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Vorwerk, a breed of chicken bred in Germany at the very beginning of the twentieth century, is in no way connected with the famous company that produces household appliances. Moreover, the company has priority in the use of the name. But the chickens were bred by poultry breeder Oscar Vorwerk, who gave the breed his surname.
In 1900, Oscar began creating a breed with zoned plumage, similar to the Lakenfelder's pattern. But if the Lakenfelder has a white body and a black neck and tail, then the Vorwerk has a golden body.
In the photo, the Vorwerk chickens are stunningly beautiful.
In North America, this breed is erroneously called the Golden Lakenfelder. In fact, the golden Lakenfelder does exist, but has nothing to do with Vorwerk.
In 1966, a miniature copy of the large Vorwerk was created from scratch in North America. Completely different breeds were involved in developing the bantam version.
Breeding large Forwerks and bantam versions
The Vorwerk was registered as a breed in 1913. To remove it the following were used:
- Lakenfelder;
- Orpington;
- Sussex;
- Andalusian.
Vorwerk inherited specific color zones from Lakenfelder and Sussex.
The following people took part in the appearance of the miniature copy:
- Lakenfelder;
- red and blue Wyandottes;
- Colombian blacktails;
- Rosecombe.
The latter are true bantams.
But since European fanciers miniaturized Vorwerks independently and independently of America, using other breeds, the standards of bantams are different.
Description
From the description of the Vorwerk chicken breed, it becomes clear that this bird is dual-purpose. Vorwerk was originally bred as meat-egg breed. The large version weighs 2.5–3.2 kg for roosters and 2–2.5 kg for hens. Vorwerk bantams of the American draft weigh: 765 g for roosters and 650 g for hens. European Vorwerk bantams are heavier: 910 g for a rooster and 680 g for a chicken.
Vorwerk chickens are distinguished by good health and high adaptability to external conditions. Due to their weight, they fly relatively poorly, which makes them easier to maintain. But the concept of bad flyers is relative. The forwerk can rise to a height of 2 meters. This must be taken into account when constructing an enclosure. In addition, Vorwerks are economical in food.
Standard
The Vorwerk is a powerful, well-built bird with a wide, small head relative to the body. The rooster has a well-developed large leaf-shaped red comb. The chicken has a small pink comb. The face and earrings match the color of the comb. The lobes are white. Chickens may be bluish in color. The eyes are orange-red. The beak is dark.
The neck is powerful and long. The back and lower back are very wide and level. Shoulders are broad and powerful. The wings are long, tightly pressed to the body. The tail is bushy and set at an angle of 45°. The rooster has well-developed braids that completely cover the tail feathers. The chest is deep, round, well muscled. The abdomen is well developed.
The legs are short with powerful muscular thighs and lower legs. Hocks are slate blue.There are 4 toes on the foot. Skin color is gray.
The body color is bright orange. There are black feathers on the head and neck. The tail is also black. Roosters have a more intense golden color. On the verge of turning into red-brown with a golden tint.
But due to the specifics of inheritance, this is quite difficult to achieve.
Productivity
Vorwerk hens lay up to 170 eggs per year with cream-colored shells. The eggs are small for chickens of this size: 50-55 g. Bantams, having, like the large version, a double direction, are also capable of laying eggs. But miniature chickens lay eggs in smaller quantities and weigh less.
Forevers are relatively late ripening. The description of Vorwerk chickens indicates that they begin laying eggs no earlier than 6 months. But the growth of the bird does not stop. Both hens and roosters reach full size only after a year of life.
Advantages
Vorwerk is a fairly frost-resistant chicken. But it is not worth testing its resistance to cold in the northern regions. Easier to build warm chicken coop. According to the descriptions, Vorwerk chickens are friendly, calm, and easily become attached to people. When the sex ratio is correct, they do not fight among themselves.
But reviews of Vorwerk chickens are somewhat contradictory: “I have a Goldline, two Jersey giants and a Vorwerk. Our Vorwerk Helga is a wild chicken. I ran away a couple of times, it was very difficult to catch. She chases our cats in the garden and all the wild birds that fly there. She lays beautiful eggs and is very beautiful in appearance. We are happy to have her."
On the one hand, the picture of a monster emerges, but on the other hand, the owner is glad that he has this breed.
Flaws
Despite the relatively small number of eggs, Vorwerk chickens do not have a tendency to incubate. Therefore, chickens have to be hatched in an incubator.
This method is still applicable today for those who do not have an incubator.
Another drawback is the slow feathering of chickens.
Breeding
For breeding, groups are formed from Vorwerks: for one rooster there are 8-9 hens. The requirements for a rooster should be stricter than for chickens. If the flock was bred at the same time, then it must be taken into account that male birds mature later than females. Therefore, the first eggs that Vorwerk chickens lay will be unfertilized. During the first month from the start of laying, eggs can be safely collected for the table.
Only high-quality eggs without external defects are selected for incubation. Even if there is a “cosmetic” growth on the egg, such an egg cannot be placed in the incubator.
If the incubation conditions are met and the eggs are fertilized, the eggs will hatch into black chicks with yellow faces after 21 days.
As chickens grow older, they begin to change color. The bottom photo shows a Vorwerk chicken at an older age.
Orange feathers on the wings began to grow.
Due to their slow feathering rate, Vorwerk chicks need higher air temperatures longer than other breeds and stay longer in the brooder. As they mature, the temperature is reduced until it is the same as outside the brooder. After this, the chickens can be transferred to a chicken coop or aviary.
What to feed chickens
The Vorwerk is a “natural” breed, bred at a time when compound feed was not yet widespread.To feed Vorwerk chickens, you can use the same feed that has been used “from time immemorial”: boiled millet and chopped hard-boiled egg. It will be useful to give chickens cottage cheese. But you need to make sure that it is not made from sour milk, but from fresh milk.
Like all chickens of meat and egg breeds, Vorwerks grow quickly, reaching a weight of 800 g by a month. In order for the bones to keep up with the growth of muscle mass, it is better to make calcined cottage cheese, adding a couple of tablespoons of calcium chloride per liter of milk.
Vorwerks also need to add bone, meat and bone or fish meal to their food. You can give fresh minced fish. If adult birds begin to peck at eggs, well-cooked chopped pork skin is added to their feed.
Vorwerk chickens of all ages can be given greens from the garden and chopped vegetables and root vegetables. Chickens also need feed chalk and shell.
Reviews
Conclusion
Photos and descriptions of the Vorwerk chicken breed can charm any poultry farmer. But at the moment this chicken is considered very rare even in its homeland. If she appears and wins the hearts of poultry farmers in Russia, then she will most likely be assigned the role of a decorative chicken - a decoration for the yard. This is bad on the one hand, since fashion for the breed will ruin the productivity and even the appearance of Vorwerk. On the other hand, a large population is a guarantee that the breed will not disappear.
