another ? Jersery Giants or Black Giants how are they?

[nightshade]

Hi I am sorry I got the montana thing confussed with some one else.

But this is even better cause you care close to us. My husband is so worried about having them shipped in and you are more our region. Thank you sooooo very much for all info on McMurry. Your Buff Org is so pretty. I think they are just the pretties color for a solid bird. Thank you again.

 

[keljonma]

nightshade,

No problem. I was really happy with McMurray Hatchery.

1. Originally I ordered chicks to be delivered in March, but due to a family emergency, had to postpone shipment until June. I called McMurray's and they were very helpful. Not only did we discuss the pros and cons of cancelling vs postponment, they were very helpful in picking a date when all the chicks I wanted were available.

2. McMurray's didn't charge my credit card until the birds were shipped. Some of the other hatcheries I looked at charge the card when the order is placed with them. I ordered my chicks in January and they were shipped in June.

3. When our delivery arrived and we found one chick injured (she only survived a few days), I called them within 48 hours of delivery. I explained the situation and told them I couldn't tell which breed it was, since so many of them looked alike. They refunded me for the most expensive chick I purchased (Silver Grey Dorking pullet) plus the Marek's vaccination.

4. We declined a free exotic and McMurray sent us an extra chick from a breed we ordered.

5. We only lost one chick that wasn't our fault.

We have a beautiful flock of birds foraging in our farm yard. It's easy to tell them apart because no two birds are the same. In the end, I was glad we got the chicks in June, especially the way this past winter has been. We didn't have to worry too much about them getting chilled. I would do it all over again. Good luck with your decisions....

Here are our 19 at 2 weeks of age...



Martha - Silver Lakenvelder Jackie - Golden Laced Wyandotte
Ida - Silver Laced Wyandotte Pat - White Wyandotte
Mary - Columbian Wyandotte Grace - Auraucana/Americana
Abbie - Barred Plymouth Rock Rachel - Partridge Plymouth Rock
Patsy - Rhode Island Red Lou - Jersey Black Giant
Ellen - Buttercup Lucy - Ancona
Betty - Buff Orpington Fran - Delaware
Bess - Silver Spangled Hamburg Lady Bird - Golden Penciled Hamburg
Eleanor - White Faced Black Spanish
Sam - Golden Campine Ike - Single Comb Light Brown Leghorn

 

[DarkEros07]

i'm ordering from there too. So you can pre order them? thats different! That would be great for us! I have nephews and everything and they want to help as much as they can with the birds but I am affraid of them getting hurt. Should I worry about this? ALso I am planning on useing them for meat and eggs. The roos will be all killed off and just our lovely hens will be left. we are getting 25 in a strait run from Murry McMurry and opting for the extra free chick. I can't wait till we get them. Only im affraid of what the nephews will do cuz i got a rat today and they want to be aroudn it constantly. Any suggestions? And anythign I should know about the breed? I know tons but I just want to know what others know from a personal experiance. I live in Michigan btw and it was a toss up between the buff orps and the black jersey giant. we fineally picked the black. anwyays. thanks.

-Kristen-

 

[keljonma]

Yes, you can pre-order. I ordered in January for late March shipment. Then in the middle of March had to postpone my order to late June. The staff gave me the option to either cancel and re-order or to postpone.

I'm crazy about our Jersey Black Giant pullet. She is our best tempered bird, lays 5-6 eggs a week and gets along with everyone except our kitten. The kitten is afraid of her because she is bigger than the kitten.

We told our young grandkids to handle them gently and we never let them handle the birds unless an adult was present. Chicks are very resilent, but we had the kids sit on the floor, so if a chick jumped off their laps, they didn't have far to go.

You should do fine as long as you set some guidelines.

regards,
keljonma

 

[nightshade]

Thank you sooo very much keljonma your info has been such a big help and taken alot of the scare factor out of my husband when it comes to having them shipped from McMurray. Thank you soo very much!

 

[birdlady58]

I love my buff and my black (jersey) giants. Great egg layers

 

[hencackle]

I love my Giants! My black rooster, Joxer, lost the tips of his comb's spikes due to frostbite. My DH and I were in the process of building a 2nd coop when the weather turned cold. Poor Joxer had to sleep in an open-air coop for awhile. I live in NE TN and I consider our winters mild.

Joxer has a LOUD, long crow! If you want to keep a JG rooster, you might have to check with your neighbors.

Pure Jerseys mature late. I think my girls were about 7 months old before they started laying. My rooster is HUGE, yet gentle.

I have 3 blues, 2 blacks, and 1 splash.
Stephanie

 

[keljonma]

I would add, make sure any small children keep the birds away from their face. I never had it happen, but I've heard that they may try to peck at a person's eyes because they are shiny.

Secondly, always have the kids wash their hands with soap and water before and after handling the chicks. That way the birds are safer and the kids are safer.

I quit my job the first of November. As it turned out, that was perfect timing. I was able to spend all my days with the girls as they started laying eggs. As a result, I was able to get the dimensions and pictures of each girl's first egg and note the date in my flock journal. It was pretty exciting.

Martha, our Silver Lakenvelder, was the first to lay an egg on Nov 11 at 4 months 18 days of age.

Lou, our Jersey Black Giant, laid her first egg on Nov 24, the day our flock became 5 months old.

Bess, our Silver Spangled Hamburg was the last in our flock of 17 pullets to lay an egg. She laid her first egg on Dec 19 at 5 months 25 days of age.

Birdlady58 and Hencackle, I think you are lucky to have more than one Jersey Giant.

regards,
keljonma