Jersey Giants thread for pictures and discussion

[Wynette]

It's also difficult to give good feedback - at least for me - on a colored bird. I get caught up in looking at the color patterns, and even for blues, I have a tough time...I catch myself looking at the edging on the feathers and dismissing a bird because the edging isn't quite there, which is a mistake.

I have a decent splash male; I really like him, but have never used him for breeding. I probably should, as he's now about 3 years old. I keep him around because....I simply like him. Gosh, it's tough to get a good size indicator, like stated above. The red hen to the right is a red sexlink...he towers over her. I "think" the hardware cloth he's standing next to is 3' high.

 

[Herman63]

It's also difficult to give good feedback - at least for me - on a colored bird. I get caught up in looking at the color patterns, and even for blues, I have a tough time...I catch myself looking at the edging on the feathers and dismissing a bird because the edging isn't quite there, which is a mistake.

I have a decent splash male; I really like him, but have never used him for breeding. I probably should, as he's now about 3 years old. I keep him around because....I simply like him. Gosh, it's tough to get a good size indicator, like stated above. The red hen to the right is a red sexlink...he towers over her. I "think" the hardware cloth he's standing next to is 3' high.

I think he is a nice JG! You should use him!

Doesn't someone have a splash out of him? I seem to remember seeing something?.

Soaring hawk?

 

[Wynette]

Nope, I've never used him. I do have a splash hen that I used some last year with my blue cock bird, so that splash would have been out of that cross. I'm iffy on the splash hen crossed to my blue male, so although she's still in my breeding pen this year, I am contemplating removing her. Last year, someone got a splash that they said had barring in it - it had to have been from this splash hen, but barring is dominant, and she doesn't show any. So, I'm just not sure on using her. She's pretty docile, and gets picked on in the layer pen, but gets along really well with the other Giants, as they're so laid back. So, I've left her where she is. For now, anyway.

 

[bbsnooks]

Ok.. very ego centric.. here.. that i post on my own.. photo.. but no one laughed
--- how much is that birdy in the window... ..

I am from Kansas.
I dont know about Limo service.. however.. i just saw a pair for sale.. from his stock..
I think it was in Indianna.. - it was on the other computer.. I'll have to check the history.. in a bit.

EXOP
here is the link.. tho. .it is older than i thought..
http://www.poultryshowcentral.com/in-white-jersey-giant-pair.html

You may want to post in the Consolidated kansas thread.. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/newestpost/248925
several of the regular's have been there reciently.. non got the JG's. .( what's up with that?)
but they.. may know some one.. comming your way..

 

[chrisiscoolr]

I ordered 5 black jersey giants from cackle hatchery. They aren't going to ship until May 20th though. I'm really excited to get them I've been wanting them for a while now.

 

[chicky baby]

My giants will be coming next week. Do they need special housing? I look at the pictures posted here and now I'm a little worried my nesting boxes won't be big enough. 12"x12" oh boy, I can't believe I'm just thinking about this now....

 

[clayb226]

My giants will be coming next week. Do they need special housing? I look at the pictures posted here and now I'm a little worried my nesting boxes won't be big enough. 12"x12" oh boy, I can't believe I'm just thinking about this now....

How old are they? If chicks, you have plenty of time before they lay

 

[chicky baby]

How old are they? If chicks, you have plenty of time before they lay

They will be 6-8 weeks old when they get here. How big are the nesting boxes for the average giant. We are just finishing up the new coop for them.

 

[bbsnooks]

bbs - it's very difficult to provide feedback via pictures, but from what I can see, I don't mind that splash male at all. When you compare his breast to that of the black, the splash has a much broader breast, it appears. Both have nice toplines, the splash's underline is better - again, from what I can see. Check eye color to be sure they are dark - and check foot pads to be sure they are yellow. Do you have weights on these males?

Speaking of weight - an easy way to weigh them is with a postal scale. You can pick one up for $20 on eBay. Good Giants are too large to just plop onto the surface of the scale, so I use a part of a piece of plywood on top of the scale, and zero out again before putting a bird on it.

Wynette did you change your photo? I didnt recognize you.. <ha ha> took me a minute..

I have not weighed them.. I dont have a scale.. but i was thinking of using .. a human scale.. and weighing my self.. and then me holding the chicken.. ( then do the math.)
will look to see the postal scale .. thanks for that tip.

The Splash.. is about a month older than the black.. may account for the fuller appearance.

CK - foot pad's yellow.. CK
ck.. eye's.. ?? dark eyes..
this probably isn't much better.. but i would call them dark..
for me to understand better .. what.. would you call the color.. that isn't dark.. ? would they be golden? green blue. brown?

Thanks for the feed back.. I welcome it..

 

[Zootopia]

First, Azer, to "cull" does not necessarily mean to dispatch. It means that you will not use them in a breeding program, or have removed them from a pen. In this case, these birds were sold as "backyard layers." Melissa, okay, let's look at the picture & discuss. While it's difficult to tell all you need to know to evaluate a bird in a picture, here are some of the negatives about these birds: They didn't even come close to making the weights they should have been at, per the SOP. They were all much too light. If you look carefully a the foot of the splash bird to the right, you can see (though it's hard to tell) that her foot pads are not yelow - none of them had yellow foot pads. That is a DQ, per the SOP. I would never use a Giant without yellow foot pads in a breeding program. Looking again at the splash (becuase we can't really evaluate the black) hen, note how her back is not flat, long, and horizontal like the SOP calls for. They also all (the females) had pinched tails, which is a fault. The tails are not shaped correctly, either. On the male, while he was a handsome bloke, his back is MUCH too short. It looks like the base of his tail practically is attached to back of his neck! ***Ok with that back and tail set, it is easy to see those glaring faults on that male. The underline on the black is again, hard to miss. Weights and eye/foot color are pretty easy. It is the more subtle faults that are tough. Do you have any pics of the "pinched" tails on the hens? *** Okay, Herman...here are some more. This is the same male above when he was younger. You can see the foot pads in this picture, and clearly see they are not yellow, but pink: Here is a blue male from a different line than the male above, but another line I did not keep. This male had better size, and I liked him better overall, but his tail angle was too low, and again, no yellow foot pads. He also never reached quite 11#, so still too small. He had a nice underline, though. And it was much nicer, even, as a 2-year old adult (though I do not have pictures of him at that age). In this picture, he's a bit over a year old. Tee-hee....I just love this pic. You can even still see the egg tooth, and look how his nostril has black all around it. Kind of unusual. Okay, now HERE you go. This is a female from the line that I have now. She is 20 -22 weeks, I believe, in this picture, but you can see already that she'll have very nice type. Look at that long, horizontal back! While some can have backs that are TOO long (we discussed this some months ago), hers is just right. I really do need to get some better pictures of the adults that I have now, but this female, to me, was the best I had ever had on my farm, and marked the cornerstone of my current program. Can they be improved? SURE they can! But this is a lovely start for me. ***Ah, she is lovely. One of those pics that presents well. Now if only we could get them all to pose like that. ***

It's also difficult to give good feedback - at least for me - on a colored bird. I get caught up in looking at the color patterns, and even for blues, I have a tough time...I catch myself looking at the edging on the feathers and dismissing a bird because the edging isn't quite there, which is a mistake. *** I Agree. *** I have a decent splash male; I really like him, but have never used him for breeding. I probably should, as he's now about 3 years old. I keep him around because....I simply like him. Gosh, it's tough to get a good size indicator, like stated above. The red hen to the right is a red sexlink...he towers over her. I "think" the hardware cloth he's standing next to is 3' high. *** He is very hansom. Pick him for us. What is it exactly that you don't like about him ? What does he have to offer? Sometimes you keep an animal till you find just the right match for them. ***

***I think that learning to apply the SOP to your birds is one of the hardest things for new people to learn. As they say "a pictures worth a thousand words" but there really is no substitute for "hands on".***