Vorwerk
| Vorwerk | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Origin | Category | Egg Colour | Sitter |
| Germany | Softfeather Light | White to Tinted | No |
The Vorwerk is a breed that was named for its creator, Oscar Vorwerk. He was a German who wanted to create a buff-coloured, belted utility fowl. His goal was to create a utilitarian breed from the lakenvelder, but to change its white-silver plumage to buff to prevent the plumage from turning grey due to the coal mines present in the region at that time. Vorwerk utilised the Lakenvelder, Orpington, Andalusian and some others to create his ideal fowl. It was admitted to the German Standard of Perfection in 1919 but died out in the following years. After the second world war it was largely recreated and is now held in the flocks of passionate poultry fanciers around the world. Stock was imported into Australia from the United Kingdom by Avgen in the well-known importations that occurred from 2014 to 2016. It is a fast-growing and vigorous breed.
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
Carriage: Powerful, active and confident. Carriage low rather than high. Not too much bone, markings the same in both sexes, lively but not timid. Firm to handle.
Type: Broad and deep in body, of good size and having the shape of a rounded rectangle with slightly sloping back.
Wings: Carried close.
Tail: Medium sized and not entirely spread. Tail carriage a little low. Sickles of medium length and nicely curved.
Breast: Broad and deep, full and rounded.
Legs: Medium Length and fine bone.
Toes: Four, unfeathered, straight and strong.
Head: Moderate size and breadth. Face covered with small feathers. Eyes bright and alert.
Neck: Moderate Length with abundant hackle. Neck carried reasonably upright.
Comb: Medium Sizes single comb, upright. Four to six serrations. Wattles medium length and rounded.
Lobes: Note quite average size.
Plumage: Close and glossy.
COLOUR
Male
Deep Buff-coloured body with grey underfluff.
Black velvety coloured head, hackle and tail. Saddle feathers buff with light striping.
Wings: primaries dark grey to black; secondaries buff.
Legs and feet: Slate
Earlobes: White
Combs, Face & Wattles: Red
Eye: Orange to orange-red
Beak: greyish-blue to horn
Female
Black hackle with slight buff lacing permitted at the back of the head.
Body buff with grey underfluff.
Wings: primaries a mixture of greyish-black and buff. Secondaries buff.
Tail: Visible main tail black with furnishings partly laced with buff.
Earlobes: White
Legs and feet: Slate
Combs, Face & Wattles: Red
Eye: Orange to orange-red
Beak: Greyish-blue to horn
WEIGHTS
Standard
Ideal mass: Male: 2.5 to 3.2 kg; Female: 2 to 2.5kg
Diameter of leg rings: Cock: 20mm; Hen: 18mm
Bantam
Ideal mass: Male: 800 - 1000g Female: 700g
Hatching eggs: min. 35g, white to cream shell
Diameter of leg rings: Cock: 12mm; Hen: 10mm
DEFECTS
- Slight, thin or rangy body
- Overly high carriage
- High tail
- Hackles miscoloured - too buff or grey
- Saddle almost black in males
- In females no black in neck or tail or excessive spangling in body plumage
POINTS
SOURCES
- The complete Encyclopedia of Chickens by Ester Verhoff and Russ 2003 (2009 reprint) Rebo International b.v., Lisse Netherlands
- Avgen website: https://www.avgenpoultry.com.au Accessed 7 October 2019.
- French Wiki: https://fr-m-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/Vorwerk_(poule)?_x_tr_sl=fr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
- Lost Creek Hollow: http://www.lostcreekhollow.com/vorwerk.html
- British Poultry Standards