[7] An alternative history is that it originated in Germany in the area of Dielingen in Nordrhein-Westfalen, not far from the Dümmer See, where chickens with a black neck and tail and a white body occurred as sports of the local Westfälischer Totleger breed; these black-and-white birds were selectively bred by several breeders, and were first shown in 1835 by one named Wirz, from Haldem [de] in Stemwede.

[7][8] They came to be known as Lakenvelder, and enjoyed considerable popularity until the arrival in the later nineteenth century of more productive imported breeds such as the Leghorn, after which numbers declined rapidly.

[7] In Germany, a breeders' association, the Vereinigung der Lakenfelder Züchter, was formed in Hanover in 1907.

[5]: 159  In the United States, it was admitted to the Standard of Perfection of the American Poultry Association in 1939.

The black-and-white pattern is reminiscent of the colouring of the Lakenvelder breed of cattle, which originated in the same area.