Sylvester 017,
In my opinion, a lot of reputation damage is done to many rare breeds by people who do not have personal experience with the breed. They are simply quoting old texts, without realizing the context of those remarks. Or they are quoting other people who say they have Crevecoeurs, without any detailed knowledge of how that person actually raised the bird.
Many of the rarer breeds were at one time serious contenders to be -the- meat bird or -the- layer for the USA market. Large-scale breeders mounted active campaigns to sway popular opinion on yellow skin versus white skin, brown eggs versus white eggs, etc. These campaigns reached out to producers, too, to discourage them from raising competing breeds by claiming those breeds are poor candidates for a backyard or production bird...too delicate, too intolerant of small cages, not fast-enough growers, too few or too small eggs, etc. Many hatcheries looking to say something to distinguish one bird from another mindlessly and inaccurately quote these old texts, too.
We are all somewhat aware of the birds that producers use to put chicken on the American table. They are bred to produce lots of meat very fast, and are not good birds for the backyard because they are not selected for long-term health and vigor.
Traditional breeds for the table were selected for flavor, texture, and could be raised in the backyard or in large groups. They could be meat birds this year or next year. I am old enough to remember when you could buy a "stewing hen" (a fully mature bird, two years or older) that really tasted good, in any supermarket. Now, every chicken sold in the supermarket is under six months, with very little flavor, in my opinion. And they are crosses, because these birds don't stay healthy enough to breeding age.
When I ordered my first Crevecoeurs from Murray McMurray in the late 1990s, the description included the "not hardy in cold wet weather." Honestly, what chicken breed do you know that can be healthy if you keep them cold and wet? I ignored that and ordered them anyway. I also keep other breeds, so I have Delawares, Rocks, Sussex, Ameraucanas and Easter Egger mixes to compare. The Crevecoeurs are easily the hardiest, longest-lived and healthiest of all the breeds I have. I have eight-year-old hens in my yard right now who lay a couple eggs a week for most of the year. They are in outdoor cages with a covered roost, and with a shady area. I break the ice for them twice a day in the winter. They are not heavy eaters, and don't produce a lot of fat, and I suspect that is why the French force-fed them for royal tables. However, they are excellent foragers and mousers. I think they prefer moving food! Here is a link to Crevecoeurs foraging in my yard. Notice how there is always at least one rooster on lookout:
Here is a link to a trio foraging in the winter:
The white hen is a natural sport of the Crevecoeur, and may be the original source of the white Crevecoeurs in Europe.
As you can see in the video, the crest hides the red comb, making it more difficult for overhead predators to spot them. We have red-tail hawks and vultures.
I have more information and photos of my birds in the Crevecoeur breed review area:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/reviews/crevecoeur.10847/
Another great source of Crevecoeur information is Jeannette Beranger's Crevecoeur Project page on Facebook.
Sadly, I never had a Crevie or even a Polish. I looked into getting Crevies but after consulting with a couple USA owners/breeders about 6 yrs ago I got feedback that the USA Crevies were not hardy, or seemed to have too much Polish crosses in them, were independent/self-willed or a bit standoffish to people. I love the beautiful appearance of crested breeds -- Silkies, Breda, Polish, Crevies, La Fleche, Sulmtaler, Houdan, etc etc.
Since the feedback I got from USA Crevie owners was not as positive as I hoped for in health or temperament I opted for Silkies and Breda -- Silkies because of their calmer gentle disposition and Breda because of their less combative temperament with other flock members. The Polish are another gentle calmer breed but I didn't think I should have hens with such skittish temperaments -- I let my backyard flock free in the yard so I didn't want a breed with excessive hampered vision. The little Silkies surprised me with their savvy tendency to hide well and the standard size Breda surprised me with their gentle disposition for being a larger breed in the flock. I love rare chickens and there are so many breeds I would love to have but because of space I had to make choices as to which breeds flocked well together.
Every bird is an individual and I don't want to catergorize a breed as always being one kind of temperament or hardiness so if any owner has a perspective of Crevies from their experiences it would be nice to hear how present day Crevie flocks are doing in the USA today.
