The breed gets its name from the village of Crèvecœur en Auge in Normandy, France. “Crève Cœur” translates literally as “broken heart.” Local history sites the origin of the name stems from the land in this region being less fertile than was hoped by farmers moving in to the area and thus breaking the hearts of the peasants. Little is known of the breed’s origins, as it is so old. The Creveceour is very similar in size to the Houdan, but only has four toes and is all black in color. The current US breeding birds is well under 500 and the global population in under 1000 birds.