Crèvecœur

Crested-fowl coop + run

4 sq ft coop + 10 sq ft run per bird, low roof on run

Crèvecœurs (5–8 lb) are a French heritage breed with a V-comb and large head crest. Provide 4 sq ft coop, 10 sq ft run, and KEEP RUN COVERED — crest blocks upward vision, making them easy hawk targets. One nest box per 4 hens.

Covered run + dry footing

5 sq ft coop + 15 sq ft covered run per bird

Covered run (cresties can't see hawks), deep-litter coop with low roosts, sand dust bath, and dry footing — wet crest invites fungal infection. Trim crest feathers if blocking eyes. Calm, friendly, tolerant of confinement.

Aviary or supervised range

Roofed aviary or supervised free-range, 6 sq ft coop per bird

A roofed aviary with shade and a dry sand floor, or supervised free-range only (crests = no upward predator awareness). Crèvecœurs are critically rare heritage birds and warrant the welfare investment of covered space.

Birds develop inside a hard-shelled egg incubated by the parent(s). Egg size, shell color, and clutch size vary by species; the embryo develops over days to weeks before hatching.

Hatchlings are either altricial — naked, blind, and dependent on parents (typical of parrots and songbirds) — or precocial — downy, mobile, and self-feeding soon after hatching (typical of poultry and waterfowl). Down gives way to the first feathers.

Fledglings grow in their juvenile plumage and begin to fly and feed themselves, though they may still beg from parents at first. Juvenile feathering is often duller than the adult and is replaced as the bird matures.

Adults attain full body size and mature plumage, and are capable of breeding. Many species show distinct adult coloration, and in sexually dimorphic birds males and females differ in plumage, size, or markings.

(c) D. N., some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) via iNaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/312084723