Chicken Breed Focus - Jersey Giant

[sumi]

The well named Jersey Giant chicken is the largest purebred breed of chicken. It was the result of a breeding program started around 1870 by John and Thomas Black in New Jersey, with the original objective of the breed being a replacement for the turkey. The resulting adult birds are massive in size with mature roosters weighing in at 13 lbs, hens 10 lbs, and capons capable of reaching 20 lbs.

The Jersey Giant is known as a calm and docile breed with an even temperament. Adults are very poor flyers so are relatively easy to keep confined, they are fine foragers and are sometimes used as a slow growing meat bird on pasture. The hens are fair to good layers of large brown eggs and are known as very good winter layers. They will occasionally go broody. The roosters are said to have exceptionally good temperaments. They are single combed, clean legged, and recognized in three colors, black, white, and blue. The breeds used in the development of the Jersey Giant included Javas, Orpingtons, Langshans, and Brahmas.

The breed was recognized by the APA in 1922 and is on The Livestock Conservancy's Watch list.

Details:

Breed purpose: Dual Purpose, Meat
Comb Type: Single
Broodiness: Occasional
Climate Tolerance: Cold hardy.
Weight: 13lbs roosters, 10lbs hens
Egg Productivity: Fair-Good.
Egg Size: Ex-Large
Egg Color: Brown

BYC Breed reviews:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/jersey-giant

Exhibition, Genetics, & Breeding to the Standard of Perfection thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/277387/jersey-giants-thread-for-pictures-and-discussion/0_20

General breed discussions & FAQ thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/844839/black-jersey-giant-thread/0_20


Jersey Giant Chicks @silkiechicken


Jersey Giant Rooster @BassetHound


Jersey Giant Rooster @CrzyChicLdy45


Jersey Giant Rooster @Moonchild


Jersey Giant Hen @theoldchick


Jersey Giant Hen @Fuzzbutt


Do you own Jersey Giants? Are you a Jersey Giant breeder? If so, please reply to this thread with the your thoughts and experiences, including:

· What made you decide to get this breed?
· Do you own them for fun? Breeding? Some other purpose?
· What are your favorite characteristics about this breed?
· Post some pics of your birds; male/female, chicks, eggs, etc!

We have a bunch of other awesome breed-focus threads for you to enjoy. You can see all of them here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-breed-focus-project.975504/

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

I have one JG. She'll be 5 years old this fall. She was a random purchase from the feed store. I wanted a Black Astralorp but they were out. She's a hatchery bird so a bit small for a JG at 8lbs. But wicked smart. Very sweet and sensitive. She knows here name and will come running when I call her. She also loves banana more than anything in the whole wide world.

I would love to have more property and I'd get a whole flock of Jersey's.

Jersey Giant knows her name and comes when called:

Jersey Giant LOVES banana

 

[lesleelay]

I LOVE my Jersey Giants from Shawn Smith at West Coast Jersey Giants. They have generations upon generations of champion ship lines. Jersey Giants do have a nice temperament. They mature slower. It could take up to 2 years for them to reach their full size. If kept separate from each other the males will get massive!! When people come over they ask me, "What kind of turkey is that?" Jersey Giants love greens and feeding them such helps them to reach their max size. The girls are good layers except when the temperature is repeatedly over 100. Then they are average.

I decided on Jersey Giants from an article I read in Back Yard Chicken. But, I made the mistake of first purchasing them from a hatchery. Those birds were 1/3 the size of the Jersey Giants we now breed. Do research on Jersey Giants Standard of Perfection or SOP. Not all breeders are created equally. Find you a good breeder. Then do research on that breeder before purchasing. (Check out Jersey Giants or Jersey Giants SOP on Facebook)

I breed our birds for eggs, meat, and selling chicks. The eggs are big and come in pretty colors ranging from lite peach to medium. The meat is dark like most home grown chickens are. If slow roasted even the 2 year olds are moist, tender and delicious. For more info and pictures of the above Jersey Giants growing up check us out on Facebook, Lay's Land in Waxahachie, TX.

LesLee Lay

 

[mcrooke45]

how tall do they get? you said its the largest purebred chicken, are they taller than the saipan jungle fowl?

This is Titan my Blue Splash Jersey Giant. Counting his comb he is 27.5" tall. He is a little over a year old. That is a a regular Jersey Giant hen beside him that I got from someone they had for sell off of Craigslist for comparison to size.

 

[Beer can]

Some of my white Jersey Giant chicks.

 

[rjdemille]

I wanted a JG so bad and when the local feed store had some come in, I was first in line to get one. The problem was that they also had a separate bin of black Australorps, which I got 3 of, (2 for a friend, which we ended up keeping anyway) When I got home with my one BJG and 3 BAs, I couldn't tell them apart! We lost one to a dog and I was really hoping it wasn't my only Giant, but at about 10 weeks old now, they still look the same, even the bottoms of their feet are the same white-ish color. I also know that they are probably all hatchery birds, which can make it even harder to tell them apart. The only difference when they were little was that one had a fully black face and the other 3 had a lot of white. Every day we still try to pick out differences between the 3 we have left, hoping that maybe the JG is one of them. Lol Here's pictures of them as little ones; the one with the dark face and the other 3, who looked similar.

(Never mind the fat little EE. She's a whole other story!)

JG will only have yellow under there feet any other color it is not a JG

 

[maruadventurer]

Don't know if mine like banana but they will tear down a watermelon quarter in nothing flat. When they are done there is nothing left but the quarter inch of hide of the melon.

 

[mcrooke45]

how tall do they get? you said its the largest purebred chicken, are they taller than the saipan jungle fowl?

Well I don't have any Saipans but I do have Malays to compare him to. This is one of my young Malay stags. He is only 14 weeks old. He is going to be super tall when he is full grown.His father is over 30" tall.

 

[Naliez]

I've been breeding exhibition quality Jersey Giants for several years now, and I absolutely LOVE them! I breed to the APA's Standard of Perfection, and have shown them with consistent success. It took me several years to find a line that I really liked, and once I found them, I knew immediately they would be long-term members of our farm. I love they laid-back temperament, and if you love a deep crow - you'll LOVE Giants! It's a beautiful sound. They are a regal bird, with much presence about them. I find them to be intelligent and curious, as far as chickens go. I've never had a mean cock bird, they are good layers of XL - Jumbo sized eggs, and oh-so-beautiful...what's not to love about them? These following pictures are from Diana, former BYC moderator (silkiechicken). She's had my Giants on her farm for several years now and loves them as much as I do. In the first pic below, you can see a White Leghorn to the left...see how much larger the Giant pullet next to her is? Just look at this big boy below! Fabulous cock bird - Diana did a fantastic job raising them up!

THESE are the pictures I found on Google when looking up the breed that made me want Giants!

 

[junebuggena]

Most hatcheries seem to think that black Australorps are the same thing as Black Jersey Giants. There is very little difference in hatchery stock between the two breeds.