La Fleche

Before I joined BYC I was breeding for wild and wacky comb combinations, soon I crossed a Sicilian Buttercup cock with my first ever La Fleche hen, and kept breeding from that generation. Soon, Moose came up. Moose is my antler comb, La fleche mix cock. He's wonderful, but can be rather nasty at times.

I just got my new hen Mevil Devil and she seems pretty nice right now. She's very brave and eats most of the low-flying mosquitos. Her comb is freeze-sensitive so I have to heat up the coop with very expensive heaters in windy conditions. Every thing else is ok right now.

La Fleche are one of my least favorite breeds. They are extremely rare and extremely flighty. They have a very wild nature and aren't the best layers. Overall, not a very good breed in my opinion.

We love our Bantam La Fleche. The La Fleche are a rare French breed that can be difficult to find here in the US. They're shiny black plumage and unique V-comb make them stand out at the Shows. We show our BLF in every show we attend with great reception. I keep seeing reviews about how flighty and wary they are and ours are completely the opposite. Our roosters, hens, and chicks are warm and friendly. The hen especially loves to be held and talked to. My children's friends are always amazed at how docile the hen is and what a great pet she makes. They are amazing flyers so if you plan on having the Bantam La Fleche, be prepared for that. They'll roost in trees to rest and enjoy the weather but we never have any trouble getting them down. One sight of scraps or some mealworms and they're following us around. The rooster calls to us the minute he sees us coming. He has a wide range of pleasant vocalizations and he's quite virile. He has wooed most of the hens on our farm and even has the Rhode Island Red hen we keep for eating eggs following him around during free ranging. If we're free ranging one of our other breeding pens the hen will call to us clucking until she is allowed out and given attention. They make fantastic pets as well as layers. She produces a medium sized white egg 5-6 days per week consistently. Their fertility and hatch rate from the beginning has been stellar. We've not had any problems with the embryos developing and never had any issues with hatching. They're probably one of our easiest breeds to hatch and the chicks are quite hardy. The chicks are small (smaller than our Silkie chicks) but strong and they fly very early on. They're great foragers and hardy in both the winter and summer (we're in Va with pretty hot summers and cold winters and they thrive in both). I am very pleased with our BLF and can't say enough good things about them. I highly recommend them for anyone looking for a bantam sized bird but wants a consistent, friendly layer and/or breeder. I'd love to see more small breeders in the US get involved in conserving this gorgeous breed.

I am still dealing with chicks, so i can't yet review adult behavior, laying ability or meat qualities, but i can tell their personality is much different than the EE and Barred Rock I currently have. They are more wary, yet very curious, watchful, and seem to be pretty intelligent. first chickens to figure out the feeder when I changed styles. I have them eating out of my hand at about 1 1/2 weeks old, altho there are a few that will not come over until everyone else is indulging. Fast moving & active, I have the feeling they will have no problem avoiding the outdoor cats, and I suspect I will have to keep working with them to keep them tame. Their large nostrils and leggy build makes them look like baby crows. Will either update or add new review when they mature.

I'm producing a review as nobody has done so yet, but I'm no expert on these birds. I hatched mine from eggs and the fertility of my own 4 hens and one rooster has been exceptional.They are described as large fowl....my hens weigh about 5-6 lbs and the rooster a bit more, but they are young birds (hatched August 2011).They have lovely shiny all black feathers, with a striking V comb and white earlobes.
Though many reviews I read described them as 'skittish' and untameable, I have NOT found this to be the case. Though slightly nervous, they come when called, pen themselves at dusk, and are no more difficult to manage than my Brahmas.
They need little food to survive in the free-range environment being excellent foragers.
They are also excellent flyers, and will roost in trees and barns given the opportunity.Not so good, therefore with low fences.
The rooster has a very side range of vocalisations, but is totally non-aggressive.
They lay approximately 5 good sized eggs per week.
None of mine so far have become broody.