Hamburg thread!

[chicken4prez]

Mine don't lay like, at all. But thats just mine… I think the last egg we got from them was in Jan

 

[moosehornstream]

Mine don't lay like, at all. But thats just mine… I think the last egg we got from them was in Jan

. How old are yours?

 

[chicken4prez]

I think a little over 2

 

[chicken4prez]

I think a little over 2

My mistake, I talked to my mom about their age and she said we actually had them for 5 years

So that make sense why they are not laying

 

[UrbanEnthusiast]

Apparently the guy who wrote Wizard of Oz was obsessed with Hamburgs. The first book he ever published was about breeding them. He claims black Hamburgs are the oldest variety and the best layers. Anybody got any? If so, where'd you get them? Here's the full text of the book. Love it! https://archive.org/stream/cu31924003117854/cu31924003117854_djvu.txt

 

[Alaskan]

I have read the book... Great book.


But I haven't seen any black Hamburgs. I bet they are fantastic looking.

 

[likkatron]

I just got my first Hamburg chick and 2 dominiques to add to my flock of 2 cockerels and 4 pullets! I will be getting rid of the brahma cockerel because as he's begun maturing (very slow breed to mature) I've noticed he's becoming mean, and he has bad qualities like split wing, etc. Keeping the other cockerel, a splash Marian, who is the sweetest gentleman ever! Only problem is, 4 pullets are not nearly enough for him, hoping for girls!
Anyways here's my Hamburg chick:

I'm glad they're fast maturing so I'll hopefully be able to sex it soon.
If it's a girl: Clementine "Little C"
If it's a boy: Spaz
I forgot to ask the breeder if the Hamburg's he bred were silver spangled or penciled, any guesses? She's only 6 days old.

 

[Alaskan]

I would guess spangled, just because it is most common... But I have no idea really.

 

[chicksurreal]

Hey folks! I've had chickens for several years but this will be my first year getting Hamburgs. I'll be getting Silver Spangled in May... I was wondering, I've heard they are decent layers, but could you give me an idea of HOW decent?

Thank you!

We've had our Hamburgs for going on three years now, got them from McMurray. They are good egg layers. Ours lay pretty much every other day, except when molting. The eggs start out small, but after the first year they are a decent size. You'll probably never get jumbo sized eggs out of them, but they're great quality, thick shells and a lovely pearly, off-white color. Even at three years old my girls are laying every other day consistently.

One thing to remember is that they are slow developers, so they won't start laying at 20 weeks or anything. Out of our 15 girls the earliest egg layer was at 26 weeks and the latest was at 30 weeks.

 

[UrbanEnthusiast]

We've had our Hamburgs for going on three years now, got them from McMurray. They are good egg layers. Ours lay pretty much every other day, except when molting. The eggs start out small, but after the first year they are a decent size. You'll probably never get jumbo sized eggs out of them, but they're great quality, thick shells and a lovely pearly, off-white color. Even at three years old my girls are laying every other day consistently.

One thing to remember is that they are slow developers, so they won't start laying at 20 weeks or anything. Out of our 15 girls the earliest egg layer was at 26 weeks and the latest was at 30 weeks.

This was a breed that used to be called the "Dutch Everyday Layer." I think the problem is, breeders/hatcheries are selecting for appearance above utility. May I ask what variety you got from MM? Did they lay a little more than that in their first year. or was it always pretty much every other day? I just got a Hamburg chick from a local breeder. It's a "blue Hamburg" so lord knows what's bred in there to get the blue color. Hope she has the flighty temperament and laying ability I seek!