Hamburg thread!

[chicksurreal]

I was really excited to learn that they're such good layers but my girl is now 25 weeks old and NOT ONE SINGLE EGG from her. I do let them free-range (although I've caught them twice now in my closest neighbors' yard. I immediately herd them home and close them back into the run. My neighbors don't seem to mind but I worry like crazy about pesticides and everyone around me seems to love them along with weed killers. UGH. Anyway, I've scoured the tree lines and gardens and shrubs and haven't found any hidden nesting areas. Finding alternative, more natural places to lay was one thing I read about them...which I do find endearing that they are still wild enough to prefer but not convenient for we caretakers. What's the average age your pullets start laying?

I used to raise ducks in addition to chickens and I love how chivalrous the male birds are of all types can be. Each drake had his mate and they would team up when keeping watch...one would take the first shift while the other grazed with the girls and then they'd switch. It was a beautiful sight. My first rooster was very quiet and respectful of all creatures but he died fighting for his ladies.We were all heartbroken when we lost him. I don't mind the stand-offish personalities of the Hamburgs...It makes for much harder targets to predators than so many other breeds. It's no surprise that they get loud when laying...from what I understand, their eggs can be quite large in relation to their size. I don't envy them!!

I'm not in town either but also not currently set up for an additional breeding flock. I had only two hens for about a year and a half before I finally upgraded coops and added 5 more to the flock, one of which is a cockerel hatched from one of my hens; we tried a roo early on this year and he didn't work out (he had my hens so stressed they stopped laying and he was constantly chasing them out into the road to keep them away from me but they were hand-raised and wanted no part of being kept away from us). The first egg we got after rehoming him we hatched in my son's kindergarten class so he has a special place with us and will hopefully remain with us for the long haul. I'm happy with our flock of 7 which is more than enough to provide eggs for my family but I added as many as I did so I could share with neighbors. Although, being at my personal limit to the number in my flock hasn't stopped me from looking into other breeds I'd like to get into once my two oldest have lived out their lives and bid us farewell.

How long have you been raising Hamburgs and what variety/varieties do you keep?

The first egg from one of our Hamburg pullets was laid when she was 26 weeks old and the others followed within a week or so for the most part. The last girl laid her first egg at 29 weeks. So, it seems like your girl is right on schedule!

At first, their eggs were smallish, which I was glad about. I didn't want any eggs getting stuck. But over time, they've gotten larger. This flock will be a year old in a couple of weeks, it was our first attempt at chicken raising, so the Hamburgs have provided the bulk of our experience, we also have a Cockoo Marans roo right now that has to be kept separate from our other flock because he's HUGE, he would accidently hurt our girls since they are pretty small. And we did have a Blue Andalusian roo as well, but a bobcat got him. :-(.

We are scheduled to get 26 chicks on the 27th of this month, we're getting a mix of Dark Cornish, Blue Andalusian, Leghorns, Columbian Wyandotts, Australorps and Delawares. Our Cuckoo Marans roo needs some friends.

He was a rescue that was malnourished and had a severe infestation of lice, so he's been healing and getting stronger, by the time he's ready to integrate into a flock again, the new girls should be big enough to hang out with him.

 

[islandgirl82]

The first egg from one of our Hamburg pullets was laid when she was 26 weeks old and the others followed within a week or so for the most part. The last girl laid her first egg at 29 weeks. So, it seems like your girl is right on schedule!

At first, their eggs were smallish, which I was glad about. I didn't want any eggs getting stuck. But over time, they've gotten larger. This flock will be a year old in a couple of weeks, it was our first attempt at chicken raising, so the Hamburgs have provided the bulk of our experience, we also have a Cockoo Marans roo right now that has to be kept separate from our other flock because he's HUGE, he would accidently hurt our girls since they are pretty small. And we did have a Blue Andalusian roo as well, but a bobcat got him. :-(.

We are scheduled to get 26 chicks on the 27th of this month, we're getting a mix of Dark Cornish, Blue Andalusian, Leghorns, Columbian Wyandotts, Australorps and Delawares. Our Cuckoo Marans roo needs some friends.

He was a rescue that was malnourished and had a severe infestation of lice, so he's been healing and getting stronger, by the time he's ready to integrate into a flock again, the new girls should be big enough to hang out with him.

Wow, you picked a tough breed to start with (IMHO). You'll be surprised at how different the dispositions of some of the new breeds you'll be adding are. When I picked up my three pullets, all the way home I kept thinking I'd read something about these "mysterious hamburgs" but couldn't remember what it was so as soon as I got home and got them settled, I googled the breed again and one of the reviews from BYC came up where they're described as being as "crazy as a bag of wet cats". That's what I had remembered reading months earlier when I had first decided to add a few more to my flock and had decided against getting them. I'm SO glad I didn't remember which breed that review was about when I picked up my girls and chose to get one but I made sure my children and I spent as much time as possible handling all three of them (they'd never been handled before the day I picked them up) but her in particular.

As for your Maran roo being integrated in with them...I wouldn't underestimate them. Until my two youngest chicks were introduced to the whole flock without barriers, Amelia was my smallest and was the targeted by my second hen but that didn't last long. Being so much smaller and quicker that a Silver Laced Wyandotte, she was able to get away quite easily but then as she became more confident she started standing up for herself and now doesn't put up with anything from anyone now. I was worried about her when I initially put them all in together because she had such a disadvantage when it came to her size but I soon realized I was worrying for nothing. After seeing how feisty they can be, I'd be more concerned about your Maran given that ratio! LOL but I'm glad your roo will be getting some friends and that you're taking the time to help him recover.

Thank you for the laying timeframe. It's so hard to be patient! So, how small is small when it comes to these eggs? My EE's have both just started laying and one lays double eggs every other day...every time one is about the size of a golf ball and the other is the size of a large grape. I just don't want to be overlooking Amelia's first eggs.

 

[chicksurreal]

Wow, you picked a tough breed to start with (IMHO). You'll be surprised at how different the dispositions of some of the new breeds you'll be adding are. When I picked up my three pullets, all the way home I kept thinking I'd read something about these "mysterious hamburgs" but couldn't remember what it was so as soon as I got home and got them settled, I googled the breed again and one of the reviews from BYC came up where they're described as being as "crazy as a bag of wet cats". That's what I had remembered reading months earlier when I had first decided to add a few more to my flock and had decided against getting them. I'm SO glad I didn't remember which breed that review was about when I picked up my girls and chose to get one but I made sure my children and I spent as much time as possible handling all three of them (they'd never been handled before the day I picked them up) but her in particular.

As for your Maran roo being integrated in with them...I wouldn't underestimate them. Until my two youngest chicks were introduced to the whole flock without barriers, Amelia was my smallest and was the targeted by my second hen but that didn't last long. Being so much smaller and quicker that a Silver Laced Wyandotte, she was able to get away quite easily but then as she became more confident she started standing up for herself and now doesn't put up with anything from anyone now. I was worried about her when I initially put them all in together because she had such a disadvantage when it came to her size but I soon realized I was worrying for nothing. After seeing how feisty they can be, I'd be more concerned about your Maran given that ratio! LOL but I'm glad your roo will be getting some friends and that you're taking the time to help him recover.

Thank you for the laying timeframe. It's so hard to be patient! So, how small is small when it comes to these eggs? My EE's have both just started laying and one lays double eggs every other day...every time one is about the size of a golf ball and the other is the size of a large grape. I just don't want to be overlooking Amelia's first eggs.

The first egg (and the smallest) weighed way under an ounce. Now, they average about 1.5-1.8 ounces. They've just gradually gotten larger over time. They aren't huge, but a nice size. Most of them are a very light cream color, but one girl lays a pale brown egg. It's funny.

So, they are still smallish eggs, but not super small. We also had a girl lay a grape sized egg, I broke it open and it was perfectly formed with a tiny yolk and everything.

We have spent many, many hours handling our Hamburgs, holding them every day when they were chicks, feeding them out of our hand and we hang out with them every day now, they're still flighty and, yes, a little crazy! Lol! But I love them, their personalities fit here very well, they're great foragers and can fly pretty well, so they can get away from predators more easily. And, yes, the girls are very feisty. Hephaestus (the roo) has his hands full trying to keep them in line.

My only concern with the Marans roo is that he is SO big (the top of his comb comes almost to my hip), if he tried to cover one of the girls he could injure her just by sheer size. That's actually why the woman we took him from was getting rid of him, she had a hen that got her wing injured from him just being so large. She was going to turn him out in the wilderness!

He's a real sweetie, I don't think he would ever hurt a girl intentionally. He might fight with our Hamburg roo who is used to being in charge though. We just thought it would be better to get him his own flock with hens that are quite a bit larger than our Hamburgs. The smallest girl only weighs about 3 pounds and he weighs over 10. I just want to avoid any potential problems with that scenario.

I'm very interested to see the difference in temperament and personality from some of the different breeds we're getting, I've heard that Hamburgs are a little more difficult in that area, Lol. Someone told me I was crazy when I said we were getting a whole flock of them. I'm really glad we did though, I love them!

 

[islandgirl82]

The first egg (and the smallest) weighed way under an ounce. Now, they average about 1.5-1.8 ounces. They've just gradually gotten larger over time. They aren't huge, but a nice size. Most of them are a very light cream color, but one girl lays a pale brown egg. It's funny.

So, they are still smallish eggs, but not super small. We also had a girl lay a grape sized egg, I broke it open and it was perfectly formed with a tiny yolk and everything.

We have spent many, many hours handling our Hamburgs, holding them every day when they were chicks, feeding them out of our hand and we hang out with them every day now, they're still flighty and, yes, a little crazy! Lol! But I love them, their personalities fit here very well, they're great foragers and can fly pretty well, so they can get away from predators more easily. And, yes, the girls are very feisty. Hephaestus (the roo) has his hands full trying to keep them in line.

My only concern with the Marans roo is that he is SO big (the top of his comb comes almost to my hip), if he tried to cover one of the girls he could injure her just by sheer size. That's actually why the woman we took him from was getting rid of him, she had a hen that got her wing injured from him just being so large. She was going to turn him out in the wilderness!

He's a real sweetie, I don't think he would ever hurt a girl intentionally. He might fight with our Hamburg roo who is used to being in charge though. We just thought it would be better to get him his own flock with hens that are quite a bit larger than our Hamburgs. The smallest girl only weighs about 3 pounds and he weighs over 10. I just want to avoid any potential problems with that scenario.

I'm very interested to see the difference in temperament and personality from some of the different breeds we're getting, I've heard that Hamburgs are a little more difficult in that area, Lol. Someone told me I was crazy when I said we were getting a whole flock of them. I'm really glad we did though, I love them!

My EE's have just started laying and they've each had a few tiny eggs that are also perfectly formed...just miniature. I love it. I've just been concerned that I won't see her eggs with light having read in multiple sources that they prefer not to use the nesting boxes and lay in hidden places. Have you found that to be true? I also have mushrooms that grow around the property some of which look like small eggs and I don't want my children who know enough not to touch the mushrooms but they could end up mistaking them for her eggs thinking that she's laying all over the place. (We didn't have any white/off white layers until she joined the flock so it hadn't been a concern).

The maran's size is certainly a valid concern...I just meant that Hamburgs don't seem to put up with anyone's shenanigans lol. I don't think I'll ever understand why people just let their pets loose. Out of sight out of mind is not a solution. I'm glad he has you.

 

[chicksurreal]

My EE's have just started laying and they've each had a few tiny eggs that are also perfectly formed...just miniature. I love it. I've just been concerned that I won't see her eggs with light having read in multiple sources that they prefer not to use the nesting boxes and lay in hidden places. Have you found that to be true? I also have mushrooms that grow around the property some of which look like small eggs and I don't want my children who know enough not to touch the mushrooms but they could end up mistaking them for her eggs thinking that she's laying all over the place. (We didn't have any white/off white layers until she joined the flock so it hadn't been a concern).

The maran's size is certainly a valid concern...I just meant that Hamburgs don't seem to put up with anyone's shenanigans lol. I don't think I'll ever understand why people just let their pets loose. Out of sight out of mind is not a solution. I'm glad he has you.

They LOVE to lay in hidden places.

We have found eggs in hollowed out trees, down in the creek, behind a refrigerator we have outside and several other places. They will lay in their nesting boxes too, but if they find a really good spot while free-ranging they will lay there. We found over 30 eggs in a hollowed out tree, they'd been sneaking in there for a while. It's cute, because once you find their hiding spot, they'll go find another one.

The girls really don't put up with much, they will slap Hephaestus with a wing if he gets cheeky. He's very respectful... Lol!

 

[HundredAcreWood]

Sorry for the off topic post, but I ordered a few golden spangled hamburg hatching eggs about 3 weeks ago and unfortunately only one is looking like it might hatch. I am not eligible yet to post on the sales part of the forum since I mostly use this forum as a reference, so I thought I might check to see if anyone here is still selling chicks or knows of anyone still selling them. I live in SW Virginia and would be willing to drive a few hours to pick them up or preferably, recieve them by mail. I have tried contacting a few people but have either not gotten a reply or been told they are sold out for the season. I understand that it is quite late in the season, but I thought it couldn't hurt to try. Thank you for your help!!

 

[Alaskan]

Unfortunately, hamburgs are pretty rare. Do any of the hatcheries carry that color? That might be your only option.

I bought my golden spangked from Cackle.

 

[HundredAcreWood]

Thanks for the reply! I know they are pretty rare. All of the hatcheries that I could find that do carry Hamburgs are either sold out or closed down for the season. I think I'll just end up trying to find him/her a local buddy and try again next season for more Hamburgs, but I just thought it couldn't hurt to check with one more group =].

 

[Alaskan]

Thanks for the reply!  I know they are pretty rare.  All of the hatcheries that I could find that do carry Hamburgs are either sold out or closed down for the season.  I think I'll just end up trying to find him/her a local buddy and try again next season for more Hamburgs, but I just thought it couldn't hurt to check with one more group =].

Yep, no problem!

 

[islandgirl82]

Amelia's about 26 weeks now and to me she's getting lovelier by the day. Her comb has plumped up and darkened quite a bit during this last week but she's not showing any other signs of laying though I'm growing increasingly suspicious that she may be hiding them. She spends a lot of her free-ranging time chasing squirrels away from the wild bird feeder; she's saving me A TON of sunflower seeds! The feeder hangs from my front porch and she hides underneath it waiting for the squirrels to get close then darts out at them. I love it but if that's where she chooses to lay...I'll never be able to get the eggs :/