Black Jersey Giant

[DarkEros07]

Anyone know anything about them? Have any experiance with them?

I am going to be getting 25 of them Strait Run from Murry Mc Murry hatchery. Only cuz I want the extra chick, lol! anyways. Any suggestions ideas or anything like that would be good. Also I have 3 young nephews 7(8 in oct) 5(6 in may) and 3 1/2(4 in Sept) Should I be worried about the 2 oldest helping me come time to collect eggs? Or should I not let them around them? I am worried bout the roos but we wont be keeping most of them. They will be nummy's for the family. My hubby and I and their family also and the neighbor.

Price I have to pay to have them! So that they don't get pissy bout the roos crowing. They will also be getting fresh eggs. So anyways. Any info on anything you can give me would be greatly apriciated. I have researched but couldn't find much. Just wanting to know anything I can get. Thanks!

-Kristen-

 

[ella]

I have four Black Giant hens and have found them to be very nice calm birds. I have no experience with the roosters so I can't help you there- sorry.

But generally the bigger breeds have calmer temperaments.

I do know they take a long time to mature. My hens didn't reach full size until they were almost 2 years old! I don't know when you plan to butcher them, but you may need to have a place to put them separate from the hens during their last months so they don't cause too much damage.

I also don't know how much you know about chickens so forgive me if I'm telling you what you already know. The major meat breed is a hybrid Cornish/Rock cross. They mature to butchering weight in 5-7 weeks rather than the 5-6 months it takes for most other breeds to get up to size. The meat you will get from the Black Giants will not taste like the meat you get in a supermarket (which can be a good thing!) but it's good to know that stuff before hand.

There is a thread about Black Giants in General Discussion too, so check that out for more info on the breed.

 

[DarkEros07]

Yeah I know all that. We want them cuz well we want some big birds. We don't really care much about how fast or slow they grow. Thats not important to us. We want both eggs and meat but we want big birds we were going to buy buff orps but decided not to. Anyways I will check out the general discussion thread. I have done tons of reseach on chickens in general and on buff orps and black jerseys just wanted to knwo what others had to say! Thanks!

-kristen-

 

[hencackle]

Hi Kristen,
I added Jersey Giants to my flock last year after researching the breed too. The black JGs look spectacular--sometimes I hear cars slow down when they approach my house just so people can look.

A good thing about the JG's size is that they don't fly over my 4-ft picket fence. I had a SLW and a silver Ameraucana that cleared the fence all the time and raid my neighbors' flower beds. Those 2 ended up being easy targets for hawk attacks because they weren't with the flock.

Make sure your roosts can handle the weight! LOL

My rooster is calm and gentle around adults as well as children. He does, however, chase my other rooster around the yard. He is very loud, whether he's crowing, cackling, or calling the girls. Multiply that by 4 boys and you can imagine why DH "asked" me to get ride of 3.

Just listen to your "inner chicken" and pick the breed that appeals to you most and when you look into those dark, almost black eyes of the JGs, you know you made the right choice.

Stephanie

 

[pharr389]

has anyone bred black jersey"s to rir's??
if so, any pics of offspring?