THE FLEMISH CUCKOO

Searching for their origin

Text and photos: Norbert Schollaert (B)

Part 4 - France

It's actually hard to grasp, but in all (Flemish-speaking) documents about poultry and breeds, the name Flemish Cuckoo is never mentioned. In order to learn something more about the origin of the Flemish Cuckoo, we had to search in France.

February 15, 1891, Chasse et Pêche published an article titled: Our indigenous chicken breeds. A translated quote from the text: “... The poultry exhibitions have known such a development in Belgium that can match any other country. Maybe less often held, but with a lot more animals than exhibitions in England, except the Birmingham Dairy and Christal Palace Show. Last year we saw even one of the three Antwerp associations compete with them. There is no reason why Belgium would lose this place she held until now. The fanciers who do not want to make the journey to England can always visit our shows to see the best results of modern poultry farming. But to see the majority of popular breeds in England we ourselves do still have to go there, to keep up to date of what's new, because in England there are per breed twenty times more breeders than here in Belgium. This is because their poultry judges have more control than ours, have the power to change a type, and that their poultry is bred and reared by themselves. Because, let's not forget that the body type of the imported American is changed further in England and those from England on the continent. Rightly or wrongly, we just state this to make clear that it is impossible to maintain the same standard that applies to England, America and the rest of the World. In Belgium, we have five or six native breeds that are distributed thousands of farms, used to our environment and our feed. The farmers know how to deal with it and know exactly which returns they can expect. So it is not difficult to encourage them to improve the breed and make it more attractive, just like they have improved their fruit trees and increased the harvest. We'll talk now about the two breeds that are the best in the world for us: the , as meat chicken, and the Campine as a layer breed. The current Malines, same as the Wyandotte, is the product of a cross. The old cuckoo variety seems to have disappeared. At our exhibitions they have been replaced by the Scotch Grey and the Poule de Rennes. ………”

Mr. E. Labbé (from Lompret - Northern France - the first ardent supporter of the breed and also the first who exhibited these chickens in Quesnoy-sur-Deûle in 1880) immediately responds with a letter to the editor on March 1, 1891 (Chasse & Pêche, 9th volume, N ° 22 - Page 217).. He says he has been working with this breed already for 12 to 13 years now and has tried to improve it all the time through continuous selection. On the farms he visited he saw often cuckoo chickens with clean white/pink legs. They were almost always hens, rarely a rooster. These chickens were outstanding layers of large sized eggs and according to Labbé it was worth trying to capture the traits of this variety. He finally found some cocks and began to breed and select; after a few generations already there was no more diversity in the offspring and both size and colour remained stable. The hens lay eggs 120/140 67/75 gram, no winter break. At four months time the pullets weighed 2.5kg while the adult males weighed up to 5 kg. (Author's Note: Today the weight is set on 3.5 kg). The meat was fine, delicate and particularly tender and white. At the exhibition, they did not score well because the jury wanted to see the same colour in both sexes, as in the Coucoo de Rennes (Rennes Cuckoo). However, in the Flemish Cuckoo this will never happen if one breeds the purebred chickens and does not outcross to other breeds. Moreover Labbé stated: "I think the Poule de Rennes has once upon a time been outcrossed to a black variety of a chicken breed, because some of their offspring are still black, which is never the case in the Flemish Cuckoo."

Thus, the ‘gray’ Flemish still occurred at farms in Northern France in 1891, while in Belgium (Flanders) the breed had been sacrificed to the creation of ‘The Malines’.

Left: Coucou de Rennes rooster in the Écomusée du pays de Rennes. Photo: Édouard Hue, Wikipedia.

The published letter from Labbé was replied by Dr. E. Rame, a breeder living close to Rennes who didn’t agree with Labbé’s point of view concerning the colour. According Ramme, the Flemish Cuckoo is a Poule de Rennes with a poor colour, due to wrong selection and ignorance of the breeder. Thus, the debate was opened. (Today we know through DNA analysis that the Poule de Rennes is actually another race and that Labbé was right.) Rame added that cuckoo chickens actually occur everywhere, such as in England, where they are called Scotch Grey. (Today we know that this breed has a Mediterranean origin.) According to C. Dacheville, the English Scotch Grey reflects the Flemish Cuckoo and the English would have taken the Flemish Cuckoo home with them during the 100 years war to create their version of it. No wonder that both have the same DNA pattern. (This is yet another version than the one that is talking about emigrating Flemings, and more credible, as the Scotch Grey already existed at the time of emigrating Flemings.)

Rame remain faithful to "his" breed for life, and also drafted the standard, to which the breed was recognized at March 31, 1914.

Labbé entered his birds in France for the first time in the exhibition of Quesnoy- sur-Deûle in 1880 and immediately received recognition.

In “Monografie des races de poules” by V. La Perre de Roo, 1892, page 33 (www.gallica.bnf.fr) the Flemish Cuckoo is described exactly as Labbé wrote, however, in this book they are called “Race de la Campine a crête simple” (Breed from the Campine region with single comb). La Perre de Roo wrote a few lines (page 233) on the Coucou de France (French Cuckoo) that was kept in another region of France than the Coucou de Rennes (Rennes Cuckoo) that was mainly kept in the region of Bretagne (Brittany).

Illustration ‘Coucou de Flandres, cock and hen, from the book “Toutes les Poules et leurs variétés” by Delamarre De Mouchaux.

He writes in great detail about the Asian varieties that then were new and obviously highly sought after, and further mentions the Coucou d'Ecosse (Scottish Cuckoo) - a chicken like the Dorking but with four toes instead of 5. About the ‘Coucou’ (page 33) he says: “This breed, one of the oldest in France, is widespread in Normandy, Belgium and England (Note: Is he here and now talking about the Flemish Cuckoo?) and is characterized by its white/pink legs and beak and cuckoo-coloured plumage. Unfortunately, there are only a few breeders interested in this breed. One distinguishes two types that differ from each other only by their comb shape”. (Note: a rose comb? This must be the Picardy cuckoo.)

If La Perre de Roo is right than it might well be that the Flemish Cuckoo originated from the ‘pencilled’ fowls (like the Campine) and thus has been seen for centuries as a local variety. Moreover, the Flemish Cuckoo was a simple farmer’s fowl, which were not that much interesting and certainly were not mentioned in old writings, and since it was named many different names, this makes the search for its origins beyond impossible. In 1858 a book is published by C. Jacque, (a graphic designer, passionate by poultry) titled “Le Poulailler”, in which we find on page 246 several lines on the Coucou de Rennes, also called Coucou de Bretagne, and on the Coucou de France - possibly the latter could be the Flemish Cuckoo? Both varieties have their use as a farm fowl, but it seems the author knows very little about them, or they do not deserve to waste many words on. He argues that these cuckoo chickens are not two different breeds but only varieties of the same breed. Furthermore, he does not give me much courage as he writes: “It is impossible to find the origin of these breeds”.

In “Toutes les Poules et leurs variétés” by Delamarre De Mouchaux, 1924, we find the Flemish Cuckoo in the section “Races a crête simple” (Breeds with single combs) on page 137 – 138. The author devoted two pages to the breed, of which one page constitutes the standard. All and all, he only manages to say that the Flemish Cuckoo is the basic form of the Malines and for that he refers to Mr. Vander Snickt. To give you an idea of the importance of this breed in the author's mind: his description of the Bresse chicken is about 30 pages. On the Rennes chicken, he manages to say: “These cuckoos are kept in Bretagne (Brittany), Normandy and Northern France under the names Coucou Picarde, Coucou de France, Coucou de Flandres and in England as the Scotch Grey, which is probably used to create the cuckoo variety of the Dorking”. He admits that the Flemish Cuckoo is closer to the original type.

Op 12/01/1896 appears an article in Chasse et Pêche titled “Les Volailles du Nord de la France”. The author M.P. Cailleret, a breeder living in Fontaine-au- Tertre, had published his findings in “La revue Agricole” in Paris. He says that we simply do not know what our farmers produce on their farms because that which does not end up on the Paris market (Rungis / Les Halles) is also not reflected in the statistics.

Above: Les Halles, Paris, late 19th century. A painting by Léon Augustin L’hermitte.

This is especially true for the north of France with the markets of Lille, Roubaix, Denain, Valenciennes etc. that handle everything that is produced in this area. To meet the demand, even foods from Belgium had to be imported. It seemed interesting to him in a certain moment to go against what one of his colleagues had said recently, that the most seen breed in northern France is the Ardennes. .... “I've just done a survey and it confirmed what I already knew about supplies to the local markets. The result is that the districts of Dunkirk, Lille and Hazebrouck are mainly populated by the ‘fat chicken of Flanders’, neighbour of the Malines, which we have already seen on the exhibitions. The same breed can also be found in the districts of Bethune and Saint Omer, in Le Pas de Calais. (Note: Is this the Flemish Cuckoo?)

For the rest, in the department du Nord, dominates a variety of the Campine, namely the Belgian , but a smaller version of it. They call it poule d'Hergnies. But more and more it is replaced by the Malines that are better suited to today's demand. For the remainder, in the Pas de Calais, Somme and Aisne, the ancient Picardy breed is found; rarely purebred but usually crossed with the Asian breeds or with the large French meat chicken breeds so that a type is created which resembles the Faverolles. Moreover, in the area along the border they have introduced many Italian chickens, especially in the eastern part of the North. Many complain about this experiment and now dispose of them.

Also the Gamefowl breeds you can find here and there, in isolated breeding groups, be- cause the character of this breed does not fit the farmyard. But on top of all this, and more and more, although rarely in pure form, the Malines cuckoo is gaining the upper hand”.

Left: Woman with a basket of chickens. Close-up taken from the painting Les Halles, Paris, by Léon Augustin L’hermitte.

The Flemish Cuckoo keeps on thriving in northern France, while in Belgium the breed is completely lost. On 06/27/1897, No. 39, p. 471 we see a call again for the restoration of the old type. In an article by Ch. Wendelen we read: “... On the other hand, we, the Belgian farmyard animals breeders, regret the corruption of the beautiful Malines breed that we show so proudly to foreigners. It is of course imperative at all times to be able to go back to crossings, but why don’t we use instead the one or other variety that was used to create the Malines? Why don’t we leave it to the fanciers who participate in exhibitions, to re-create the old Cuckoo with clean legs or in their absence, use the Cotte de Fer?” (Note: The Cotte de Fer is a very old breed that occurred in the land of Herve and actually a Cuckoo variety of the black Herve fowl.)

At the beginning of the twentieth century in France

It is now especially the newly introduced Asian varieties that dominate, also in Belgium, where the Malines has completely displaced the Flemish cuckoo. Labbé has moved to Tunisia and it is Detroy, together with Fontaine to take his place in the defence of this rustic breed.

Left: Alexandre Detroy, member of the Poultry Society of the North - Pas de Calais, accomplished that the breed was recognized and published in the Poultry Standard by the “Societé des Aviculteurs du Nord.”

Again in Chasse et Pêche, but now in 1911 (Chasse et Pêche. N° 7. / 11 October 1911. Page 146) an article was published by the hand of A. Detroy (photo on the left), as stated above, an ardent admirer of the breed: “.... It is this local breed that we should seek to preserve in its typical appearance, if we want a breed that is truly practical. That is to say, adapted to the climate, the soil, and a maximum output with a minimum of care giving ... ..From a practical point of view, no single breed can be better than the regional variety. So it is the regional variety that we should cultivate, select and improve because only this chicken can and will give a serious positive result...... But it is true that several breeds which at first sight look the same, occur in very different regions. This is the case with the Cuckoo, which has spread from Bretagne to the shores of the Rhine. We distinguish: the Rennes Cuckoo, the Picardy Cuckoo, the Flemish cuckoo and the Malines cuckoo. We know that the Flemish cuckoo is the ancestor of the Malines because this type already existed both in Belgium and northern France, and therefore must be considered as a breed with dual nationality. Imbued with these ideas, we, together with Mr. Labbé, have searched in French farmhouses for this breed, or what was left. After several years of hard work, our young friend Labbé left it to us to finish the work and today, after twenty years of selection, we have the pleasure to introduce to the Association of Poultry breeders of the North and the Association of Poultry breeders of Belgium, the Flemish Cuckoo breed in its perfected form”.

Above: Illustration from Chasse et Pêche. N° 24. 15 March 1913. Cock and hen ‘Coucou de Malines, type primitive’. This could be a pair of Flemish Cuckoo, seen the characteristic body type of the hen and the white ears of the cock.

Detroy and R. Fontaine together drafted the standard and presented it to the Société des Aviculteurs du Nord. In 1905, the standard is officially recognized. Detroy also continued pressing to make the breed a little lighter, so no more cocks of 5 kg. but only 3.5 kg maximum. This made the Flemish cuckoo a much more elegant and agile bird with a proud look.

Right: A cover of Chasse et Pêche, the weekly magazine from which the author quoted a lot.

On July 15, 1900, L. Van Der Snickt (1837-1911) responded to a question published in Chasse et Pêche, asked by Mr. Percy Percival, jury member of the Fat Poultry Show organized by the Smithfield Club: “... I have before me two drawings, one of a Flemish cuckoo, the other of a Malines. Could you please confirm that these are two different breeds, or that the difference between them only has to do with the fact that one has clean legs and the other feathered legs. The two appear identical to me except for this small difference. Based on the experience that I've developed by cultivating the Malines in England, I do regard both breeds as excellent. How unfortunate it is that they are not better known”. Answer by Van Der Snickt: “The Flemish is the ancestor of the Malines, like they were 50 years ago, before being enlarged by crossing with the Antwerp Brahma.”

Left: Louis Vander Snickt was the chief editor of the weekly magazine "Chasse et Pêche". He was the former manager of the zoological gardens of Ghent and Dusseldorf. He had ample experience in breeding and was an excellent observer.

Then Vander Snickt delineates the history of the Malines, which we already have ample discussed.

In that period, 1910-1920, the Flemish Cuckoo is seen more and more at the shows in both Northern France and in Belgium, of which is reported in several articles in Chasse et Pêche.

In No. 7 of 11/11/1911 Detroy publishes the standard of the Flemish cuckoo. He further states that when the French breeders from the North gave ‘their’ Cuckoo a place on their expositions, also the Belgians created a class for this breed, which they called ‘Malines a pattes lisses’. (clean- legged Malines).

“The Flemish cuckoo differs from the Scottish cuckoo and even his cousin the Rennes Cuckoo because the latter are luxurious chickens bred for exhibitions, while the Flemish chicken is satisfied with her role as a robust peasant fowl and at the service of the ones that feed her”.

On 02/15/1913 in n ° 20, p. 453, Detroy writes a letter addressed to judge Pulinckx who apparently had negative comments about the Flemish cuckoo chickens at an exhibition in Aalst, where he had dared to compare the breed with the horse of Roland, by saying: “They have all the qualities and only one fault, namely that of not to exist.”

Detroy argues for the Flemish cuckoo and refutes the negative comments of the judge.

Left: A mounted Flemish cuckoo hen. Photo courtesy of R. Adolphi.

In n° 24 van 15/03/1913, page 547 we find a report of an exhibition where the Flemish Cuckoos were assessed as follows: “ … we could only award the 2cnd prize to the chicken of Mr Nys from Appelterre, because the plumage wasn’t clear enough, further the bird in pen 645 had too much blending in the colour sections and pen 646 was simply a clean legged Malines. If we check this in the catalogue, we see that this bird comes from a breeder of Izegem Cuckoos, same as the chicken in pen 648 that we assessed “French type”, being too heavy. Mr. Nys, the only fancier who also exhibited hens, had a very good hen that we are happy to award a prize. In the large class of pullets is a very good bird, pen 654, owner Mr Matthijs from Appelterre. Unfortunately one earlobe showed quite some white. 2cnd prize was for Mr Ceuleneer from Aalst with a good bird, although a bit less typical in body type. 3rd prize again for Mr Nys with a good pullet, good earlobes, good comb, but feathering could be better and the beak was a bit too greyish. The Poule du Dendre (Dender Fowl) is on the right way and a positive press report will certainly help the breed.”

This is the first time that I see the name Poule du Dendre mentioned together with the Flemish Cuckoo. It is strange, as the Dender region was the region of the Braekel. I read it a second time in Le Monde Avicole, volume 28, July / August 1949, page 296 -297 in ‘boite à lettres’ (readers' letters). A certain O.D. from Ghent asked if they could get him the standard of the fowl of the Dender. The editor replied that they had passed on his question to R. Delin, who added two drawings to his answer, one of the cock and one of the hen, and responded as follows: “There has never been a standard for the fowl of the Dender because it is a variety of the Flemish cuckoo, that has adapted to the richer soils of the Dender valley. His appearance is situated in the area between Aalst - Geraardsbergen and Enghien and further on to the villages of South West Brabant as Tollembeek, Vollezele and Hérinne. They are kept free ranging around the farms and are bred without any selection. They are appreciated for their large white-pinkish eggs, their high fertility and white meat. The Dender fowl has approximately the same appearance as the Flemish cuckoo, except that it has significantly more volume”. This is a good explanation; the cuckoo chicken from the Dender region is a strain that is more robust than its original form, the Flemish cuckoo, because they thrive on a richer soil, comparable with the Campine and Braekel.

In 1924 Labbé writes one more time, which is published in Chasse et Pêche, 9/11/1924. Again it is about the ancient dilemma of the colour: “…Labbé sticks to his opinion that one should not change the colour of the Flemish cuckoo into that of the Rennes Cuckoo, for this can only be done by outcrossing, which will be disastrous for the qualities of the breed.” With the knowledge we have today we must say that Mr. Labbé was right from the start and that his proposals were not only realistic but even clairvoyant for his time.

In his letter from Tunis to Mr Pulinckx from October 16th 1924, Labbé wrote: “... In your article about the exhibition in Londerzeel, you raised the question about the colour of the Malines, more specific the difference in colour between the hen and the cock. May I hereby refer to a letter that I wrote in 1891 and which was published in this regard in Chasse et Pêche. Since the Flemish cuckoo is the ancestor of the Malines, it is logical that the colours are the same. Like the Flemish cuckoo, the cock is lighter coloured than ther hen, although I have tried many times to get darker cocks I never managed it, unless I would have outcrossed to a black chicken of another breed. It is worth noting that while my hens have always remained dark, never a black chick has been born. However it appears that at from other cuckoos regular black chicks born. Why ? Simply because they have used a Black to get the cocks dark and that trait is reappearing due to atavism. It is true that the breeders of the cuckoo Padua often obtain black hens and never black cocks. But isn’t it so that these cuckoos were once crossed with black Breda fowl or Crèvecoeurs? I have nothing to add to what I have already written ....”

Right: Flemish cuckoos at the author’s. Light coloured cocks and darker hens.

On 03.24.1925 in the magazine Chasse et Pêche a letter is included from Mr A. Detroy addressed to the then editor Mr Pulinckx. In addition to his advocacy for the local breeds, he also mentions that he and E. Labbé around that time at a meeting had decided to improve the cuckoo chicken that originated in their region and to name the breed ‘DE VLAANDERSE KOEKOEK’ (‘THE FLEMISH CUCKOO’). Now this is the first time we really read its name. No wonder that in the past we could never encounter the denomination and only found names like "the old Scotch Grey" or "the old type Malines."

You can read the final part in the February issue of 2016.

Sources

1. Issues Chasse et Pêche ( Library Ghent University and Albertina Brussel) from 1870 to 1940 2. www.la-basse-cour-du-nord.fr R. Adolphi 3. De agrarische depressie van het einde der XIXe eeuw en de politieke strijd om de boeren. J. Craeybeckx ( www.belgianhistory.be) 4. Monographie des races de poules Gallus domesticus V. La Perre de Roo – 1892 www.volkoomen.nl 5. Races de poules www.becsetplumes.wordpress.com 6. Les animaux de Basse Court, A.Larbalétrier- 1887 7. Guide pratique de l’education lucrative des poules, Mariot –Didieux - 1848 8. Elévage moderne des animaux de basse court, L. Brechemin – 1894 9. Le poulailler, monografie des poules indigènes et exotique – Ch. Jacque - 1863 10. Toutes les poules et leurs variétes -Le Compte Delamarre de Monchaux - 1924 11. How the chicken conquered the world - www.Smitsonianmag.com 12. Het Chaams hoen, Ad Taks www.walnoothoeven.nl 13. Standard breeds and varieties of chickens-U.S.Department of agriculture-1926 14. Het Belgisch vechthoen – G. Louette - http://luiksevechter.weebly.com/ 15. Biekorf jaargang 60 – www.dbnl.org/tekst 16. Les races de poules Belge – www.facmv.ulg.ac.be 17. La page archive de la Basse court du Nord – www.la-basse-court-du-nord.fr 18. La – R. Adolphi, in la basse court du nord 19. Lekker dier – R. Nouwen – www.robertnouwen.be 20. Houden van kippen – B Mombarg – books.google.be - 2000 21. De Kip, van orakelhoen tot productiekip – www.nederlandsehoenderclub.eu 22. Centrum voor Agrarische Geschiedenis (beeldbank) 23. Report on the poultry industry in Belgium – 1910 E. Brown 24. Races of domestic poultry – 1906 E. Arnold 25. Toerisme Vlaanderen – Algemene en politieke geschiedenis – J. Van Dooren – 26. The poultry book – 1867Tegetmeier 27. Notes on the history of Barred Breeds of Poultry - R. Pearl 28. The Fancier’s Journal - 1897 29. The Farm Poultry -1897 30. Animali da Cortile – 1904 F. Faelli 31. Wright’s book of Poultry - S.H. Lewer 32. The poultry industry in Belgium – 1910 E. Brown 33. Ornamental and Domestic Poultry:Their History and Management - E. S. Dixon 34. De Belgische hoenderkweker – 1902 J. Leherte- Courtin 35. Weekblad “ de boerderij” -1933 Uitgeverij Misset 36. Het Vlaamsch Neerhof – 1895 A. Van Speybrouck 37. Le livre d’or de l’agriculture belge – 1939 J. Vander Vaeren 39. Les races de poules par l’image – 1921 Pulinckx – Eeman 40. On the inheritance of the barred color pattern in poultry - R. Pearl & F.M. Surface 41. Vogelbuch – 1582 Gessner C. 42. Das Ganze der Federviehzucht – 1798 J. Gotthard 43. Review of the oldest evidence of domestic fowl in its European context – 2010 R. Kysely 44. Burnham’s new poultry book – 1877 G.P. Burnham 45. Genetics and evolution of the domestic fowl – 1991 L. Stevens 46. On the appearance of the domestic fowl In “ Historia naturalis bulgarica – Z. Boev 1995 – vol. 5 Pag. 37 47. The Henwife – 1862 F. Blair 48. Our Poultry and all about them – 1903 H. Weir

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