Breed Profile: Lakenvelder Chicken

These Beautiful and Hardy Black and White Chickens Are a Good Layer of Eggs

Breed Profile: Lakenvelder Chicken

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BREED SUMMARY: The Lakenvelder chicken is not only beautiful, a good layer, and a hardy heritage breed, but it is sadly “at risk” due to the popularity of modern hybrid breeds.

The Lakenvelder is named for its color pattern. In the Netherlands, a color pattern of a white trunk area with black extremities is known as Lakenvelder markings. It occurs in several domestic species, including cattle, pigs, guinea pigs, and rabbits. In English, we often refer to these markings as Dutch or Belted.

ORIGIN: Probably developed in both Germany and the Netherlands from related foundation stock. Both German and Dutch breeders have records that suggest the breed was developed in their respective countries. However, its early origins are unclear. Dutch and Belgian breeders believe that they’re descended from Jerusalem fowl, an ancient breed that arrived in Europe during the Roman era. While “Lakerveld” chickens were described in the Netherlands in 1727, German breeders claim they developed the breed in the 1800s from their local landrace and Silver Campines. They described their coloration as like a white sheet (Laken) on a black field (Feld).

The coloration was likely perfected in both countries, as there were various Silver Penciled breeds in this part of Europe, from which the belted pattern could have emerged through careful selection. Similarly, chickens (or their eggs) of similar genetic foundation may have traveled with migrants between the two countries.

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Lakenvelder chicken. Beautiful domestic rooster and hens in the yard. Photo credit: Ivan Radic from Flickr CC BY 2.0.

The History of the Lakenvelder Chicken

The first written account of black and white chickens is from a traveler who noted a lot of fowl raised around the Dutch hamlet of Lakerveld in 1727. The writer states that Lakerveld fowl were famous for their flavorful meat and eggs, and for their plumage, which was mostly white and black. Until this travelogue was quoted in an article in 1925, even Dutch breeders considered the breed to be German.

Development in Germany

In Germany, after the fall of Napoleon in 1815, serfdom was abolished, but farming families still lived in poverty. On a diet of mainly turnips, peas, lentils, black bread, and oatmeal, meat was only served on special occasions. To make meat more available, poultry breeders in Westphalia set out to improve the German landrace chicken by crossing with the Belgian Campine.

The description of the German landrace chicken by Dr. Blanke in 1908 reflects the conformation and habits of the modern Lakenvelder, including its active, wide-ranging nature, the slate-blue legs and beak, single comb, long shiny sickle feathers, and firm plumage. However, coloration was highly varied. Although not large in size, the meat was prized, and the bird’s foraging skills and hardiness were valued in the region’s harsh and changeable weather.

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Lakenvelders (front) with Amber Ramelsloher hen (back left) and White Ramelsoher rooster (back right). Painting by Jean Bungartz, 1885.

As well as refining the local landrace, Campine, and Westphalian Totlegers (aka Deathlayer) flocks, they discovered a sport of the Silver Penciled pattern where the head and tail remained black. Breeders then selected this line to reduce penciling in the body plumage to be as white as possible, while retaining the black head and tail. They achieved this by 1835.

Rediscovery in the Netherlands

When defining the list of native breeds in 1915, the Nederlandse Hoenderclub (NHC, the Dutch poultry club) referred to Van der Aa’s 1846 Aardrijkskundig Woordenboek (Geographical Dictionary), which states, “The Lakervelt hamlet is famous for its fowl.” The NHC wrote to the mayor of Lexmond and Lakerveld to enquire about the breed. The mayor replied that the breed was unknown, even among older residents. Thus, originally the NHC didn’t recognize the breed. However, in 1921 C. S. Th. Van Gink published his book of paintings De Hoenderrassen which helped to promote the breed in the Netherlands. Following the 1925 publication of the travelogue excerpt, the Dutch claimed it as their own.

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Painting by C. S. Th. Van Gink, c. 1920s.

Worldwide Status

After the 1830s, the breed became well-known in both countries and then spread to Britain and America at the turn of the century. The APA accepted the Lakenvelder standard in 1939. It remained popular in Europe until the 1970s when farmers converted to modern high-yielding breeds.

CONSERVATION STATUS: Threatened according to The Livestock Conservancy, and At Risk according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The FAO records 1,743 in Germany in 2022, 750 in the Netherlands in 2021, and 1,026 in the United States in 2015.

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Photo credit: fotomaster/Adobe Stock

Characteristics of the Lakenvelder Chicken

DESCRIPTION: Medium-sized birds with alert carriage, elongated bodies (held horizontally in the hen), round breasts, closely-held wings, tight-fitting soft plumage, and long full tails. They have deep red eyes, dark horn- to slate-colored beaks, and slate-colored shanks and toes.

VARIETIES AND COLORS: Silver is the only standard color pattern in most countries. The body plumage is white, although some birds still bear black flecks, especially in the young. The shoulders, chest, thighs, flanks, belly, back, and rump should be white with light blue-gray undercolor. The rooster’s saddle hackles have black shafts and white edging. The wings look white when closed, but the flight feathers bear black markings. The head, hackle, and tail are dark glossy black. Tail coverts and lower sickles may have white edging. The pattern doesn’t emerge fully until after the third molt, at around two years old.

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Lakenvelder rooster. Photo credit: Antje Lindert-Rottke/Adobe Stock

In the Netherlands, there’s a Blue variety, where black markings are replaced by a bright blue-gray.

The Vorwerk chicken is sometimes called a golden Lakenvelder but, in fact, it’s a different breed. Oscar Vorwerk based his breed on the Lakenvelder but crossed in several other breeds, including Buff Orpington, Buff Sussex, Andalusian, Amber Ramelsloher, and other German breeds, resulting in a larger chicken.

Bantam Lakenvelders were developed in the 1960s in Germany by crossing the Lakenvelder with Bantam Vorwerk, Light German Bantam, and Black German Bantam.

SKIN COLOR: White.

COMB: Single, red, and medium-sized.

POPULAR USE: Dual-purpose, although mainly for eggs in modern times.

EGG COLOR: White to tinted.

EGG SIZE: Small to medium.

WEIGHT: Adult hens 4 to 4½ lb pounds (1.8 to 2 kg); roosters 5 pounds (2.3 kg). Market weight is 3½ to 4 pounds (1.4 to 1.8 kg).

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Lakenvelder hen. Photo credit: Turgut Canbaş from Pixabay.

Reliant Qualities of the Lakenvelder Chicken

EGG PRODUCTION: Hens lay 150 to 200 eggs per year. Hens rarely go broody.

TEMPERAMENT: Active and alert, they thrive out at range and are distressed by confinement. They suit a self-sufficient lifestyle in a free-range setting. As they can be flighty, it’s recommended to gently habituate them to humans and other animals, by regularly attending to them from when they’re chicks. In a mixed flock, they may dominate more docile breeds.

ADAPTABILITY: As enthusiastic foragers on the lookout for predators, they’re well able to provide for themselves out at range with little extra feed. The original German chickens were well-suited to the cold, harsh, and changeable climate in Westphalia. The Dutch lines were also known for their hardiness. However, in recent times they’ve been reported to not like the cold, so draft-proof shelter is recommended.

BIODIVERSITY: A study* that compared traditional Dutch breeds found that Lakenvelder chickens were more distantly related to the other breeds. However, all the breeds showed the impact of historical inbreeding through backcrossing, which is used to define their traits. Together with the population bottlenecks that rare breeds suffer, genetic diversity within the breed can become dangerously limited. Breeders are encouraged to keep records of breeding partners or utilize genetic testing to minimize the detrimental effects of inbreeding.


Sources


Feature image: Year-old hens with rooster by Mrql/Adobe Stock

Originally published in the August/September 2024 issue of Backyard Poultry and regularly vetted for accuracy.

2 thoughts on “Breed Profile: Lakenvelder Chicken”
  1. Ordered Lakenvelder chicks because they are so pretty. Love them, great addition to my small flock. Mine aren’t flighty, they’ll sit on my knee.
    BTW, I have an 8 yr old Sexlink that still lays, on average 3 eggs a week!

  2. I have an adult Lakenvelder, and just got 3 baby Lakenvelders. They are gorgeous birds and mine isn’t real flighty, she comes to me and likes to hop on my lap and back. I recommend this breed if you want a beautiful addition to your flock.

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