Part 4
“I have been so disgusted with the doings of the _Standard_ committee on the points of fowls that I have determined never again to take any part in its discussions, or show a bird in its exhibitions, although I still keep and breed the White Hamburg with _white legs and beak_, which marks truly belong to them, as they did when I first knew them, in 1870.
“I obtained my original birds from a gentleman who bought them in New York—descendants from imported stock, I was informed. They were then, and still are, _true_ Hamburgs in style and form, non-sitters, and nearly constant layers; hardy in temperament, and, in short, very satisfactory birds. They were successfully shown in several of our poultry shows in Buffalo, and won prizes, the white legs and beaks being entirely satisfactory to judges and the society.
“But when the American Poultry Association undertook to make a _Standard_ of points for the various varieties of fowls, some of the pretended ‘professionals’ introduced various innovations, and among them accorded the _blue_ leg and beak to the White Hamburg, which was adopted. Consequently, at the next show at Buffalo, my birds were ruled out under the new _blue-leg_ regulation. The _Standard_ committee had a full meeting during the show, and I went before them and showed the absurdity of the new rule, and the committee decided to reverse the late action and return the points of _white_ legs to the White Hamburgs. It has since, however, been changed several times.”
Mr. Allen seems to have no doubt but that the _white_ leg is entirely proper, and he shows himself to feel injured by the constant changes made in the _Standard_; and indeed it has greatly injured the variety, simply because breeders never could tell how to breed their birds so that they would not be disqualified at the next season’s shows. That the point between the two colors is a fine one is proved by the indecision of the _Standard_ committee.
Through all the changes the Rev. C. W. Bolton has stood as firmly by the blue legs as Mr. Allen has by the white ones, and his faith in their propriety has never wavered. Mr. Bolton is one of our most prominent Hamburg men, and has proved his skill as a breeder in showing some excellent stock of the several varieties. He writes us:
“I know perfectly well that my White Hamburgs are _pure_ Hamburgs in every respect. I have bred them myself from the Silver-Penciled Hamburgs, with _blue_ legs, and all the characteristics of their predecessors. For ten years I have never had a chick with legs of any other color than blue, which shows that the _blue_ leg is a firmly fixed characteristic, and properly belongs there.”
Why should other varieties of Hamburgs have a blue leg and the White Hamburg a white leg? The blue leg is a distinct Hamburg characteristic.
We believe that when our final and unalterable _Standard_ is made, the White Hamburgs will be credited with _blue_ legs.
_Points in Breeding._—The rule in mating White Hamburgs should be simply to procure the birds which possess the finest combs, ear-lobes and face, pure white plumage and blue legs. Guard against heavy, blocky forms and coarse combs, and pay less attention to size than to proper symmetry.
CARE OF YOUNG CHICKS.
As so few breeders seem to have any clearly-defined ideas as to the proper mode of caring for newly-hatched or growing chicks, and beginners are not only wholly at sea in this respect, but have no place to which they may turn and acquire the information that they have not yet been able to gain through experience (which is by odds the best teacher, as we are seldom able to profit by the experience of others), we have thought best to prepare a few distinct and common-sense instructions, which we have endeavored to render as full and explicit as possible, without being so tedious or complicated as to mislead in any way the novice.
To start with, there is one essential point in raising these delicate little creatures—_care_. Give them plenty of care, and they will thrive—_proper_ care, we mean. There are three primary things to be guarded against in caring for very young chickens:
1. Chilling. 2. Vermin. 3. Indigestible food.
For the first week, perhaps, nearly every old hen is faithful to her little brood, and guards them with that maternal tenderness for which she has been made the symbol of motherly love. But this care soon wearies her, and in a few days she begins to neglect them, marching around in the chill and drenching rains of spring, and dragging her little brood after her through the damp grass, entirely oblivious of their sufferings; and one by one they drop off and are left behind, chilled through, or seized with cramp. Only the most persevering are able to keep up, until, perhaps seized with a pang of remorse, she spreads her wings and allows the little ones to find a temporary shelter beneath her warm feathers. Even the strongest often succumb to rheumatism and die after this dangerous exposure. This picture is not overdrawn; it is of common occurrence. A proper coop, therefore, for the hen and chicks, as soon as they are able to leave the nest is, and always will be, regarded as a necessity.
Vermin is the second evil to be guarded against. Examine the chicks carefully when first hatched, and should you find any lice on either them or the hen, let your first move be to rid them of these pests, which will else surely prove fatal to the young birds. Procure some Dalmatian or Persian Insect Powder, and dust them thoroughly with it until their tormentors are exterminated. And here let us recommend _cleanliness_ in everything. The tender chicks cannot live in filth, which breeds disease more rapidly than anything else. Keep your coops clean, your houses clean, and your runs clean. It is a very important element of success—indispensable, in fact.
On the _food_ depends in a great measure the growth and health of the chicks. _Indigestible_ food avoid by all means. By indigestible we mean sloppy and dirty food, and that which is sour. The best feed at first is pure, sweet bread and milk, and hard-boiled eggs and bread crumbs mixed together and crumbled with the fingers. Let them always have access to plenty of pure water. Any form of grain is good for them as soon as they will eat it, and after they are a few days old they will thrive on cracked corn and oatmeal. As they get older whole wheat is an excellent growing food. Green stuff they should have constantly after they are a week old, and if it is too early in the season to give them grass, feed a little lettuce, clipped fine with scissors, at least once a day. At ten days of age they are ready to thrive on whole wheat as they will on nothing else. Give them plenty of bone now, and never let your efforts flag to _keep them growing_. When the chicks are fully feathered the many dangers which constantly beset the lives of the youngsters are usually safely passed, and, barring all accidents, it is pretty safe to suppose that they will now pull through.
Nine out of every ten breeders then breathe a sigh of relief, and settle down to a quiet summer, or leave home. The tenth breeder is sharper. He not only stays at home, but he redoubles his attentions to his young flock. He realizes that _now_ is the time when these future prize winners demand all the care which he can bestow to _keep them growing_ finely. And he is right. It won’t do to slack up now. They need a different kind of care. From endeavoring to keep the breath of life in the little things, he changes his attention to a system of judicious feeding, calculated to keep them growing rapidly during the propitious summer weather. Alas, for the chick whom the cold weather catches half-developed and half-feathered! August, September and October are the finest growing months in the year, and those chicks which now have a good start, if properly cared for and judiciously forced, will be the ones to make a fine showing at the next winter’s exhibitions. In growing they need plenty of bone meal and oyster shells, and an occasional supply of fresh meat, if worms are not plentiful. Do not force them too much, as in Hamburgs it induces the comb to lop and grow to an undesirable size. Again let us recommend plenty of pure, cool water, and vegetable food in quantity. Little attentions are never thrown away, but will be amply repaid in time in a vigorous, large and healthy flock of fowls.
PREPARING HAMBURGS FOR EXHIBITION.
Condition means everything in showing Hamburgs, and without it many a fine bird comes home from a show minus a prize that could easily have been won had its owner known how to properly fit it for exhibition. By “fitting it” we do not refer to the unscrupulous tricks resorted to by unprincipled scoundrels who _mutilate_ and torture their birds to bring them within the requirements of the _Standard_, but to the legitimate preparation to which it is not only allowable to subject a bird, but without which it is really a pity to send a good bird to the show room. We are not going to recommend any practices which may not be fully known and approved of by any judge, so that any exhibitor may have no hesitation in following our instructions. For at least three weeks before the exhibition all varieties of Hamburgs should be confined in a darkened coop—not too dark, but with just light enough to enable them to see to eat. We recommend this for the following reasons:
1. It serves to whiten in an astonishing degree the ear-lobe. We have often seen a bird which, when placed in the darkened coop, had ear-lobes discolored by exposure to the weather, come out at the end of three weeks with pure milky-white ear-lobes _throughout_. During this confinement the ear-lobes should be washed each day with sweet milk, applied with a sponge.
2. This confinement is of great value in promoting a rich luster to the plumage, making each color stand out distinctly, and giving the feathers that glossy appearance so much desired. This matter of plumage is one of primary importance. In Black Hamburgs the greenish gloss should be brought out as much as possible, and in order to do this confinement in darkened quarters is necessary. After they (the Blacks we are now referring to) have been confined until about a week previous to the show, they should be taken from the coop, and their feathers rubbed down daily with a piece of flannel cloth. Hold the bird firmly on your lap, and pass the cloth lightly down the back from the neck to the tip of the tail, and keep up this rubbing steadily for the required time, say fifteen minutes. You will be surprised to see the magnificent gloss brought out upon birds that before were even slightly dull in appearance of plumage. If your birds have the undesirable purple tinge, this will bring it out more than you would wish, but if they have the _greenish_ sheen, it will make them glisten in a manner to delight your eyes.
The Whites are much improved likewise by this confinement, as it gives the plumage a clear milky-white color, and it loses under this treatment the yellowish cast they have acquired by exposure to the weather; only, if they are bad in this respect, they should be put in their darkened quarters at least a month previous to the exhibition. With Golden-Penciled and Spangled Hamburgs this darkened coop is of much assistance in bringing out the greenish spangles and brightening and enriching the ground-color; and with these varieties, as with the Blacks, we would recommend the gentle rubbing with coarse flannel.
Silver-Spangled and Penciled birds gain by their darkened quarters a clear and distinct appearance in their markings, as it makes the ground-color a beautiful white, furnishing a desirable background for the colored feathers.
There is no help for a bad comb or a white face. The best way is never to allow a bird with these defects to see the inside of a show room. Birds with a tendency to scaly legs should have them rubbed with Stoddard’s Poultry Ointment, beginning at least two weeks before the show. If breeders would only attend to this repulsive appearance of the legs in time, or whenever it makes its appearance, and treat it as above, these remarks would be unnecessary. It is an eye-sore in any bird, but particularly disgusting on the neat, slender legs of the Hamburgs.
In fitting birds for show they should have a wholesome variety of food, wheat and buckwheat being the staples. A little sunflower seed, fed at judicious intervals for the six weeks previous to the show, has a very desirable effect in giving them the gloss and finish so desirable, and which is always observed in prize birds.
When the time arrives to coop the birds and start them off for the show, great care should be taken that they are in proper trim. As each bird is cooped it should be carefully examined to see that there are no symptoms of disease, or any foul feathers in the plumage. Then take a sponge and carefully wash the comb, wattles, face and legs with a mixture of equal parts of sweet oil and alcohol, applying as little as is possible to procure the desired effect—which is, by the way, a remarkable brightening of the comb, wattles and face, giving them a rich, healthy and bright appearance, and imparting to the legs a beautiful gloss, which brings out their color with good effect.
If these instructions are carefully followed, you will hardly recognize in the smart, clean-looking bird that graces the exhibition coop, the soiled and dull appearing fowl you began fitting three weeks before. It may require a certain amount of time to attend to these details properly, but will you not feel amply repaid by beholding the prize card on your coop, and having your brother fanciers comment upon the fine condition of your birds?
HINTS TO JUDGES.
Very few of the leading and popular judges at our exhibitions are Hamburg _breeders_, and realizing this, it should not be difficult to imagine the chagrin and disappointment of an _experienced_ breeder of these varieties when he stands by at a show and sees the judge award the premiums to birds with many and glaring faults, to his eyes, but which are never noticed by this oracle of the show room, who makes his figures with a business-like alacrity, strongly savoring of ignorance to the close observer, and appears thoroughly satisfied that he is “up to snuff,” when in reality he has been absurdly unjust in his awards.
There is no breed which needs so careful examination from the judge as the Hamburg, in each variety, not only on account of the many points to be considered, but because there is _no_ breed so subject to the manipulations of unprincipled exhibitors, or where there is more lynx-eyed vigilance required from the judge to guard him against the impositions of those pests of the show room—_trimmers_.
The points to which a judge should devote his attention in judging Hamburgs may be divided into four divisions, namely: 1, head; 2, plumage; 3, symmetry; 4, condition. Beginning with the first of these, we find included under this topic—comb, wattles, ear-lobes and face. There is no point in which Hamburgs are subject to such extensive manipulation as in the comb, and some of the practices which have been detected are of the most cruel nature. Cases where needles and pins have been inserted lengthwise of the comb to keep it from lapping while the judge is making his rounds, have been of common occurrence, although we are pleased to note that as more good and small-sized combs are being bred yearly, this practice seems to be falling into disuse. These instruments of torture are usually inserted just before the judges examine the birds, and withdrawn by means of pinchers immediately after the awards have been made, so that they are really difficult to discover. Where these needles are left in the comb, the most intense suffering ensues, and Mr. Hewitt has drawn a most harrowing picture of the tortures the poor bird is obliged to undergo. He says: “On the second day, the comb becomes most intolerably inflamed, and I have seen a fowl in its agony bend the head down, raise its foot, as with the intention of relieving the comb by scratching it, stop the movement midway without touching the comb at all, and then tremble like an aspen-leaf.” When cases of such barbarity are detected, the exhibitor should be remorselessly drummed out of the exhibition and the fraternity. A very common fault in combs is a hollow or depression in the center; and this is usually treated by cutting a wedge-shaped piece out of the middle, and stitching the outside portions tightly till joined and healed. Stitches put in for one purpose or other are often found, and, we regret to add, are employed far oftener than found. Small irregularities in shape and points are simply shaved off. Such mutilations are quickly discerned by a practiced eye in the smooth appearance of the comb when it has been cut, but as frequently this appearance is due to a past accident, judges should not act hastily upon suspicion.
Particular attention should be paid to the “work” or fine points of the comb; the more numerous they are, the better. Hollows in the front of the comb, above the beak, are common and objectionable, and should be severely cut. Pullets should have _small_ and well-shaped combs. We recommend cutting large combs in pullets, as they are almost certain to fall over with age.
The face is also subject to painting red when it has a tendency to white, and this is often discovered by the difference in the shade of the comb and face, although sometimes the similarity of color is so perfect as to defy detection. When we suspect painting, a gentle rubbing usually suffices to prove if our suspicions are correct. This white in the face is a direct disqualification in Black Hamburgs according to the American _Standard_, but as we seldom find a two or three year old cock without it, we think the _Standard_ should not thus _disqualify_ old birds, but “cut severely as a defect.” Cockerels with this white face should be thrown out without remorse.
Ear-lobes are often painted white, and sometimes quite cleverly, but this is usually so bungling an operation as to be readily detected, if you examine it carefully. Ear-lobes should be round and small. Cut large, irregularly-shaped, and above all, _pendent_ ear-lobes. The bluish tinge often seen on Hamburg ear-lobes should not be cut except in cases of comparison. We do not like it, but it is often occasioned by confinement, and is not a direct blemish. Wattles should be small and well rounded. We recommend cutting a pendent wattle, such as is proper to the Leghorn varieties.
Our second division treats of plumage, and here again the trimmer finds a broad field of labor. White feathers in Blacks are pulled out, but as these usually appear in the wings, if at all, the absence of flight feathers should be accepted as proof of the previous existence of white feathers. If there is any tendency at all to white in this variety, it will usually be found by holding the bird by the legs head downward, when the fluff feathers under the tail and between the legs will be found to possess small white tips. We found the first prize birds at a recent show distinctly tipped with white here, but the judge had never noticed it. In the case of the spangled varieties, large quantities of feathers are often extracted from the breast and back, when they are so numerous that the black spangles run together.
This trimming out process, which is, of course, done to show the color between the spangles, is very difficult of detection, and almost impossible to positively prove. In the penciled varieties the attention of the trimmer is turned to the tail of the cocks. A finely-penciled tail is a rarity, and when a fine set of well-marked sickles are obtained they are sometimes preserved “for future reference” (as it were), and often figure in several different birds before they are worn out. As these well-marked sickles often grow on a bird with a poor comb, the owner usually selects his best marked bird otherwise, extracts the poor sickles, and inserts the good ones in their place. The fastening may get loose during the show, and then drop out, exposing the fraud at once. These false sickles, however, are usually dull in color, lacking the gloss of healthy feathers, and can be usually detected by a judge who has his wits about him and is on the alert. Still, they are sometimes so cleverly doctored as to defy discovery, unless subjected to such harsh treatment as few judges feel justified in using upon mere suspicion. A dark, glossy, sharply-edged tail on a cock with very slight wing-bars should always excite suspicion.
Another frequent practice is dyeing feathers. This is often detected by the absence of the glossy appearance seen on the remainder of the plumage. Frequently, however, off-colored feathers will be plucked out, skillfully colored and glossed, and successfully reinstated in their places, with little chance of their being discovered. In spangled and penciled birds, imperfect markings or blotches are often bleached out with acids, and proper markings given the feathers with grease-paints, which assimilate with the oily substance in the feather, and render detection almost impossible. These various frauds make the task of a conscientious Hamburg judge one of unusual anxiety and responsibility. We may be blamed for mentioning these vile practices, but we believe that any evil that may arise from our furnishing hints to the unscrupulous will be more than counterbalanced by putting judges on their guard who are much too apt to pass over these points rapidly and carelessly.
The third division treats of symmetry, and right here let us say that there is no point in judging Hamburgs so much neglected as this most important one. We were dismayed to hear a judge, who was examining birds recently, say: “You are pretty safe to cut a Hamburg one point for symmetry.” What did he mean? Simply, we suppose, that he knew so little about this quality that he resolved to cover his ignorance by refusing to admit any bird to be perfect in this respect. There are too many judges, alas, who agree with him, because they know not what symmetry means. We have described the symmetry of Hamburgs under the heading of the Black variety, and so need not repeat it. Only let us again warn judges to discriminate between the undesirable _Game_ shape, and the equally improper _Dorking_ mould in judging these birds. The Hamburg symmetry is peculiar to the breed, and cannot be mistaken, and as fully one-half the birds exhibited incline either to the Game or Dorking symmetry, the distinct difference in shape should be understood by every judge, and severely cut if not correct.
Our last division refers to condition, and this, also, is of much importance in judging Hamburgs. It counts from five to ten points in making up a perfect bird, and we believe there is not one case out of ten where dark or dusty plumage, discolored comb or soiled legs are cut by the judge. Unless the bird has decided symptoms of roup, or other disease, it is simply passed over. A good judge invariably makes the point of condition a primary one. It means a fresh, well-kept condition of the comb and head, a fine, glossy plumage, upright and active appearance, and clean, shining legs.
There is an indescribable difference between a healthy, active, well-bred bird and one that, although it may be descended from pure stock, having correct markings and the like, yet lacks vivacity, spirit and a general air of _aristocracy_. If there be one breed of fowls above others more worthy of being called the “upper-crust of poultry-dom,” we are inclined to the opinion the breed under our consideration is that one.