Crèvecœur chicken

For other uses, see Crèvecœur (disambiguation).

The Crèvecœur (French pronunciation: [kʁɛvkœʁ]) is an endangered French breed of crested chicken 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.

Crèvecœur

Cock bird (foreground)
Conservation status	FAO (2007): no data[1]: 45
Country of origin	France
Use	dual-purpose, meat and eggs exhibition
Traits
Weight	Male: Standard: 3–3.5 kg[2]: 92  Bantam: 1100 g[2]: 92  Female: Standard: 2.5–3 kg[2]: 92  Bantam: 900 g[2]: 92
Egg colour	white
Comb type	v-shaped
Classification
APA	continental[3]
ABA	all other comb clean legged
PCGB	rare soft feather: heavy[4]
Notes
crested breed
Chicken Gallus gallus domesticus

History

Illustration from the Geflügel-Album of Jean Bungartz, 1885

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.^[5]: 37 The breed was described in detail by Louis Bréchemin in 1894,^[6][7]: 72 but the breed standard was not accepted by the Société d'Aviculture de Basse-Normandie until 1909.^[6]

The Crèvecœur was reared in the United Kingdom from the mid-nineteenth century,^[2]: 92 and was added to the Standard of Perfection of the American Poultry Association in 1874.^[3]

The French 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;^[8] in 2007 the breed was classified by the FAO as "endangered".^[1]: 152

Bantam versions were separately developed in the United States from about 1960, and in Germany towards 2000.^[2]: 92

Characteristics

The Crèvecœur has a crest similar to that of the Houdan breed. Unlike the Houdan, it is four-toed and has a v-shaped comb like that of the La Flèche.^[9]: 331

It is most commonly black,^[10] and this is the only colour variant recognised in the United Kingdom and in the United States.^{[11]: 114 [3]} Three other colours are recognised in France: blue,^[12] white,^[13] and cuckoo.^{[1]: 45 [14]} The face, comb, ear-lobes and wattles are bright red, the legs and feet slate blue or black. The beak is a dark horn colour, the eyes may be red or sometimes black.^[11]: 114

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.^[2]: 92 The eggs are white, and weigh about 55 g.^[5]: 37 It is now raised primarily for poultry exhibition.^[5]: 37