Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Crèvecœur chicken

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Conservation status
  
FAO (2007): endangered

Comb type
  
V-shaped

Primary use
  
ornamental

Egg size
  
Medium

Recognized variety
  
Black

Country of origin
  
France

APA
  
continental

Egg production (annual)
  
120

Temperament
  
active

Egg color
  
White

Crèvecœur chicken Crevecoeur Chickens Tanglewood Farm Miniatures

Weight
  
Male: 3 kgFemale: 2.5 kg

PCGB
  
rare soft feather: heavy

Similar
  
Houdan chicken, La Flèche chicken, Dorking chicken, Brabançonne Chicken, Cubalaya

The Crèvecœur is an endangered historic chicken breed from the Pays d'Auge, in the Calvados département of Normandy, in north-western France. It is named after the commune of Crèvecœur-en-Auge. It is related to the La Flèche and to other Norman breeds such as the Caumont and Caux and the extinct Pavilly; the Merlerault was formerly considered a sub-type of the Crèvecœur.

Contents

Crèvecœur chicken Crevecoeur Thread

History

Crèvecœur chicken httpslivestockconservancyorgimagesuploadsab

The Crèvecœur is among the oldest French breeds of chicken; its origins are unknown. It takes its name from the commune of Crèvecœur-en-Auge, near Lisieux in the historic region of the Pays d'Auge, in the Calvados département of Normandy. Crèvecoeur chickens won prizes at the Exposition Universelle of 1855 in Paris.:37 The breed was described in detail by Louis Bréchemin in 1894, but the breed standard was not accepted by the Société d’Aviculture de Basse-Normandie until 1909.

The population of the breed suffered during both the First and Second World Wars; after the latter, it was thought to have virtually disappeared. Recovery was begun in 1976 by Jean-Claude Périquet. In 1995 numbers were reported to be between 100 and 1000 individuals; in 2007 the breed was classified by the FAO as "endangered".:152

The Crèvecœur was added to the Standard of Perfection of the American Poultry Association in 1874.

Characteristics

Crèvecœur chicken Crevecoeur Chicken Breed The Chicken Center

The Crèvecœur has a crest similar to that of the Houdan breed. Unlike the Houdan, the Crèvecœur is four-toed and has a V-shaped comb like that of the La Flèche.:331

Crèvecœur chicken Crevecoeur pictures video information and chicks

The Crèvecœur is most commonly black; there are three other recognised colour variants: blue, white, and cuckoo.:45 The legs are a dark blue-gray.:116

Use

The Crèvecœur was traditionally kept as a dual-purpose chicken, raised both for its eggs and for its meat, which is of high quality. The eggs are white, and weigh about 55 g.:37 The Crèvecœur is now raised primarily for poultry exhibition.:37

References

Crèvecœur chicken Wikipedia