***Crevecoeur Thread***

[cluck-cluck]

Oh, Exop, yes, sorry! I wish more people would pop in. I really like my birds, love 'em really, they're fun, and because I spend time with them, they're pretty sweet. I will never be able to properly breed them in any way, as I live in suburbia, but it would be wonderful if people could make use of these birds and breed them. Then so many have given up on them recently, which also saddens me.

 

[cluck-cluck]

Poularde, could you please try to remember how old your chicks were when you posted these pictures on November 6th? I think I'm calculating (guessing from previous post) that they were around 6 weeks old, but they look so much older!

 

[poularde]

They are different ages in those pics. i believe the older ones were 16 weeks and the younger were about 12 weeks.

 

[cluck-cluck]

Ah, Ok, I'm comparing to mine, and they looked so much older, LOL. I keep feeling this urge to purchase eggs from Exop, so I can get more hens, but then I'd have to deal with boys again... and I did kind of want to try hatching my own... but that's troublesome too... I need to control my urges and just relax, no rush to change things here! I don't even know how loud or aggressive the roos will be when they grow up. So...

 

[cluck-cluck]

I don't know why, but the Crevecoeurs I have have sparked my interest. I thought I'd enjoy having Sultans and got the crevecoeurs as a "what the heck". Now I really think they're cool. And so I've been trying to find more information on them, but I'm hungry for more. I mean, most all websites post the same background story, the SOP tells us what they should look for, and frankly, I don't know what it is I want to know! LOL. I just want more! I can see that they are not popular and many have given up on them probably because they don't make any money. And of course this thread is dead all the time. I might go out and take pictures of my boys and girl tomorrow, but they won't be very good pictures because they're covered in fermented feed, LOL. They are 13 weeks old tomorrow, good time to take a photo!

So is it possible for a "back yard chicken keeper" to actually raise a breed? I suppose I can have 3 pens available, each one holding 4 birds, 3 females and one male. But it would require constant culling because I can't keep a bunch of birds, and I don't think I have the stomach for that. I have to keep telling myself that I don't have the room or ability to breed! LOL Still, I want to know more, and a dead thread is not helping! LOL

Is there a book that includes Crevies in a deep way?

I am hoping that they will be decent layers for many years rather than the two or so years modern layers are productive.

 

[Southern Chickens]

I JUST ORDERED MY CREVIES!!

They will be here on the 28th of this month! I am so excited!

I ordered from McMurray. I have 10 Straight Runs and 6 pullets coming. I didn't know they were going extinct!! Crazy stuff! I want to start a breeding flock. They are so cool. This is this information that I have found on them.


Crèvecoeur Chicken
The Crèvecoeur chicken is the oldest of the standard-bred fowls of France. The breed gets its name from Crève-Coeur en Ange, a small town in Normandy, France. The breed’s name translates as “broken heart” as in the romantic sense. Little is known of the breed’s origins other than they were developed in Normandy and existed there for a very long time.
Solid black in color, Crèvecoeur chickens have crests and beards of moderate size, compact, well-proportioned bodies, and short legs. In movement they are quiet and deliberate. The breed stands confinement remarkably well, appearing quite content. Crèvecoeur chickens are only moderate layers of large white eggs, and were noted by both English and American poultrymen as being rather delicate in constitution and prone to catch colds in damp conditions.
The breed was developed principally for the quality of its flesh. Crèvecoeur chickens have small, fine bones and the proportion of meat to offal is quite high. The skin on this breed is white. And the meat is noted for being fine, short, and very white. They also fatten readily and were a French favorite to “gaver” or stuff – an old traditional practice of making birds eat more by inserting a tube into their mouths that introduces a specially blended wet mash and supplements their normal diet.
The breed was once quite popular in France, though it did not gain so much favor in other countries. In 1855, there were two sets of awards offered at the first agricultural exhibit held in Paris: one for Crèvecoeur chickens and another for all other chicken breeds. This is the oldest known French chicken breed in England. It had reached America prior to 1874, but was regarded as “too tender” for the climate of eastern and middle states there.
The Crèvecoeur chicken was recognized by the American Poultry Association and admitted in 1874. Males weigh 8 lbs and females weigh 6.5 lbs.

Unfortunately, the Crevecoeur Chicken is currently highly endangered, and has been given a classification of "critical" by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. The "critical" category means, "Fewer than 500 breeding birds in the United States, with five or fewer primary breeding flocks (50 birds or more), and estimated global population less than 1,000."

 

[aoccl]

I really like the Crevs I have raised and handled, they have a nice crest but not one that gets them lost. Hens also tend to be pretty decent layers for purebred poultry.

 

[poularde]

Welcome everyone! Nice to see people on this thread. I love looking at mine.

 

[cluck-cluck]

Yaaay, I'm also super happy to see people showing up here!

I only ordered 4 straight run birds last October, and I think 3 are roos, so only one hen. Now I think they're so much fun, I want more! But I guess I'll try hatching some eggs in the spring in order to get them

I love your boy Poularde!!! Can't wait to see my one girl's eggs. I hope they'll be a nice size, but she is so small still! She should end up larger than my leghorns, but if my leghorns keep eating like they are, man, they're going to be fatter than I am!!! LOL

Are they really slow growers, Poularde? The boys are decent size now at 13 weeks, but that girl, she is small! Though I kind of think she has grown a bit lately, not sure if it's my imagination, LOL.

 

[cluck-cluck]

Ok, show and tell time! So as I've said, I have 4 Crevies, 3 boys 1 girl. The boys have not yet crowed, but I fear the day. I don't want to get rid of any of them, but if I keep roos, I have got to find a workable way to keep them quiet in the mornings and hope nobody is a day time sleeper around here

I'm thinking of increasing my crevie flock by breeding the biggest best built boy to my girl, and hatching a bunch of those birds and save the pullets. Then take those and breed to my second biggest boy (very close in size) as he is also very nice looking. I don't think I should keep the last boy for breeding because his nose is smushed in looking. But if I have two cockerels kept apart, then they will be able to keep each other company.


This is my #1 boy. He likes to chew on the straw, he thinks he's a cowboy


My girl still has a white feather in the wings, and she is super small. I hope she will get bigger, but it doesn't help that she is lowest on the pecking order so doesn't get as much to eat! I think those white feathers are going to go away with her next moult. Otherwise, I like her short legs and her crest doesn't yet cover her eyes, and seems smaller and more compact than any polish, so she seems right for type. I also like her tail spread. A nice triangle there.


This is my runner up boy. He's just about as good looking as 'Big Boy". Neither have white on them, what you see is food all over their heads especially!



Finally this is my little mushy nose boy. Maybe I should name him Rocky, he got his nose broke? He'll hopefully keep the non-working boys company in a separate coop n run, but again, I'll have to figure out how to keep them quiet!

Why am I even thinking of breeding these? I live in the burbs! Very irresponsible of me I should be getting rid of these boys.............