***Crevecoeur Thread***

[HeritageHenNut]

From what I researched (I once considered them seriously) is that they are a bit standoffish and like to roost in trees rather than their coop but that they are a gentle breed.  After about a year of having them, let us inquiring minds know what your honest assessment is of them.  I think any rare breed is worth the effort to continue if they have some redeeming quality like gentle temperament, non-combative roos, fair to decent egg production, or good foragers, etc.  Thx for sharing and more pics please!

They are going to be a recovery project for sure, just finished treating them for leg mites & weighed them all while I was at it. They're well below standard weight but seem to carry a well fleshed breast when compared to my polish. Just a couple days in, there is a huge difference between them & the Polish...but I will give regular updates for sure.

 

[Sylvester017]

They are going to be a recovery project for sure, just finished treating them for leg mites & weighed them all while I was at it. They're well below standard weight but seem to carry a well fleshed breast when compared to my polish. Just a couple days in, there is a huge difference between them & the Polish...but I will give regular updates for sure.

Whenever I receive new juveniles with compromised immune systems with lice/mites, cocci, worms, CRD, etc, after initial medical treatment I give extra vitamin supplementation. Poly-Vi-Sol children's no-iron liquid vitamin just one drop on the side of the beak so that the chicken has to lick it off -- a few times each week. Even my old chickens get the Poly a couple times weekly in addition to Rooster Booster vitamin crystals, Brewer's Yeast powder, Selenium, etc. My vet classically ends our visits with advice to give the chickens vitamins on top of their regular nutritional feed. I personally love the "Manna Pro" products like Poultry Protector and Lice/Mite sprays. I have Permethrin as backup but the organic Manna Pro stuff usually does the trick and can be used as often as you want and even on the chicken housing per instructions. All organic so no masks or goggles are needed. The Crevies are definitely larger than Polish. I wonder how well the Crevie hens can see through their crests. My Silkies eventually nibble away each other's eye fur so they have no problems seeing where they're going. They pick up all kinds of cobwebs and debris in their crests.

 

[bunsnpupsnchick]

They are going to be a recovery project for sure, just finished treating them for leg mites & weighed them all while I was at it. They're well below standard weight but seem to carry a well fleshed breast when compared to my polish. Just a couple days in, there is a huge difference between them & the Polish...but I will give regular updates for sure.

I've a pair. Pullet is 8ish months & cockerel is 4.5 months. They are a bit standoffish, etc. My cockerel roosts with his group snuggled up with whomever for the night. My pullet most nights is with them, but separate. There's been another pullet she's usually around. They are shy. However, per the French standards they're supposed to be a great dual purpose bird with very good meat. They were once highly prized for the meat & fine bones too if I'm remembering right. So far I'm finding their sizes comparable to my Polish. However, I can't address weight as I don't have a scale to weigh them except for the one I step on. I'm looking to setup a breeding pen for the pair & go from there.

Mine see fine as for both sexes the crest are a bit more swept back. I think that's sop too for both French & American. Not 100%. Oh, any white that shows generally grows out as they mature. Plus I think I read it's over so long that it's an issue. Right now for preservation it's more important to restore the health, size, & type. The livestock conservatory had them on the endangered-rare lists I believe.

 

[bunsnpupsnchick]

My pullet, you can see how her crest is swept back. I'm on my cell b& I can't load another pic in this post you show you my cockerel. I'll try later when I'm on the puter.

 

[HeritageHenNut]

Lo

My pullet, you can see how her crest is swept back. I'm on my cell b& I can't load another pic in this post you show you my cockerel. I'll try later when I'm on the puter.

Lovely pullet. yeah going to just hatch out as many as I can and select for size & vigour to start with.

 

[Sylvester017]

Lo
Lovely pullet. yeah going to just hatch out as many as I can and select for size & vigour to start with.

I love the appearance of this breed. I like the way the crest allows them to see unlike the Polish (poor dears). After going through a State-declared drought for the last 5 yrs and a warning of going into a 6th year, our summers are exceptionally long, hot, and brutal. I lost 2 birds attributed to heat-related causes. I lost my dear fluffy 3-yr-old Blue Wheaten Ameraucana with her heavy under-downed body and muffy cheeks -- she suffered terribly in our heatwave summers that would last from last week May through to December and still had very warm days in Spring with only a very occasional rainy or sprinkly day maybe a half-dozen times in Spring (I'm being generous about saying that many rainy days!). Our crested no-barbicel-feathered Silkies were the only chickens that actually did better than our large fowl which were under 5-lbs but the lightweight large fowl still didn't do as well as our Silkies. Unless climate conditions change in our area I won't be subjecting any more crested, bearded, muff-cheeked, or heavy-feathered chicken breeds into our flock. It's so disheartening watching them panting even with the misters going all day and even more heartbreaking to lose them to heat-related issues. Our coop is under a patio roof for added shade, we have lean-to shelters and 5 large doghouses, and a large pop-up canopy, to give the hens places for shade but for greens I have to chop up chards, spinaches, lettuces, etc, to give them plant food to eat because our ground is so bare for foraging.



6 years ago we never had to water the yard except for the raised garden bed veggies!

 

[bunsnpupsnchick]

Lo
Lovely pullet. yeah going to just hatch out as many as I can and select for size & vigour to start with.

Thanks. I got lucky, she's from the feedstore. They had more, but I was picking out different looking chicks. Wish I would've got more like her.

I don't have an incubator yet. My hatching will need to wait or involve a broody substitute. Then do like you & pick for their size, vigor, & type.

The interesting difference I found between the American & French sop is that the American calms for red earlobes. The French hold to the original blue-white. Haven't seen why for the difference. One day I might go back thru the old sop books & see if anything is in there. For me, I'm going to work to restore to how they once were including the blue-white earlobe. Not my focus, but not excluding due to it.

Still on the phone & no luck attaching. My cockerel is from ideal which is where the feedstore said they got my pullet from. I'm thinking of ordering more when they have the Creve available again. From what I've been finding the livestock conservatory is using some from them due to the scarcity. I'm hoping that as more of us work on them that we'll have good genetic diversity for the future.

 

[bunsnpupsnchick]

I love the appearance of this breed. I like the way the crest allows them to see unlike the Polish (poor dears). After going through a State-declared drought for the last 5 yrs and a warning of going into a 6th year, our summers are exceptionally long, hot, and brutal. I lost 2 birds attributed to heat-related causes. I lost my dear fluffy 3-yr-old Blue Wheaten Ameraucana with her heavy under-downed body and muffy cheeks -- she suffered terribly in our heatwave summers that would last from last week May through to December and still had very warm days in Spring with only a very occasional rainy or sprinkly day maybe a half-dozen times in Spring (I'm being generous about saying that many rainy days!). Our crested no-barbicel-feathered Silkies were the only chickens that actually did better than our large fowl which were under 5-lbs but the lightweight large fowl still didn't do as well as our Silkies. Unless climate conditions change in our area I won't be subjecting any more crested, bearded, muff-cheeked, or heavy-feathered chicken breeds into our flock. It's so disheartening watching them panting even with the misters going all day and even more heartbreaking to lose them to heat-related issues. Our coop is under a patio roof for added shade, we have lean-to shelters and 5 large doghouses, and a large pop-up canopy, to give the hens places for shade but for greens I have to chop up chards, spinaches, lettuces, etc, to give them plant food to eat because our ground is so bare for foraging. 6 years ago we never had to water the yard except for the raised garden bed veggies!

I'm in AZ so I get it. I've got a huge mesquite shading my yard which helps. I also found litter boxes or similar with water in then helped-they'd stand in then to cool their feet. Plus, frozen 2 litres do wonders. They hang around them, stand on them, sit by them, etc. I also had a kiddie pool under the misters to catch water & had a bucket at least available to bathe them in to cool off fast if needed. Between that stuff no losses. I did put the pullet out during the start of high heat. Had a scare at first, but after bringing her back in for a day then going slow again with increasing time outside she did great. Heat is tricky. Especially with drought. Huge reason I love my mesquite tree. I can't grow grass & haven't tried another ground cover, but the shade is worth it. I've heard of some folks getting their away produce from local markets for cheap or free. Try that too help with the greens supply. There was actually a Craigslist posting here for a monthly farmers type market giving away the throw away. If you went to get produce from them it's $10 for 60 pounds.

 

[Sylvester017]

I'm in AZ so I get it. I've got a huge mesquite shading my yard which helps. I also found litter boxes or similar with water in then helped-they'd stand in then to cool their feet. Plus, frozen 2 litres do wonders. They hang around them, stand on them, sit by them, etc. I also had a kiddie pool under the misters to catch water & had a bucket at least available to bathe them in to cool off fast if needed. Between that stuff no losses. I did put the pullet out during the start of high heat. Had a scare at first, but after bringing her back in for a day then going slow again with increasing time outside she did great.

Heat is tricky. Especially with drought. Huge reason I love my mesquite tree. I can't grow grass & haven't tried another ground cover, but the shade is worth it.

I've heard of some folks getting their away produce from local markets for cheap or free. Try that too help with the greens supply. There was actually a Craigslist posting here for a monthly farmers type market giving away the throw away. If you went to get produce from them it's $10 for 60 pounds.

Thx for all the tips which most I've already had to do in the past. The misters were best for me because the chickens would dirty up bowls of water to stand in and then drink the disgusting poopy slush so I switched to Brite Tap Rubbermaid Jug nipple valve waterers to keep clean drinking water and where we can add ice to it daily. Because of drought I had major wild bird populations of sparrows and finches dirtying the open water and eating expensive organic chicken feed so I switched to chicken treadle feeders. What fun training older chickens to use new water and feeder sources

!!!! The misters are for days over 85o for the chickens so that a lot of water doesn't pool up on the ground for the wild birds to swoop in!!! Since we put up the block wall it stays nicely shaded on the south side border of the wall which is also near the pop-up canopy and the coop patio roof. I'm zoned for only 5 hens/no roos and after losing 2 birds this summer I'm down to 3 birds. Hope to get a couple Dominiques in Spring since I've had them before and are a lighterweight less fluffy breed than Barred Rocks. I'll be staying away from heavy fluff breeds like Orps, Cochins, Ameraucanas, EEs, etc.

Currently raising this docile Breda pullet to add outdoors to the 2 gentle Silkies we have left


2 silly Silkies catching spider webs and debris in their "hair"


We built this patio keeping shade in mind for the coop. The Silkies are by the chair on the left of photo in the shade of the south wall


Our 2-gal Brite Tap Rubbermaid nipple valve waterer - we have 2 of these in the yard - easy to clean - easy to transport



Feed-O-Matic small treadle feeder accommodates only 1 chicken at a time on the treadle foot - wish I got the larger size now!



Chicken Condos large treadle feeder - this is the one the Silkies like best and it can accommodate 2 birds at the same time.

 

[bunsnpupsnchick]

Thx for all the tips which most I've already had to do in the past. The misters were best for me because the chickens would dirty up bowls of water to stand in and then drink the disgusting poopy slush so I switched to Brite Tap Rubbermaid Jug nipple valve waterers to keep clean drinking water and where we can add ice to it daily. Because of drought I had major wild bird populations of sparrows and finches dirtying the open water and eating expensive organic chicken feed so I switched to chicken treadle feeders. What fun training older chickens to use new water and feeder sources

!!!! The misters are for days over 85o for the chickens so that a lot of water doesn't pool up on the ground for the wild birds to swoop in!!! Since we put up the block wall it stays nicely shaded on the south side border of the wall which is also near the pop-up canopy and the coop patio roof. I'm zoned for only 5 hens/no roos and after losing 2 birds this summer I'm down to 3 birds. Hope to get a couple Dominiques in Spring since I've had them before and are a lighterweight less fluffy breed than Barred Rocks. I'll be staying away from heavy fluff breeds like Orps, Cochins, Ameraucanas, EEs, etc.

Currently raising this docile Breda pullet to add outdoors to the 2 gentle Silkies we have left


2 silly Silkies catching spider webs and debris in their "hair"


We built this patio keeping shade in mind for the coop. The Silkies are by the chair on the left of photo in the shade of the south wall


Our 2-gal Brite Tap Rubbermaid nipple valve waterer - we have 2 of these in the yard - easy to clean - easy to transport



Feed-O-Matic small treadle feeder accommodates only 1 chicken at a time on the treadle foot - wish I got the larger size now!



Chicken Condos large treadle feeder - this is the one the Silkies like best and it can accommodate 2 birds at the same time.

The breda looks interesting. Have you had them before? Any idea how they do in the heat? Are they large fowl or bantam? Sorry, I like the feathered feet!!! lol

Yeah, I hear ya on the wild birds. I've got them like crazy too. I don't think the treadles will work here as my dogs are quite adept at working things like that. I'm thinking of those PVC feeders where hopefully they can't fit their muzzles in.

I like the idea of the jugs, but I can't lug them around. I'm working on integrating an auto-waterer that comes from the feed pipe for my sprinklers. Then I'll run pipe wherever I want a water station. Separate on/off valve for it plus a way to flush it out.