La Fleche
Left: An old illustration of a pair of La Fleche fowl (courtesy of Jan Ubels); right: a Harrison Weir illustration from 1867 (courtesy of Jenny)
These birds were bred in the French province of La Sarthe as general purpose fowl, for both eggs and meat. They can be distinguished by their large white ear lobes and V-comb. They also have long wattles that hang well down the neck. Traces of a crest sometimes occur. A cock may weigh 8 to 10 pounds. The color, including that of the legs and feet, is always black. It probably carries the blood of both Crevecoeurs and Black Spanish.
La Fleche are reputed to be slow-maturing fowl. They are also known as good foragers on open range, happily traveling over large areas.
La Fleche also are found as bantams.
Here are 4 articles on La Fleche from the SPPA Bulletin.
La Fleche Links:
A head shot showing the typical V-comb and the fleshy
protuberance above the beak that was historically typical of the breed. This
bird was bred by Jack Barnes of Hiram, Maine
Photo © Chris d'Orgeix
A flock of La Fleche on free range
Photo © Chris d'Orgeix
A La Fleche pullet
Photo courtesy of Owen Goodfellow
Two shots of Owen's La Fleche cockerel
Photo courtesy of Owen Goodfellow
A pair of White La Fleche bantams
Photo courtesy of Jade Hawke
One of Chris's La Fleche cockerels
Photo © Chris d'Orgeix
Two shots of a Brown La Fleche cockerel, from
Australia
Photos courtesy of Frank Pytellek
A bantam La Fleche rooster
Photo courtesy of Owen Goodfellow
Another La Fleche cockerel
"Archer" and "Cupid," a pair of White La Fleche bantams
Photos courtesy of Jade Hawke
Head shot and full body of a nice cockerel
Photos courtesy of Pam Marshall
Forrest Beauford's nice la Fleche cockerel
Photo courtesy of Kyle Yacobucci
A White La Fleche cockerel from Belgium
Photo courtesy of Andrea Fasch
Another cockerel and his head, this one from the UK
Photos courtesy of Rupert Stephenson
La Fleche chicks
Photo courtesy of Julia Winter
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