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 Hamburgh
Large fowl Origin: North Europe Classification: Light, soft feather Egg colour: White Weight: Large fowl; male 2.25kg, female 1.8kg. Bantam; male 680-790g,
The precise origin remains a mystery. Spangled were bred in Yorkshire and Lancashire 300 years ago as Pheasant and Mooneys, and there is a book reference from 1702 mentioning black Pheasants in the North of England. In its heyday the Hamburgh was a great layer and must have played a part in the making of other laying breeds. Its breeders then took it down the purely exhibition route and today it is in the hands of only a few owners.
Characteristics Male Carriage: alert, bold and graceful. Type: body moderately long, compact, fairly wide and flat at the shoulder. Breast well rounded. Wings large and neatly tucked. Tail long and sweeping, carried well up (but not ‘squirrel’), the sickles broad and secondaries plentiful. Head: fine. Beak short and well-curved. Eyes bold and full. Comb rose, medium size, firmly set, square fronted, gradually tapering to a long, finely-ended leader in a straight line with the surface and without any downward tendency, the top level (free from hollows) and covered with small and smooth coral-like points of even height. Face smooth and free from stubby hairs. Ear-lobes smooth, round, flat (not concave or hollow), varying in size according to the variety. Wattles smooth, round and of fine texture. Neck: of medium length, covered with full and long feathers which hang well over the shoulders. Legs and feet: legs of medium length, thighs slender, shanks fine and round, free from feathers. Toes, four, slender and well spread.
Female Similar to the male, allowing for normal sexual differences.
Colours Black, gold pencilled, silver pencilled, gold spangled, silver spangled. In both sexes and all colours, eyes red or dark – dark preferred.
Defects White face, single comb, red ear-lobes, squirrel tail. White throated in the silver spangled. Any other deformity. |