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A very rare breed of chicken today, almost extinct, was bred on the border of Germany and the Netherlands. Lakenfelder is a breed of egg-laying chickens. She was once in demand for her productive qualities and unusual appearance. After the emergence of more productive industrial crosses, the demand for Lakenfelders from serious industrialists fell, and the number of these beautiful chickens began to decline. These days, only a few large farms are interested in preserving the breed as genetic material. Since it is difficult for private owners to get purebred chickens, the number of Lakenfelders in private farmsteads is small.
History of the breed
The first Lakenfelder chickens appeared in 1727. For a long time they “cooked” in the region of their origin. It was only in 1901 that the first individuals were brought to Great Britain. The breed standard was adopted only in 1939 by the American Poultry Association.
The name of the breed translates as “black on a white field”, which fully reflects the peculiarity of the color of this chicken.
There is a very interesting description of the origin chicken breed Lakenfelder. Legend claims that back in the 2nd millennium BC, a group of Indo-Aryan sages migrated from India to Mesopotamia, who became known as the “saints from the Brahmaputra River” - the Ah-Brahmans. Migrants brought with them the first domesticated chickens.Some of the Ah-Brahmans settled in the Palestinian city of Armageddon, where they continued to breed chickens, evaluating the offspring primarily by the crowing of roosters and the quality of eggs.
In the 1st year AD, a group of Jews from Tel Megiddo moved to the territory of modern Holland and Germany, bringing chickens with them. These chickens became the ancestors of the Lakenfelders.
Description
Lakenfelders are small egg-laying chickens. The description of Lakenfelder chickens states that by today's standards their egg production is low: 160-190 small eggs per year. The weight of one egg is 50 g. The advantage of Lakenfelder's products is their attractive porcelain-white shell.
The weight of laying hens is 1.5-1.8 kg, roosters up to 2.3 kg.
The photo shows that the Lakenfelder chicken breed has pronounced features of laying hens. The chicken has a small head with a red leaf-like crest. The earrings are small red. The lobes are white. A good rooster should have a very large comb and earrings. But the ridge should not fall to one side. The eyes are dark red. The beak is dark.
The neck is thin and long. The body is tightly knit and elongated. The housing is positioned horizontally. The back and loin are very long and level. The top line appears to be drawn along a ruler.
The wings are long, slightly lowered. Chest full, protruding forward. The abdomen is full and well developed.
The tail is bushy and set at an angle of 60°. The rooster's braids are long and curved. Decorative feathers completely cover the tail feathers.
Legs of medium length. Metatarsus unfeathered, dark gray in color.
The most common color is black and white. In the USA it is considered the only acceptable one.In other countries, other colors are possible, but only three options are “legalized”. The rest are still being worked on. To understand what representatives of this breed may look like, below are photos of all the colors of Lakenfelder chickens.
"Classic" black and white.
The head and neck are covered with black feathers without any admixture of foreign color. The tail should be the same color as the neck. On the lower back, black cover feathers alternate with white ones. Chickens have a white loin.
Silver.
The most common color in the USA. Closer to Colombian. It differs from the classic one by the presence of white feathers on the neck and white feathers covering the black tail feather.
Platinum.
In fact, a weakened version of the classic. In another breed this color would be called lavender. Blue feathers on the neck and tail replace the black ones that are present in the classic color. The pasterns of the Platinum Lakenfelder are lighter than those of black and white hens. The metatarsals are not dark gray, but the same smoky color as the feathers on the neck and tail.
Golden Lakenfelder
The bird is very beautifully colored, but the name is wrong. In fact, this is a German Vorwerk, to which the original Lakenfelder is directly related: one of the progenitors of the breed. But Vorwerk is a separate breed. The confusion arose due to similar color zones.
U Vorwerka, like the Lakenfelder, black neck and tail, but the body is a beautiful bright red color, really looking golden.
The verbal description of Vorwerk, and even the photo, are similar to Lakenfelder chickens. Only the color of the body gives Vorverkov away.
Breed Features
Chickens have a very active and cheerful disposition.They are easily tamed, which does not prevent them from creating problems for their owners, since sitting cooped up is not for these birds. The Lakenfelders successfully prove to owners that locking poor chickens in a cramped space is not in the owner's interests. Birds are excellent foragers and, at the first opportunity, fly out of the aviary in search of food in the garden. To keep them, you need not only a spacious enclosure, but also a closed one at the top.
The breed is able to withstand cold weather. Even very small chickens survive temperature changes well in the brooder. They thrive in conditions in which chickens of other breeds begin to get sick.
These chickens live for 7 years. They are able to produce the maximum number of eggs during the first 3 years. During this time, it is necessary to have time to raise young animals to replace the old herd. And do not forget about refreshing the blood, otherwise productivity will not only decrease, but the size of the bird will also decrease. They pause in egg laying for 2 months. This is the molting period.
Chickens are excellent brood hens and hens. They are able to hatch and raise chickens themselves.
The disadvantage is slow growth: chicks reach half their adult weight only by 3 months. The disadvantages include the difficulty of breeding purebred birds. This is not about the survival rate of the livestock, but about compliance of the color with the standard.
Breeding problems
Fans of exotic purebred chickens have made an unpleasant discovery: the West is reluctant to sell high-quality purebred animals to Eastern Europe. Motivation: you cannot save the breed. This is partly true, since due to the small number of rare exotic chickens, breeders are forced to mix breeds.
Problems with breeding Lakenfelders in Russia may be associated precisely with the sale of culls instead of elite birds.Because of this approach, Russians are at odds about when Lakenfelder chicks develop color: either in a month, or after the juvenile moult. Although professional Western breeders are also not free from certain problems: the color of Lakenfelders is established late. The photo shows day-old chicks of the Lakenfelder breed.
The chickens are “Western”, but at this point it is impossible to say exactly what color they will be. Culling of Lakenfelders intended for show is carried out after the juvenile molt.
Western breeders have already accumulated some experience that allows them to early determine what the color of future chickens will be. It may not be 100% guaranteed, but it does allow unwanted chicks to be culled at an early stage. The video shows how to determine the future color of chickens. The author of the video focuses on certain signs. Since additional pictures are given, the video is understandable even for those who do not know English.
problems with color and, possibly, with the purity of the breed are clearly visible in the photo of young Lakenfelder chickens.
But the quonka has a crest hanging from it. Perhaps this is not a purebred chicken, causing the chickens to be split in color.
In Russia, only a few farms breed this breed, so it is difficult to get eggs from purebred Lakenfelders.
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Conclusion
The Lakenfelder is a breed that was recently on the verge of extinction. Now interest in it is growing against the backdrop of a passion for rare exotic breeds. These chickens can be kept to decorate the yard, but you should not expect high egg production from them, regardless of the “official” egg direction.
