Secrets in Fowl Breeding by George P. Burnham is a compact poultry handbook published at Melrose, Massachusetts, in 1876. It forms Part Two of a series and is presented as a companion to the author’s work on diseases of domestic poultry.
Selection before the breeding season
Burnham begins with the selection and mating of poultry stock. He argues that a keeper cannot expect consistent, high-quality offspring from poorly chosen parents, whatever breed may have attracted his interest.
The discussion connects an individual bird with the strain from which it comes. Appearance matters, but the background of breeding stock and the reliability of the person supplying it are also part of the decision.
This gives the booklet practical historical interest beyond the promise of its title. Its central concern is deliberate selection and attention to the breeding pen, rather than a single hidden trick.
Related birds, crosses and consistency
The early pages consider relationship among birds and the introduction of fresh breeding material. Burnham distinguishes between maintaining a recognizable variety and crossing birds in pursuit of a new result.
Color and markings recur throughout the discussion. The author describes the difficulty of obtaining predictable offspring when the parents’ ancestry or previous matings are not fully understood.
His explanations belong to nineteenth-century breeding knowledge, before the modern framework of genetics. They are useful evidence of how fanciers tried to account for results, including unexpected colors and the reappearance of earlier characteristics.
Eggs, reproduction and disputed explanations
A substantial middle section examines reproduction, the formation of eggs and competing claims about how a mating influences later offspring. An anatomical illustration accompanies this material.
Burnham compares his own experience with statements from other poultry writers. He is willing to challenge explanations that appear too neat or that do not agree with the examples he has observed.
These passages reward critical historical reading. They preserve both observation and theory, and the two should not be treated as having equal standing simply because they appear together in the book.
Producing exhibition birds
The discussion of prime show birds asks how breeders obtain the qualities rewarded in exhibition. Burnham considers the relation between the appearance of a parent and its usefulness in producing the desired young stock.
Several breeds enter the examples, including Brahmas and Cochins. The book repeatedly returns to color, marking and the fact that a mating suitable for one purpose may disappoint when used for another.
This makes the booklet useful alongside historical standards. A standard describes an ideal; Burnham is concerned with the choices and uncertainties faced by someone trying to breed toward it.
Condition and preparation
Later sections discuss finer points of poultry culture and the preparation of birds for exhibition. Burnham distinguishes legitimate attention to condition and cleanliness from misleading or excessive preparation.
The text includes period feeding, breeding and management advice. These recommendations should be read in their historical setting, particularly where they depend on old physiological theories or treatments.
The closing advice to sellers and buyers returns to the transaction through which many keepers obtained their foundation stock. Expectations, knowledge and honest dealing are part of the wider breeding problem.
Illustrations and digital copy
This free ebook suits poultry historians, heritage-breed enthusiasts and readers studying how practical breeding knowledge was communicated in the nineteenth century. Its short sections make it a focused companion to broader husbandry manuals.
The PDF contains 71 digital pages, including library preliminaries, the original titled cover, a wide frontispiece showing many poultry varieties, the main text and advertising. Burnham calls attention to the frontispiece in his preface; rotate or enlarge it for close study. The main text ends with the advice to buyers and sellers. Advertisements for other books are separate from this Part Two treatise.
Book details
- Author: George P. Burnham
- Publisher: Published by the author, Melrose, Massachusetts
- Year: 1876
- Edition: Part Two of the author’s poultry handbooks; 1876 issue
- Digital length: 71 PDF pages
- Language: English
- File size: 2.76 MB
