I'd like to put my oar in here and say that anyone raising Crevecoeurs should be aware, there is a significant problem with the American standard of perfection listing the Creve with a red ear.
The Crevecoeur breed does not, and has never had a red ear, except perhaps for isolated individual birds belonging to whoever got that language into the SOP in the late 1800s. The first written French description of the breed specifically says that the ear is whitish (blanchâtre); it has also been described as "bleu nacré" (mother-of-pearl blue, ie pale irridescent blue, which one sees in young birds).
"OREILLONS: Blanchâtres, de dimension ordinaire, presque cachés sous les plumes de les favoris et de la huppe." (Charles Jacque, Le Poulailler, 1858)
or in translation:
"Earlobes: Whitish, of normal size, almost hidden beneath the feathers of the muffs and crest."
"Les oreillons sont petits, bleu nacré, cachés sous les favoris..." (Ernest Lemoine; in Jean Augustin Barral's Dictionnaire d'Agriculture, 1888)
"The earlobes are small, pearlescent blue, hidden behind the muffs..."
The breed would be in much better shape if we could get the standard changed to specify that the earlobe is expected to be an understated white or whitish in older birds (with red marks in cocks), or a faint translucent blue color in younger ones; this would put us in line with biology. I believe what is happening now is, people start up with Crevecoeurs but become discouraged and lose enthusiasm when their birds appear to have "the wrong" color earlobe. Please be aware, if your bird has a whitish cast to its earlobe, it's your bird that is correct, and not the standard!
Even so, whitish earlobes ARE NOT a disqualifying trait when you look at what the standard actually says.
There's been a lot of talk in this thread about white earlobes being a DQ; actually, the only disqualifying earlobe color listed for a red-eared breed is "positive enamel white". And then the glossary in the standard defines positive enamel white: "refers to permanent white in face or earlobes where red is required... the term is not intended to include...any slight white appearance which lacks the satin-like characteristic of the earlobe of Rose Comb Bantams." Enamel-white is defined as "the satin-like white surface color found in the ear-lobes of Rose Comb Black Bantams and Mediterranean Breeds."
That is a very striking, brilliant, reflective white. For anyone who is not sure of what I'm talking about, please do a Google image search for "Rosecomb bantam" or for "Minorca chicken".
The Crevecoeur has never had a brilliant white earlobe, like the Minorca or the Rosecomb Bantam, and if your birds have ears like that, it really is a problem. I do not have any issue with DQíng a bird that looks as if it has been crossed with a bright white earlobed breed like Leghorn, Minorca or La Flèche.
To sum up, there is nothing in the American standard saying that Crevecoeurs are to be DQ'd for understated white earlobes. The whitish ear must not be "enamel white", because of the general clause about positive enamel white in red eared breeds. So please everybody, relax, you will start to convince the judges that whitish earlobes are a DQ when in fact, they are not.
If you are serious about saving the Creve, I suggest you join the APA and stick with the breed, and work on getting your birds up to size rather than worrying about the earlobe. Once there are enough APA members of 6 years standing who have a passably correct Crevecoeur with a whitish earlobe, we will be able to look at actually taking the proper political steps to change the standard. No kidding, it can be done! There are procedures in place. This is a serious problem and it needs a concerted effort to solve it.
Best regards
exop
