Australorp or Jersey Giant?

[CarpCharacin]

I entered all 7 of my chickens into the state fair. I picked them up last night because yesterday was the last day of the fair. I have 2 chickens that I got when they were little and the hatchery claimed they were jersey giants. They wrote australorp on the cards at the fair even though I entered them as jersey giants. Their toes are mostly light grey, but it has a little yellow in the center. Don't jerseys get bigger than australorps? I hope they are jerseys. Are they jerseys or australorps?

 

[Pyxis]

You're determined to believe you have Giants even though everyone says otherwise. No one is likely going to agree with you.

As I said in my earlier post, it doesn't really matter. No matter what you call them, they are very poor examples of the JG breed. Not a problem if you're just keeping them for yourself, but please don't do what that 'breeder' did to you and sell these or their offspring to others as good examples of the breed.

 

[Pyxis]

If you got them from a hatchery they're likely not really representative of either breed. Hatcheries don't breed to the standard. They're just rough likenesses of the breed they are supposed to be. There is a way you're supposed to be able to tell them apart by foot color, but I'm not sure which one is supposed to hatch which color since I don't keep them so I'll leave it to someone else to tell you.

 

[Pyxis]

I wouldn't really call them hatchery stock. The people were breeding them in their back yard and they just called it a hatchery.

The 'breeder' of these birds wasn't breeding very good birds and they weren't breeding to the standard. They probably started with hatchery stock 'Jersey Giants' which, as has been pointed out, could have easily been australorps as hatcheries often send them as giants and vice versa because they can't tell them apart as chicks.

The other thing to think of is if they're such poor representatives of their breed that the only way to tell whether they are one breed or the other is by the color of the bottom of their feet, when true members of each breed are distinct enough from each other that they can be told apart easily at a glance, does it really matter whether the person who sold them to you called them Jersey Giants or Australorps? You want them to be Jersey Giants even though everyone is telling you they are not. My question would be does it really even matter? They are such poor examples of the breed that they were labeled as another breed and won ribbons as another breed (although as junebuggena said fair shows really aren't a great way to judge the quality of a bird anyway) and they aren't distinct enough on their own to be able to be identified as the breed they are supposed to be - so even if they were Jersey Giants they would be terrible examples of them. At that point it doesn't matter much what the breeder who sold them to you told you they are, because they are so bad quality that people literally can't tell what breed they are aside from skin color.

 

[DuckGirl77]

I think they are jerseys.

I think so, too. It is my understanding that even a little yellow means they are, even if they aren't perfect according to whatever standard they have for Jerseys.

 

[junebuggena]

As chicks, it was easier to tell. The Jersey Giant chick is in back.

 

[junebuggena]

You have Australorps. You can not will them into being Jersey Giants. I'm sorry you didn't source from a reputable breeder. Next time, do a bit more research before you decide to purchase birds from a 'breeder'.

 

[SOHC-FTW]

Ain't nothing wrong with australorp's one of our best hens from the free range flock (mixed flock of a buncha breeds) is a lorp and she is number #1 in the pecking order.

If you are not happy with them your best bets to find a reputable breeder focused on a few choosing breeds.

 

[CarpCharacin]

Their feet are slightly yellow and their toenails are yellow. They aren't dirty because I gave them a bath not too long ago.

 

[AustralorpsAU]

Their feet are slightly yellow and their toenails are yellow. They aren't dirty because I gave them a bath not too long ago.

Do you mean on the bottom of their feet because what i see is black legs with white feet in the photos you put up... I'm saying Australorp like everyone else