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Vorwerk – a breed of chickens, bred in Germany at the very beginning of the twentieth century, is in no way connected with a well-known company that produces household appliances. Moreover, the firm has priority in the use of the name. But chickens were bred by poultry breeder Oskar Vorwerk, who gave the breed his last name.
In 1900 Oskar began to create a breed with zonal plumage, similar to the color of Lakenfelder. But if the Lakenfelder has a white body and a black neck and tail, then the Vorwerk has a golden body.
In the photo, Vorwerk chickens are stunningly beautiful.
In North America, this breed is erroneously referred to as the Golden Lakenfelder. In fact, the golden Lakenfelder does exist, but has nothing to do with Vorwerk.
In 1966, a miniature copy of a large Vorwerk was created from scratch in North America. Completely different breeds participated in the breeding of the bantam version.
Breeding large Vorwerks and bentham versions
The Vorwerk was registered as a breed in 1913. For its removal were used:
- Lakenfelder;
- Orpington;
- Sussex;
- Andalusian.
Vorwerk inherited specific color zones from Lakenfelder and Sussex.
In the appearance of a miniature copy participated:
- Lakenfelder;
- red and blue Wyandotte;
- black-tailed Colombian;
- Rosecomb.
The latter are true bantams.
But since European fanciers have miniaturized Vorwerks independently and independently of America, using other breeds, the standards of Bantams differ.
Description
From the description of the Forwerk chicken breed, it becomes clear that this bird is dual-purpose. Vorwerk was originally bred as a meat and egg breed. The weight of the large version is 2,5-3,2 kg in roosters and 2-2,5 kg in hens. Bantams Forwerk of the American spill weigh: 765 g of roosters and 650 g of hens. European Vorwerk bantams are heavier: 910 g of rooster and 680 g of chicken.
Forwerk chickens are distinguished by good health and high adaptability to external conditions. Because of their weight, they fly relatively poorly, which makes them easier to keep. But the concept of bad flyers is relative. Vorwerk can rise to a height of 2 meters. This must be taken into account when constructing an aviary. In addition, Vorwerks are economical in food.
Standard
Forwerk is a powerful, strongly built bird with a wide, small head relative to the body. The rooster has a well-developed large leaf-shaped crest of red color. 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 strong and long. The back and loin are very wide and even. Shoulders are broad and powerful. The wings are long, tightly pressed to the body. The tail is fluffy, set at an angle of 45 °. In a rooster, well-developed braids completely cover the tail. Chest deep, rounded, well muscled. The abdomen is well developed.
The legs are short with powerful muscular thighs and lower legs. Metatarsus slate blue. There are 4 toes on the foot. Skin color is grey.
Body color bright orange. There are black feathers on the head and neck. The tail is also black. In roosters, the golden color is more saturated. On the verge of transitioning to red-brown with a golden tint.
But due to the nature of inheritance, this is quite difficult to achieve.
Productivity
Vorwerk hens lay up to 170 cream-colored eggs per year. The eggs are small for chickens of this size: 50-55 g. Bantams, having, like the large version, a double direction, are also able to lay eggs. But miniature hens lay eggs in smaller numbers and less weight.
Forwerks are relatively late maturing. The description of Vorwerk chickens indicates that they begin laying eggs no earlier than 6 months. But at the same time, 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. It is easier to build a warm chicken coop. According to the descriptions, chickens of the Forwerk breed are friendly, calm, easily attached to people. With the right sex ratio, they don’t arrange fights among themselves.
But reviews about chickens Vorwerk are somewhat contradictory: “I have Goldline, two Jersey giants and Vorwerk. Our Vorwerk Helga is a wild chicken. I ran away a couple of times, it was very difficult to catch. She haunts our cats in the garden and all the wild birds that fly there. It lays beautiful eggs and is very beautiful in appearance. We are happy to have her.”
On the one hand, the picture of a monster looms, but on the other hand, the owner is glad that he has this breed.
Disadvantages
Despite the relatively small number of eggs, Vorwerk chickens are not prone to incubation. Therefore, chickens have to be hatched in an incubator.
This method is applicable now for those who do not have an incubator.
Another disadvantage is the slow feathering of chickens.
Breeding
Groups are formed from Forwerks for breeding: 8-9 hens per rooster. Requirements for a rooster should be stricter than for chickens. If the herd was bred at the same time, then it must be taken into account that the males of the birds mature later than the females. Therefore, the first eggs that Vorwerka hens 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.
Under the conditions of incubation and fertilized eggs, after 21 days, black chickens with yellow faces will appear from the eggs.
Growing up, chickens begin to change color. On the bottom photo is a chicken breed of chickens Vorverk at an older age.
The orange feathers on the wings have begun to grow.
Because of their slow feathering, 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 that, the chickens can be transferred to keeping in a chicken coop or aviary.
What to feed chickens
Vorwerk is a “natural” breed, bred at a time when compound feed was not yet widespread. To feed Forwerk 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 cottage cheese to chickens. But we must ensure that it is not from sour milk, but from fresh.
Like all chickens of meat and egg breeds, Vorverks 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 by adding a couple of tablespoons of calcium chloride per liter of milk.
Also, bone, meat-and-bone or fish meal should be added to the Forvercam feed. You can give fresh minced fish. If adult birds begin to peck at eggs, well-boiled chopped pork skin is added to their feed.
Forwerk chickens of all ages can be given greens from the garden and chopped vegetables and root crops. Chickens also need fodder chalk and shells.
Reviews
Conclusion
Photos and descriptions of the Forverk 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 Our Country, then she will most likely be assigned the role of a decorative chicken – decorating the yard. This is bad on the one hand, since the fashion for the breed will spoil the productivity and even the appearance of the Vorwerk. On the other hand, a large livestock is a guarantee that the breed will not disappear.