Just found out she was a Jersey Giant. Learned this when I asked about the purple sheen on her feathers, which I learned is likely caused by a problem with diet that will correct. She does have some green sheen now. Was told to look at the bottom of her feet, because a Jersey Giant will have black legs with the bottoms of the feet being yellow, and hers are quite yellow. Can't wait to see her fully mature.
Ours are going on 6-weeks old and are bigger than our friends. His is reds and black rock mix and 10 weeks old and ours are already 2X's bigger than his. I can pick them up still and pet them. They love food. We give it freely all day long. Keep food out there at all times. We also have Reds and black rock.They are now 11 years old. And they still lay eggs. Looking to retiree them. lol We do not keep a rooster with them anymore.
Mt.Healthy Hatchery, Ohio - - Jersey Giants. early pack -$6.00 - 26 hens $2.84- 1 rooster $1.80 - $9.00 shipping
The Jersey Giant is very impressive with its large stature and gentle disposition. I love how healthy and resiliant they are, even the chicks are full of spunk from the get go. Their downfall would be they have a very good appetite and you should be prepared to feed them well, especially during the first few months.
I bought a Jersey giant pullet at a sale..Brought her home and fell in love with her.,. yes her breed grows slowly then other breeds, but I didnt mind, This breed is huge, They lay a big brown egg and hardy during winter. they get along with any breed,
These were among my first chicks. They, along with the red stars have been the most consistent layers of the 19 assorted hens we have. Their black feathers have a beautiful greenish sheen in sunlight, and they're enormous compared to the rest of the flock. They are not much for being stroked or handled, but just quietly go about their egg-laying every day. I think they are probably good for eating as well, but I may never know.
Jersey Giants have finally received a smaller counterpart. I guess they arn't as big now as they used to be, well the Bantams.
Love this breed. I have a pair. My hen is a sweetheart. She's very gentle and nests in my arms when I hold her. My rooster is very protective of his hens and lets all of us pick him up once in a while. He'll be mushy for a bit, then go back to doing his job.
Wonderful breed, highly recommended.
I have seven Jersey Giants, 1 rooster and 6 hens. I love these birds. They are very cold hardy! We live where the temps dip to -60F at times. This is my first time having chickens and this was a great breed to start with. I haven't had any problems with them, they are all very healthy and friendly. We also have four chanteclers, purchased at the same time and they all get along real well.
I absolutley love Giants! I currently have One Black rooster (Jersey Boy), and two Black hens (Snookie and Deena) and they are the prettiest birds ever! If you're looking for big, beautiful birds, these are the ones to go with! Living in Minnesota is tough on many breeds, but mine have withstood -30 nights, wonderful! The only thing that I don't like is that they take for ever to fully mature. I can't wait to get more this spring, whites and more blacks!
I have BJG's. They are nice chickens, lay a nice brown egg and I have one who was successful at hatching last fall. They are very docile and loving. Love 'em!
Good things come in large packages, too! My husband was the one who wanted to get the giants so we ordered a dozen eggs from Maria Hall in March of 2010. We had 11 healthy and beautiful chicks as a result. We sold some and kept our favorites. In 2011, we hatched our own and kept a splash cockerel and a blue pullet. Though they are slow to grow and it takes them a long time to start laying, it's worth the wait. They are huge, friendly birds. We joined the Jersey Giant Club this fall and got a black trio from another member so we could improve the size in our flock. I am really excited about hatching more in 2012. Don't tell my Australorps, but I think the Giants are becoming my favorite. The cock from the trio we recently obtained has become my gardening buddy, so much so that I call him Mr. McGregor because he spends nearly as much time along side the beds as I do!
Large gentile breed.
Nice sized eggs brown eggs.
9 months old now and just starting to lay steady.
Bought the Black Giants from Tractor Supply, to help with our Australorp chick we only had on born. but then we found out were getting one chick a day. the chicks look just like australorps.
These chickens are very nice to humans and are good layers. You also get huge eggs out of them since their a big breed
. They are so big though they are very hard to carry for long. Also if you have chickens smaller than them they can be mean to those chickens
. It is good just to have a flock of them by themselves away from your other chickens.
I love this bird. Very friendly and hearty.
I own Jersey's. This is my fifth year now. Very docile and sweetheart chickens. If you're sad they come up to you and look at you. Mine like to be held the football carry, but they're so heavy! My Cockerel is about 11 pounds now 
My Girl... She's molting.... excuse that!
I hatched my Black Jersey Giant in December 2009. She was the only one to hatch out of a shipped clutch of 6 eggs, there was another that died in shell. She arrived right on time, did not need the extra two days which is typical for giant breeds.Before she hatched out she started cheeping in shell and I would answer back. We would have little conversations back and forth and perhaps that is why she is so bonded with me. She has a very loud egg song and growl even though JGs were supposed to be pretty quiet...not the case with her She lays large eggs about 4-5 times a week and I am more than happy with that. She is a very peaceful JG, in fact now she is the one that I protect from my BO and EE hens!
Even though she is a runty size for a JG hen (she weights about 7 #), my girl eats heartily and always loves to get as many treats as possible. That could be a con for keeping JGs, they LOVE to eat!!
I would recommend JGs as a starter bird for a first time chicken keeper. They are friendly, extra large, curious and are decent layers. If my Parsley is a "typical" JG hen, then I am very content/happy to concentrate on this one line for the rest of my chicken keeping days.
They are beautiful calm happy birds.
You do need to size up your roosts and nesting boxes and doors....if you consider that a con.
I have them with other breeds and they are just happy as can be!
I love these birds.
takes a lot of room in the coop. but is a big sweet chicken
My son has been fascinated with the size of the birds for sometime. Recently bought about 6 doz. Black Giant hatching eggs (Of which about 65 hatched out this week). Had the oppurtunity to purchase some adult birds this week and I am so glad I did. They have such a gentle disposition and are such a sight to see strutting around in the yard. I can't wait for the babies to grow up.
mine cluck a lot. They are good in confinement, they are alert while free ranging and always see the cat coming before the others do. They are the first to run to me when I come outside with scratch feed for the yard and they are not at all scared to approach you. I cant hold them they wont allow it. They are large birds that do well in the cold and in the heat. Great layers. I would have them again if I lost them for any reason. Their feathers are a crazy irridescent Blue / Green in the bright sun light !
We had Black Jersey Giants. One became our flock rooster for a couple of years. He was huge and beautiful, with solid black eyes, iridescent plumage, and a very upright "proper" stance. We could pick him up and carry him around, and he wouldn't fuss, yet we have had him jump on a hawk that had one of his hens pinned down. Harvey was our favorite chicken ever, and was only let go because so many in the flock were his offspring. Harvey moved to a nearby farm where he is still going strong, despite being 5 years old!
Very large birds that grow a bit more slowly than the other heavy fowl. Extremely docile. Hens did go broody for us some, and laid reasonably well year round. Eggs were usually large and x-lrge. They were quiet birds for the most part, and not aggressive with other members in the flock. Easy to make these into pets. They faired well in free range life, foraging well and not being plagued with any health issues. Seemed undisturbed by heat and cold. The docile temperament is evident even in crossbred offspring.
Crossbred chicks from Jersey Giant crosses have grown very fast and reached processing weights much faster than did the purebred. Carcass of the purebred is acceptable, and they picked surprisingly clean for a black-feathered breed.
A good homestead bird, but not a steadfast producer like the plymouth rock or rhode island red.
I have both white and black. They can get quite huge which for me is interesting. Cold hardy and pretty good layers of brown eggs.
I had black giants. The rooster was impressive 14 pounds... but he was so big and mean that he even scared my Dad. we called him Black Devil. the hens were nice and quiet but their eggs were small and they broke eggs in the nesting box often.
Close to the age of 9 months something happened that caused this breed to drop like flies. They would limp or have a bad leg... some would just sit. I was able to keep my rooster alive for 3 weeks but once i left back for college my parents had to put him down... it was too sad seeing the head rooster go from 14 to 7 and be stuck in a cage because he couldn't walk. I don't have giants any more, I think all of them died off. It wasn't a disease because I paid for the vet to test the rooster to see why he went bad. All tests came back negative. I assumed it was a genetic problem or a joint problem because i felt inflammation in the hip joints of many of them.
This breed was a disappointment for me.
I hatched my JGs from eggs bought on line from show 1 generation removed from show birds. They were a little flighty as young birds but settled down with time. They also seemed to get picked on in a mixed flock as adolescents, not so as adults. I guess I don't have any who are picked on as adults with so much room etc. Mine never have been overly friendly and we handled them quite a bit. They're not real standoffish, but don't care to be caught either so I just pick em up when they come to eat at feeding time.
I was interested in the breed after reading several people say they laid really large eggs after their first laying cycle. Mine are just starting on their 2nd cycle and the eggs aren't anything to write home about in size, 2-to-2.25 oz. each. I do enjoy having them around, but could care less one way or the other after having had them.
