Vorwerk

Vorwerks are a dual-purpose chicken suitable for both meat and egg production. Created beginning 1900, when poultry breeder Oskar Vorwerk began to create a medium-sized, utilitarian chicken breed with the belted plumage pattern of the Lakenvelder breed. The key difference in appearance would be the Vorwerk's dark golden base colour, as apposed to the white of the Lakenvelder. Thus, his chicken is sometimes incorrectly called the "Golden Lakenvelder", especially in the USA. The Golden Lakenvelder, a plumage variety, is a separate breed from the Vorwerk. Breeds used to create the Vorwerk included the Lakenvelder, Buff Orpington, Buff Sussex and Andalusian. By 1913, the Vorwerk was standardised, however, it never really gained widespread use, and is rare or non-existent outside Continental Europe.

In 1966, a U.S. man named Wilmar Vorwerk of Minnesota, developed an interest in the breed, but found it had not been exported to USA. He decided to create a bantam version from scratch, using Lakenvelders, Buff and Blue Wyandottes, Black-tailed Buff and Buff Columbian Rosecombs. European fanciers have also independently miniaturized a bantam Vorwerk. Though the large fowl Vorwerk has never been accepted in the APA's Standard of Perfection, the American Bantam Association has recognized the U.S. version of the Vorwerk Bantam.


Vorwerk eggs


Vorwerk chicks


Vorwerk hen


Vorwerk rooster

For more information on this breed and their owners' and breeders' experiences with them, see our breed discussion here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-breed-focus-vorwerk.1118078/