Jersey Giants thread for pictures and discussion

[Billjr]

Wynette has some nice birds and sells eggs. I hatched some last March. The pics are a few pages back. Good Luck.

 

[Wynette]

theses are not my birds but im looking at buying some eggs from these JG... what do you think




Do they look like good JG or not?

They do appear to be Giants from the pics, but depending on what your goal is, you may not wish to have birds from this parent stock. It's tough to tell in the pics, but from what I can see, there are some issues you'd be battling from the get-go. If you're breeding for exhibition, let us know & we can provide more specific feedback (I hate to say much about pictures, and I don't know who owns these, and and leery to comment on a public thread about someone else's birds...if they were yours, I'd be more than happy to give you my feedback - NOT that I'm an expert by any means, though!).

Hi everybody,
I just found your thread and have enjoyed looking at all your beautiful birds!!! I recently got 10 black jersey giant chicks from ideal poultry. I doubt mine will be as gorgeous as what I've seen on here but I am hopeful!!

I am just a small timer trying to grow my flock as much as my DW will let me. I hope to be able to post some pics later as they grow. Just gotta get the Internet working at the house again. Lol well hope everyone has a nice day!
TTFN

Hello, Fentresser - WELCOME! Enjoy your chicks!

 

[SirUlrichsMom]

id like to breed for show annd id like for my son to be able to show at the 4h/ffa shows in the summer that we have here locally, but i dont have a great deal of money to put into the birds to start out.
i had asked the seller some questions and wasnt sure i liked the answers i got so i figured id ask on here since many of you have show and bred jg for a while.

 

[4-hmother]

Welcome SirUlrichsMom,

This is a great place to ask and learn about JG. So ask away I'm sure you will get a full range of responses. Your job is to use what is best for you.

 

[Fentressfarmer]

I have one of my chicks that isn't growing, she just stands under the light and only moves to get a drink of water or eat, I have been giving them the green gel vitamin pack that I ordered from ideal with the chicks every 3 days. I have looked her over and don't see any problems.
Does anybody have any suggestions? I don't really know what to do for her, my other chicks are growing like weeds and she is still the same size as when I got her 9 days ago.

 

[Wynette]

id like to breed for show annd id like for my son to be able to show at the 4h/ffa shows in the summer that we have here locally, but i dont have a great deal of money to put into the birds to start out.
i had asked the seller some questions and wasnt sure i liked the answers i got so i figured id ask on here since many of you have show and bred jg for a while.

The very first thing you really ought to do is buy a copy of the APA's Standard of Perfection. It's pricey...but if you're wanting to breed for exhbiition, you truly DO need to have it. The cheapest I've ever seen it is directy from the APA - here's a link: http://www.amerpoultryassn.com/images/APA Standard 2010 open.jpg - we talk often about the specific traits that the APA looks for in this breed, and you'll refer to the book often!

It truly is a must have. You're looking for a nice, flat, topline, though; again, I hate to say negative things about stock that I don't even know the origin of...if it was YOURS and you asked for feeback, I'd be more than happy to. But, suffice to say, I don't see the long, flat back that is the "hallmark" of this breed in the birds pictured. That's not to say they do not have it, sometimes pictures don't tell the whole truth, though.

I have one of my chicks that isn't growing, she just stands under the light and only moves to get a drink of water or eat, I have been giving them the green gel vitamin pack that I ordered from ideal with the chicks every 3 days. I have looked her over and don't see any problems.
Does anybody have any suggestions? I don't really know what to do for her, my other chicks are growing like weeds and she is still the same size as when I got her 9 days ago.

There is a sort of generic thing we call simply "failure to thrive" and that may be what is going on with this chick, I'm sorry to say. If it is eating & drinking, but not growing...most definitely there is something amiss. You have checked for "poopy butt" I assume? Sometimes, they can get literally stopped up on their little rear ends with dry, crusted fecal matter. Check right away! Usually by this age they no longer are having issues, but it's common that first week, and if this one has been under the weather for some time, that could be what is going on. Also, you shoudln't be feeding the green gel vitamins on a consistent basis; check the instructions, as I could be wrong, but I believe you only feed that the very first day, to give them a bit of a boost & get them started on the right track. I don't use it at all, never have (except with a duck order that I went in with a friend on, and the friend really wanted it). I use Avia Charge 2000 in their drinking water, at double the strength for chicks 4 weeks and under.

Is anyone picking on her? Watch for that. They seem to know when there is an issue and could easily peck at her & injur her. If that has happened, you'll need to separate her until she's healed, making sure she has access to good food & water.

What are you feeding? They should have a good quality starter crumble made for chicks. What are you using for water? Make sure you are NOT using tap water from the house if you have a water softener. I use water from the outside spiggot that's not chemically treated.

BEST of luck...I hope she pulls through!

 

[Fentressfarmer]

I've checked for pasty butt and that's not an issue, I will re-read the vitamin gel pack, and the others aren't picking on her they really just seem to ignore her, we are in the country down in central Texas so our water isn't a problem. I think she is just one of the failure to thrive birds they did come from a large hatchery.

 

[Wynette]

I've checked for pasty butt and that's not an issue, I will re-read the vitamin gel pack, and the others aren't picking on her they really just seem to ignore her, we are in the country down in central Texas so our water isn't a problem. I think she is just one of the failure to thrive birds they did come from a large hatchery.

Well, it sure sounds like you're doing all you can. If they have clean water, good quality feed, a heat lamp, and - most importantly - they are kept in very dry conditions, you really shouldn't have issues. Do watch the water...if they are dumping it, make SURE to get any wet shavings out ASAP & replace with clean, dry ones. But, it honesty doesn't sound like dampness is the issue. I'm very sorry!

 

[Fentressfarmer]

T

Well, it sure sounds like you're doing all you can.  If they have clean water, good quality feed, a heat lamp, and - most importantly - they are kept in very dry conditions, you really shouldn't have issues.  Do watch the water...if they are dumping it, make SURE to get any wet shavings out ASAP & replace with clean, dry ones.  But, it honesty doesn't sound like dampness is the issue.  I'm very sorry!

Thanks for the info, this is my first go round with chicks so I not real sure what I'm doing, I appreciate all the help I can get. Out of the 70 chicks we bought from ideal we have lost 3 so far in 9 days so we are trying not to loose any more!!!

 

[feathers4fun]

I have a question to all-asking advice?

...
We are getting ready to build a new barn/coop for the chickens one large building 10x40 with 4 individual coops on each corner with out door runs on each. Any way I have decided to put concrete flooring in the building. It has come to my attention from another chicken breeder that concrete is bad for chickens. My main reason for concrete was for easy clean up and quarterly spraying down the floor. Now even with concrete flooring I plan to use wood shavings as bedding. This breeder says that concrete holds more moister and problems with bumble feet.

I will have no roosts on the JG coops with 18x18 nest .

Any input about this would be very helpful . We have not started constuction yet waiting on weather.
We are planning to spend quite a bit of money to get this done right one time. So I would love any input you can throw my way!

I am housing some hens in a 6'x12' pen on concrete, with plenty of shavings/bedding. Have had them on this for maybe 4 months-no problems thus far and super easy to clean. The building is insulated and also houses sheep during lambing and mama pig with babies. When it's cold, we shut the big doors and it stays warmer. The floor is sealed and even with that many critters housed in there at this time, it doesn't seem damp-and we live in the Pacific NW where everything is always wet. I don't think concrete would cause bumblefoot, unless maybe the pen was dirty and manure compacted maybe??