As a chicken, the Deathlayer seems to have it all: the coolest breed name in all of poultrydom, spectacular good looks, and a history in its native Germany that goes back more than 400 years. How did it merit being called a Deathlayer, a name that is metal to the core? There are two competing theories. A literal translation of its German name, Totleger, means “death layer.” One theory has it that the name was bestowed because the hens of this breed are so productive that they lay an egg each day until the day they die. The second theory – less sensational but probably more accurate -- is that the breed was first described by a different name in low German (Dauerleger or, literally, “day layer”), and over the centuries this name morphed into Totleger. Either way, what cannot be denied is that the Deathlayers do lay a large volume of medium-sized white eggs, and their remarkable appearance is like having visiting royalty in your chicken coop.

In 1904, a breeder’s association was founded in Germany to preserve the Deathlayers. Unfortunately, this breed reached its lowest population of only a couple hundred birds in the 1980s. It wasn’t until 1988 that we saw an upward trend in their population due to a newly formed board of directors of the Special Association of Westfälischen Totlegers. In 2005, a total count of 1,492 female and 343 male Deathlayer chickens were recorded in a German census. We hope that their utility value will be received enthusiastically by American fanciers so that, together, we can protect the rare and valuable features of this breed. 

Deathlayers are a phenomenally active, free-ranging breed and are sure to become a favorite with small-scale egg producers and backyard hobbyists. But, if aesthetics are driving your choice, it is hard to imagine a more beautiful rooster than the Deathlayer. With its tight cushion comb, iridescent greens and purples in its black feathers, luxuriant tail, and totally black doll eyes, the Deathlayer can easily compete among the most beautiful chickens on the planet.

A fully mature rooster will showcase a beautiful tail with long sickle feathers that often reach the ground. Their piercing dark eyes add to the Deathlayer’s striking beauty, giving it a bold and mesmerizing presence. Both the silver and gold varieties display a pencilled feather pattern, small comb, white earlobes, and gray legs. The breed is clean-legged. The hens will normally lay about 4 eggs per week on average which is about 200 to 250 medium-sized, white eggs per year. The hens will lay for a very long time, and hence their name, typically will lay up until they die.

The Deathlayer is a very flighty breed and doesn't do well in a small coop. You need a large run or the ability to free-range them. If you try to keep them in a small coop we think you will quickly realize that neither you nor the birds will be happy - as the birds will frequently fly up or frantically pace, most of the time with a lot of vocalizations. But you will find that if they have a lot of space you will both be much happier. The hens don't typically go broody so if you plan to hatch chicks, you will need to invest in an incubator.  We’ve found that a 1:10 rooster-to-hen ratio works well with the Deathlayer.

Both the silver and gold Deathlayers will have a pencilled pattern on both the roosters and hens. Birds should have grey legs clean of feathers, white earlobes and a cushion comb. They are typically between 5 to 6 pounds for the roosters and between 3 to 4 pounds for the hens. 

You can read more about the breed's characteristics by visiting this link, just a heads up you'll need to translate it to English. 

Westphalian Totleger: Profile & Breeding Information

We incubate at 99.5F and 55% humidity. The Deathlayer typically has outstanding viability and hatches extremely well. Most chicks hatch right at day 21 but we have seen a few chicks hatch a day or 2 late. So definitely plan to keep eggs in the hatcher an extra day or 2 just to make sure all of the chicks have time to hatch. We have noticed that our lines are producing chicks that grow into birds with light yellow coloring, this is pretty noticeable on hatch day. A typical silver chick has a lot of gray fluff and gold chicks have a lot of very dark red-brown fluff. Scroll to see the images on this page for an example of how both of the chicks should look. The chicks that grow to be light yellow or lemon tend to have yellow fluff on the silver chicks and light brown if hatching gold chicks. Also, inspect the chick's legs to ensure every chick is clean-legged. You will need to make culls if hatching eggs from this breed.

We’ve observed that some of our lines produce chicks with unusually light yellow or lemon coloring, which is noticeable even on hatch day. Typically, silver chicks have mostly gray down, while gold chicks are covered in deep red-brown fluff. You can scroll through the images on this page to see examples of how they should look. Chicks that appear light yellow or lemon often have yellow down on silver chicks or light brown down on gold chicks. Be sure to also inspect each chick’s legs to ensure they are clean-legged, as any chick with leg feathers should be excluded from breeding programs.

Both chicks and juveniles of this breed tend to be particularly delicate during the grow-out stage. We strongly recommend vaccinating any chicks you hatch against Marek’s disease, or, if ordering from us, choosing the vaccination option, since this breed is especially susceptible to the virus.

Import Notes

Greenfire Farms is proud to be the original importer of this breed into the United States. The breed comes in two color varieties, gold and silver, and we have imported both. Our silver line was first brought in in 2016, followed by the gold line in 2019. Each line was sourced directly from Germany, where this once-popular breed has seen its population decline over the centuries.