, Delawares, Rocks, Nankins, Sultans, Houdans, Polish, Belgian d'Uccles, Booted Bantams, and Dominiques, to name a few of them.

The Crevecoeurs are the most easy-going of all. One year we had to lock all of them up together in a small shed because our barn was flooded. Twenty-eight of them, hens and roosters together, coexisted peacefully in a tight 6x6 foot space for almost three weeks until we got the roof fixed and the floor drained and dry. Their main complaint, voiced as the sun went down, was that the roosts weren't high enough. I have to say, in my experience they want to roost higher than most other chickens I have raised.

The roosters seem to still have all their courting instincts intact even as cockerels, unlike the Ameraucanas. I have put other chickens in with them, mostly Ameraucanas and Easter Eggers, and the roosters maintain order and prevent fighting among the hens, and call everyone for food and fresh straw in the nest boxes. You don't ever hear much squabbling in the Crevecoeur pens.

Crevecoeurs are non-setters, so I have used a combination of broodies (mostly Nankins) and incubators to maintain my flock over the years. My original Crevecoeurs were from Murray McMurray. More recently I have picked up a flock, which I am maintaining separately, of Crevecoeurs from Jeannette Beranger of the Livestock Conservancy. (I always try to maintain two separate flocks of the same breed, for breeding purposes.) Jeannette's Crevecoeurs are better layers than my original Murray McMurray flock. Over the years I selected my original flock for size and for meeting the APA standard, and I continue to show them in local fairs for the judge's opinions. Crevecoeurs stay good-looking and healthy longer than most of my other chicken breeds. At the Missouri State Poultry Association Show in 2015, I showed a Crevecoeur hen who took first place, Best of Breed, and best Continental, despite being 10 years old. Usually, I stop showing most of my chickens around 4-5 years old.

The Crevecoeur hens continue laying longer than most breeds and at a decent rate into their seventh and eighth year, then they age gracefully from egg producers into backyard pets.

(Addition in October 2018: The oldest Crevecoeur rooster I have right now is 14-1/2 years old, and the oldest hen will be 16 in February. And both sexes continue to eat bugs and weeds into their old age, giving you that chicken manure which, when composted, is the gold standard of compost for gardening.
I know I said they only come in black, but that's in the APA standard. France and England both accept white and blue in their standards. The white Crevecoeur was derived from a white sport, which has some smoky or sooty feathers. Jeannette Beranger gave me a white Crevecoeur sport, which you can see on her Facebook page for her Crevecoeur project. I have included photos of her foraging, and with her rooster, who is all black. I have hatched a lot of her eggs, and so far they were all blacks. Now, hatching some of the grandchildren, hoping to find another white sport, preferably a boy, but I will take what I get!)

Crevecoeurs are not heavy eaters, and they don't get fat even if they have more food available to them, unlike my Rocks and Delawares. They like to forage and I think their crests allow them to focus on the food search on the ground. Like most good foragers, they can be quite destructive in the garden; they are best used for plowing rather than for insect control. If they have nearby cover they are quite good at keeping out of the way of the flying predators, but I have lost a few to foxes and raccoons, the same as my other flock birds.

I keep the Crevecoeurs in outdoor cages, all year round. They have cover from the rain and snow, shade in the summer, and some wind protection in the winter. I make sure they have water to drink twice a day. The Crevecoeurs are hardy, and it's not unusual to see them out in the snow or rain, digging around. In subfreezing weather they occasionally develop icicles on their beards from dipping into their water; I do thaw out their beards sometimes, more for my comfort than theirs. I have now included a photo in my gallery, so you can see what this icing looks like. You will usually notice this because the Crevecoeur keeps flipping his/her head to see past the icicles!

Overall, if you are looking for a backyard laying hen or for eating, Crevecoeurs are great birds. Because they are rare, Crevecoeurs show well for kids in 4-H and junior shows. Crevecoeurs are hard-feathered birds, and can be easily washed and groomed for shows. Crevecoeurs in this country mostly come in the one color, black, but they always manage to make it look good!

Hi guys, I'm looking for a female for my boy. I want this breed to populate again, and so I'm trying to find him a lady. if you have crevecour hatching eggs please hit me up.

Bob is amazing to his girls. He gets along great with my other rooster and they work in great harmony against predetors. Bob is quite the scraper when his girls are in trouble, while my Araucana leads the girls away from danger.
Bob's got spurs that could kill a cougar. His afro impairs his vision a little so he runs sideways most of the time. He's an amazing bird, but I wish he'd let me pick him up sometimes.
when I first got him years ago (photo included) he was malnourished, infested with mites and had anemia very badly and had lost his tale due to feather eating, his feet were turning inward due to a lack of vitamins. He recovered beautifully after several months. I'll try to find a new photo for an updated picture.

I flat-out LOVE my Crevecoeur. They're not the breed for everyone, as they are a lot like feathered goats. VERY SMART. (Smarts that can get them in to trouble if you don't watch what they're getting in to.) Very different temperament from some of the other crested breeds (especially Polish.)

Mine love to scratch, and I think they get that from their dad who is a feathered black rototiller. They will begin destroying your brooder and any place they can dig in at 1 day old. That said, they are EXCELLENT foragers and bug eaters and very intelligent and aware of their surroundings (especially if you keep a rooster with them.) The girls tend to be a little mellower than the boys, and the boys are just addictively charming. I fell in love with the breed thanks to the personality of my foundation rooster "Jim." He is feisty but sweet in all the right ways.

They can be high strung so they need a lot of handling and socialization. I had one batch that I missed being around for the first week and they took a long time to calm down. I find that if you can be with them a ton through their first week (talking to them, holding them, putting your hand in the brooder) they will reward you with lovely and trusting temperaments, even if they do have a mind of their own. It also helps to raise them with a calmer breed (I raise mine with LF Cochins and Langshans) because the mellower birds tend to even the Crevecoeur out.

Crevecoeur also LOVE to fly. They will want to perch on anything and will start trying to fly out of the brooder at an early age. I keep mine enclosed for this reason, but I give them fun perching options. They like brain games.

My boys are the definition of "cocky." Very jaunty and handsome and excellent lookouts. Also very good to their hens and they love to find food for the flock. Some can be jerks, but the more you handle them the better they will be. I have one little cockerel who is the "alpha" of his flock and when he gets to be a bit too rough all I have to do is tell him to behave and he actually does! (It's creepy, but I swear these guys know what I'm saying when I tell them to do something...I have not found that with any of the other breeds I've raised.)

The hens are very alert as well and very sweet. My girls all look at me like I'm the "rooster" so when I come home to say "hi" they all come and mob me. One of my girls is my little shadow and follows me everywhere. They also still keep their wits about them even if they have a larger topknot (which is way better than a Polish-you won't lose as many to predation.) Not excellent layers, though, and no broody instinct at all. You'll need a good incubator or another broody hen if you want to breed them. Their eggs are fairly petite and white.

These little guys are seriously AWESOME! Not as easy as some of the starter breeds (I think that's partly why they're endangered,) but so worth it! If you have a chance to try one, I highly recommend it!

Ok so I only have one so obviously my info is limited and some of the things about her could just be her individual personality rather than traits of the breed. I didn't even intend to get this breed in the first place, we went to a feed store that was selling barred rock and delaware chicks at the time and my sisters and I each got to pick a chick. My youngest sister chose a teensy little Delaware, (who is a huge bird now, I've reviewed that breed as well if you're interested) our middle sister chose a big healthy looking BR, and I chose the most pathetic and tiny little black chick with a deformed claw because I have a soft spot for sad little chickens, we thought she was a BR but a soon as real feathers started coming in we knew she was something completely different. It took quite a while and a lot of internet research to figure it out. The feed store says they NEVER get shipments of crevs to sell because of their rarity. I did find out that the hatchery they buy from keeps a flock on hand to sell to people who want to breed and show them, and because of her deformed claw Edith should have been culled at hatching because she isn't show quality. My theory is that whoever was weeding out the undesirables at hatching took pity on her and threw her in the BR bin (or whatever they keep them in there) rather than culling her. But of course we'll never know, all I know is that I won the chicken lottery. Now for the review:

Appearance: All feathers are jet black and iridescent in the sun shining purple and green. Feathers are also VERY SOFT compared to other chicken feathers and it makes you just want to pet her all day. Long necked with an adorable pouf on the head that usually covers the eyes and a fluffy little beard. Eyes are big and gold/brown while the beak is somewhat short giving her an almost cartoonish appearance. Body is somewhat sleek when compared to other breeds and the wings are incredibly long in comparison to overall size (she can fly REALLY well for a chicken) and the tail is held up at a rather jaunty angle. Legs are slate gray and skin is white. This breed is both elegant and comical looking at the same time. The pouf is almost too cute to handle. And even though is generally covers her eyes she can still see behind her without turning her head which I find interesting. I've also seen the feathers lift from over her eyes when she wants something from me, then comes an intense stare which is both funny and unsettling. Seriously if you don't want your face to melt off like a Nazi's in Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark don't eat in front of Edith, she'll stare lasers at you the whole time hardly blinking.

Personality: Very friendly and loving (unless you have food you aren't sharing as mentioned above) but keep in mind that I got her at the beginning of a four month summer break from college and I couldn't find a job so I spent A LOT of time hand raising chickens with Edith getting the most attention. I painstakingly socialize every member of the flock teaching manners and basic commands because my mother will only keep chickens if they are friendly pet animals. So if you want to keep chickens as pets my review can be helpful but as for unsocialized utility birds I have no knowledge of their personality. Edith will not steal food from people and takes food hand fed to her very gently. She does not peck or pick at people either and she showed very little tendency to do so in the first place so that did not take much training. Unlike other chickens we own she will not attack young children who are being too rough choosing to run away or fly up out of reach instead. (We don't allow children to pick on our birds but it happens from time to time.) If allowed in the house on a hot day (it can get to 120 here) she will quietly sit on a lap, shoulder, or arm of the couch and watch tv with you or snuggle up under your arm or hair and take a nap. If she is engaged in a show she will sometimes softly talk back to the tv and if you change it she'll give you her trademark face-melting stare until you change it back. She seems to enjoy those true crime shows the most, go figure. She also loves to sit on your shoulder and watch you type on a lap top, it just fascinates her. She loves hanging out with my mom because she does a lot of typing up essays for her online classes and Edith will sit for hours and just watch. Because we love her so much she gets to come in almost every night and just hang out for a while, she's seemingly figured out that if she's sleeping we won't wake her up to put her back outside. I have no way to prove this next story but I swear it happened so believe me or not, that's up to you. One night we were all watching tv and my mom was also working on an essay with Edith on her shoulder as usual. Well Edith REALLY did not want to go outside because not only was mom typing an essay the thing we were watching was a crime show, so basically her personal heaven. But mom was about ready to turn in so she asked me to take Edith outside and just as my mother was turning to look at her and tell her good night like she usually does Edith (who was very much awake) closed her eyes and tucked her head and PRETENDED to be asleep. Mom didn't catch her doing it so she said "Oh. Well I guess she can stay in a little longer since she's so cute when she sleeps." and I told her what the sneaky bird had done and she, of course, didn't believe me saying that chickens weren't that smart. Well when mom's head was turned to the screen again Edith opened her eyes and continued watching, only this time my dad saw her and told my mom to look quick which she did and caught Edith in the act of doing the same thing a second time! My mother stared at her for a full minute and the bird just kept faking it, then she turned away again and Edith opened her eyes just like before. We did it again and this time I looked closer and saw that one eye was opened just the tiniest bit so she could see when mom wasn't looking again. We did this over and over just to make sure she was really doing what we thought and by the time we stopped we were laughing so hard the "sleeping" Edith nearly rolled off of mom's shoulder. I have never seen or heard of a chicken doing something like that and I still laugh when I think about it.

Free range suitability: We keep six hens un-cooped in a suburban back yard. She forages bugs and seeds quite well and is too fast for our one nuisance feral cat to catch. She is also the first to notice a marauding bird of prey and takes cover immediately. Overall hardy except in damp conditions which give her minor respiratory issues. She of course dust bathes like every other chicken but does not dig annoyingly deep holes like the others do so that's a plus if you don't enjoy tripping.

Overall: I'd say if you're looking for a bird that will make a good pet and who you don't have to worry about too much I'd recommend the Crevecoeur. If you can find a place that sells them in your area I highly encourage that you get one or two because the breed is becoming rarer and rarer from what I've heard and it would be a real shame if this old French breed died out. Even if you don't breed them yourself simply by adding to the demand for them you are encouraging those who do to produce more which will help keep the breed around. I myself hope to be able to raise a small flock in the future for a hobby or as a side business. Give these birds a try if you can, they're worth it.

I love my crevecoeur's they are fun to watch. There not to bad of layers they lay medium size white eggs, they lay every other day 5 to 6 out of 7 eggs a week. Crevecoeurs don't really stand there ground to other birds they are very flighty and curious.

My boy is super sweet and huggable, my girl is a bit afraid of me, but if I pick her up when she isn't expecting it, she calms down nicely and lets me pet her. She is not up to the standard in size, and is smaller than my leghorns. However, she seems to be going through a growing spurt at 19 weeks. These older breeds may continue to grow for quite a while. I was told 6 months, then they start filling out more. We shall see after they're a year old how large they get. I'm getting more eggs in the spring because I really love these birds and hope they'll lay well enough (at least 3 eggs a week) Then I'll be happy.

Of course I have no experience with the breed, but gave it 5 stars because I really want to try these guys out next year! I love their mean little faces & it's a bonus that I used to live in Creve Couer & miss it!

Very sweet and interesting chickens. Mine lay a nice size white egg.

Disregard . I put review in wrong place.

nice, how would one pronounce that?

Love the topnot and the beard. Do they come bantam as well? For those who know these these fowl well plz educate me

I love this romantic looking breed they are my favorite breed out of the several types we own, very gothic very docile and I want more so far my hens are not laying though

Another positive is that we have confined several young roos together and they do not fight. It would be very helpful in Crevecoeur breed could have a spot on BYC dedicated to them.

Crevecoeurs are really neat birds. They are smart, lay (huge) white eggs and are very friendly. Most of my hens are extremely "talkative" too and the roosters eat out of my hands. Very nice birds. They are in dire need of more people dedicated to working with them.