Hamburg (chicken)
Encyclopedia
The Hamburg or Hamburgh in Britain
, is a type of chicken developed in Germany and Holland prior to 1700. It is comparatively rare, with less than 1000 registered in North America
each year.
s and hens about 4 lb (2.25 and 1.75 kg) with slender legs and a neat rose comb. The bird comes in more than ten different varieties, including: Silver Spangled, Golden Spangled, Golden Penciled, Citrone Penciled, Silver Penciled, White, Black, and more recently-Citron Spangled in bantam form. Penciled breeds are smallest and self-colored birds are largest. There are also bantam Hamburgs, which weigh about 1.5 pounds. Hamburgs are hardy, active birds who are capable of flight and often jumpy around humans.
, author of the Oz
books. He began a monthly trade journal, Hamburgs, in 1880 and in 1886, published his first and only book on the subject, The Book of the Hamburgs: A Brief Treatise upon the Mating, Rearing, and Management of the Different Varieties of Hamburgs.
In Baum's third Oz book, Ozma of Oz
, he introduces Dorothy Gale
's chicken, Billina
. He must have drawn on his experience in breeding Hamburgs when creating her character, as she is appropriately spirited and active.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, is a type of chicken developed in Germany and Holland prior to 1700. It is comparatively rare, with less than 1000 registered in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
each year.
Appearance and behavior
It is a small breed—cocks tend to weigh only 5 poundPound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
s and hens about 4 lb (2.25 and 1.75 kg) with slender legs and a neat rose comb. The bird comes in more than ten different varieties, including: Silver Spangled, Golden Spangled, Golden Penciled, Citrone Penciled, Silver Penciled, White, Black, and more recently-Citron Spangled in bantam form. Penciled breeds are smallest and self-colored birds are largest. There are also bantam Hamburgs, which weigh about 1.5 pounds. Hamburgs are hardy, active birds who are capable of flight and often jumpy around humans.
Eggs
Hamburgs mature quickly and are considered good egg producers. Their eggs are rather small with white, glossy shells.Famous Hamburgs
Perhaps the most famous devotee of the Hamburg chicken was L. Frank BaumL. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
, author of the Oz
The Oz books
The Oz books form a book series that begins with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , and that relates the fictional history of the Land of Oz. Oz was created by author L. Frank Baum, who went on to write fourteen full-length Oz books, all of which are in the public domain in the United States...
books. He began a monthly trade journal, Hamburgs, in 1880 and in 1886, published his first and only book on the subject, The Book of the Hamburgs: A Brief Treatise upon the Mating, Rearing, and Management of the Different Varieties of Hamburgs.
In Baum's third Oz book, Ozma of Oz
Ozma of Oz
Ozma of Oz: A Record of Her Adventures with Dorothy Gale of Kansas, the Yellow Hen, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, Tiktok, the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger; Besides Other Good People too Numerous to Mention Faithfully Recorded Herein published on July 30, 1907, was the third book of L....
, he introduces Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...
's chicken, Billina
Billina
Billina is a character in the Oz books of L. Frank Baum.She is a yellow hen tossed overboard in a storm with Dorothy Gale in the novel Ozma of Oz, the third Oz book, and a sequel to L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
. He must have drawn on his experience in breeding Hamburgs when creating her character, as she is appropriately spirited and active.
Approximate Weight (metric)
| Cock | 1.8 - 2.3 kg |
| Hen | 1.8 kg |
| Cockerel | 2 kg |
| Pullet | 1.75 kg |
| Rooster | 680 - 790g |
| Hen | 620 - 740 g |