4H Breed - Black Jersey Giant

[phoenixrises]

My son would really like to show chickens for 4H. I had him look through a couple hatchery catalogs and he kept coming back to the Black Jersey Giant. Is there any reason this wouldn't be a good breed for him? Also are there good heritage APA standard breeders that someone could direct me towards? I'd rather start him off right! I live in SW Georgia, so someone within driving distance would be nice.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Wyandottes7]

Well, Jersey Giants are rather large, so if you son is young, he might have trouble handling it. I have both large fowl and bantam chickens, and the bantams are infinitely easier to handle than large fowl! Jersey Giant males can weight up to thirteen pounds, which is quite large. I don't believe that Jersey Giants are usually agressive, but it would not be pleasant to have a thirteen pound rooster attacking you. I have some really small bantams, and they can scratch my legs if they attack. I can only imagine how much damage a large chicken could inflict.


I don't know of any breeders, but hopefully other people that do will reply to this post.

 

[phoenixrises]

I was pushing him towards silkies (because I think they are adorable but their lack of utility means I won't get any) but nooooo he saw the Jersey Giants and was like, that's the one! He's 10, and very good about his chores, but honestly I didn't think about the 13lbs rooster thing. mean roosters are not tolerated here and they meet a quick demise.