Jersey Giants

History

Jersey Giants are the largest purebred breed of domestic chickens.  The breed was created between 1870 and 1890 by brothers John and Thomas Black in Burlington County, New Jersey.  Their original intention was to breed a large table bird that could take the place of a turkey.  The breeding program included Black Javas, Black Langshans, and Dark Brahmas.  In the beginning, they were called "Black Giants", actually being named after the brothers and not their initial color.  The name "Jersey Giant" came into official use in 1921 when the American Association of Jersey Black Giant Breeders Clubs was created.  The breed was officially recognized by the APA in 1922.  There are now three recognized colors -- black, white, and blue.  Blue was developed from a white  hen with gray smudges (a sport) in Golda Miller's flock sometime in the 1980's.  Splash are produced by breeding two blues, but are not a recognized color.  Jerseys as a breed are very gentle and friendly.

About the Breed

Chicks:

Because Jersey eggs are large, sometimes they will take 1 or 2 extra days to hatch.  Chicks have a "tuxedo" pattern -- their heads and bodies will be either black, blue, smokey or pale blue (depending on the color), and yellow from under the chin to down the belly.  When the primary feathers come in, it is the rule rather than the exception for the darker colored chicks to have white feathers in the wings.  When the chick gets it's adult feathers, these will fall out and grow back in the same color as the rest of the bird.

The legs will have some coloring on them, but it may not reach the toes.  This is common, and the color will fill in as the bird matures.  From the beginning, all colors should have dark brown to black eyes and yellow bottoms to their feet.  Dark chicks may have pale beaks with streaks of color.  These too will darken with age.

black chick = black adult --black  with slate overtone shanks and feet, black beak
blue chick = blue adult -- slate shanks and feet, black beak
pale blue = splash adult -- slate shanks and feet, beak may vary
smoky = white adult -- willow shanks and feet, yellow beak

Chicks tend to mature slower than other breeds due to their size.  For the first 6 months, they are primarily growing their skeletons to support their adult weight.  At six weeks, they are about the same size as othe breeds, but from there you can perceive that they are getting larger.  At about 4 months they are gangly and kind of thin, but by 9 months they have started filling out their muscles.  I have read this is about the age they are ready for the table, but mine have never had much meat on them at this age.  Jerseys reach their full adult weight between 18-24 months.

Adults:

Both sexes have single combs, and the comb, wattles, and earlobes should be red.  Feathers should be of a single color without any red or yellow present, and black and blue birds cannot have more than 1/2 in. of positive white showing on the surface.  The skin should be yellow, as also the bottoms of the feet.  Sometimes they're pink, which is a fault, and makes it hard to differentiate a Black Jersey from a Black Langshan, which has pink bottomed feet.  Eyes should be dark brown to black.  Eyes that are mottled or bay are a fault.  Beaks for black and blue should be black with the tip of the beak showing some yellow.

Roosters have a deeper crow than other breeds, and are impressive the first time you hear one!

Hens lay large to extra-large brown eggs that are pale cream to dark brown in color.  They tend to start laying later than other breeds.  They  may go broody, but aren't very successful at hatching young.  Mine have gone broody, but they end up breaking the eggs because of their weight.  It's recommended to incubate any Jersey eggs you wish to hatch.

 
Black Jersey Giant Cockerel                     Black and White Jersey Giant Hens

Blue Jersey Giant Hen

 
Duke, my two year old rooster.  He's pretty stout and heavy.  Duke is nearly as large as my tom turkey.

Bishop.  You can see that he's not near as heavy at 6 months.