The Book of the Hamburgs / A Brief Treatise upon the Mating, Rearing and Management of the Different Varieties of Hamburgs

by L. Frank Baum

Bearing in mind, however, that Aldrovandus speaks of a fowl which strongly resembles the penciled variety as Gallina Turcica, it is possible that the Penciled was the original variety, and, as the name suggests, of Eastern origin.

These conjectures and hypotheses are perplexing and unsatisfactory, and are really of no practical value, being only of use in affording another instance of the fascinating problems which constantly present themselves to the poultry fancier of a philosophical and inquiring turn of mind. This much appears to be certain: that of all our many varieties of fancy fowls the Hamburg is by odds the oldest; indeed, Mr. Wingfield claims that old records show that fowls with all the Hamburg characteristics were bred in the yards of monasteries as early as the fourteenth century.

At the great Birmingham show the authorities there, recognizing the general resemblance between the Penciled, Spangled and Black varieties, and the inconvenience of their numerous and varied appellations, grouped them together under the general name of Hamburgs, by which they have been known since, fanciers accepting with alacrity a name which was at once convenient in classing the breeds and which brought the separated members of what was no doubt a distinct family together, as it is most certain they belong and should be arranged.

Many breeders who have no knowledge of the deliberations at Birmingham have been puzzled to guess why the name Hamburg should have been chosen to designate a family which was mainly English, but these “fathers of the fraternity” had too much business to transact to allow them to inquire very carefully into the early history of this fowl. The Rev. E. S. Dixon proposed “that as the penciled varieties were then imported by the Levant merchants from the port of Hamburg they should all take the general name of Hamburgs,” and, indeed, this term is as euphonious and convenient as any other could be.

CHARACTERISTICS OF HAMBURGS.

In usefulness and beauty the Hamburgs stand very prominently amongst that numerous collection of fowls which our broad nomenclature denominates “fancy poultry.” The plumage of every variety, either Penciled or Spangled, Silver, Golden or Black, is at once beautiful and striking, attracting the attention of strangers to the poultry yard or exhibition room when all other breeds have failed to interest them, and drawing from them involuntary tributes of admiration. And if they are so much admired by cold and superficial observers, surely the Hamburg fancier may be pardoned for his unbounded enthusiasm for his favorites when every season and nearly every day unfolds new beauties in his birds and renders them more fascinating and delightful to his eye. The exquisite symmetry, the novel and shapely rose combs, the snowy and delicate ear-lobes, the tapering blue legs and graceful carriage give them an aristocratic and “dressed up” appearance and render them the most beautiful of our domestic fowls.

The Hamburg fancier has plenty of scope in which to indulge his taste, the different colors and markings affording an ample variety from which to choose, while the general characteristics are the same.

“Hamburgs,” says Mr. Beldon in Lewis Wright’s poultry book, “are without doubt the most beautiful breed of poultry we possess, as well as the most useful, all varieties being alike elegant and beautiful. The dweller in the country will generally prefer the Silver, while the citizen will take the Golden or Black; but all of them, in their matchless variety of marking and color, will delight the eye with the utmost degree which is perhaps possible of beauty in fowls. Their marvelous beauty, however, would not recommend the Hamburgs to the practical breeder so much as their wonderful egg-producing qualities, which it has been claimed surpass those of any other breed. The wonderful stories told of Hamburg productiveness, while often more amusing than reliable, serve to show that in any hands, in any climate and under the most adverse circumstances they have proved very profitable to their owners, while with ordinary care they are the best of layers.”

The average Hamburg pullet will begin laying at four or five months of age, and will lay from 150 to 200 eggs the first year under favorable circumstances. The second and third years hens will average from 175 to 225 eggs when properly cared for, and from the third year their productiveness gradually declines, although one reliable breeder asserts that he once owned a Black Hamburg hen which at five years of age laid 220 eggs in ten months. A great deal depends upon the strain of birds and the care they receive, as if productive traits are cherished and carefully bred for, the number of eggs may be greatly increased, while neglect to properly cultivate this quality by careless and incompetent breeders will result in a marked decrease in productiveness.

The absence of the incubating instinct has much to do with the productiveness for which Hamburgs are noted, as no time is lost in sitting or brooding the chicks. Some breeders claim that Hamburgs never attempt to sit. This is incorrect. We have known cases, although we acknowledge they are rare, where Hamburg hens have hatched and reared goodly broods of chickens, in every case proving themselves steady sitters and excellent mothers; nor was there a particle of tainted blood in their veins, these being merely cases where that wonderful instinct which is common to nearly all fowls will “crop out” occasionally in every variety of non-sitting fowls. It is not necessarily due to a former cross, but may be occasioned by “reversion” to which we attribute everything that we do not understand in nature’s domain.