Lakenvelder

The Lakenvelder or Lakenfelder is a breed of domestic chicken from the Nordrhein-Westfalen area of Germany and neighbouring areas of the Netherlands. It was first recorded in 1727. 

History

The origins of the Lakenvelder breed are ambiguous. Two different origin stories exist - the first is that it originated in Holland, where it first appears in writing in 1727; its name is possibly derived from that of a village called Lakerveld in the municipality of Zederik in South Holland. The second origin story is that it originated in Germany in an area called Dielingen, in Nordrhein-Westfahlen, not too far from the Dümmer See; chickens with a black neck and tail, and a white body were present in the sports of the local Westfälischer Totleger breed; these black and white birds were bred by a number of breeders and they were first shown in 1835 by a breeder named Wirz, who was from Haldem in Stemwede; they became known as the Lakenvelder and were very popular until they gave way in the later nineteenth century to new imported, productive breeds like the Leghorn, after which Lakenvelder numbers dropped.

In Germany a breed association, called the Vereinigung der Lakenfelder Züchter, was established in Hanover in 1907.

The Lakenvelder first arrived in Britain in 1901, and was shown at a show in Shrewsbury in 1902. In the United States, it was accepted to the Standard of Perfection of the American Poultry Association in 1939.

Characteristics

The head, neck hackle and tail of the Lakenvelder are solid black without spots, ticks or stripes; the underside of the wing primaries and secondaries, is also black. The rest of the bird is white with a slightly pale blue-grey under-colour. The black-and-white pattern is similar in colour to the Lakenvelder breed of cattle developed in the same area.

The eyes are bright chestnut or red in colour, the beak is dark horn, and the face, comb and wattles are bright red, with white earlobes. The legs are slate-blue.