Jersey Giants thread for pictures and discussion

[Totalcolour]

Quote: I don't bond with most of my animals, since I don't like to "eat" my friends, and these are "Meat". My goats, rabbits, ducks and chickens are "food".

My dogs are "pets".

Having said that, they are all treated humanely.

 

[Wynette]

A lot of people sell what they call SQ (eggs, chicks or young birds from show parentage) and they really aren't good quality at all.

You've made a good point that never gets old in repeating, as it's very important. Folks, when looking for quality stock, be wary of any breeder who says they have exhibition quality hatching eggs or chicks. You simply cannot know whether a chick will grow up to be a good example of the breed, and there is no such thing as an exhibition quality egg.

Look for hatching eggs or stock from someone who has birds that have been proven in the show arena, and ask if they sell stock or eggs from those proven birds.

 

[Framac]

You've made a good point that never gets old in repeating, as it's very important. Folks, when looking for quality stock, be wary of any breeder who says they have exhibition quality hatching eggs or chicks. You simply cannot know whether a chick will grow up to be a good example of the breed, and there is no such thing as an exhibition quality egg.

Look for hatching eggs or stock from someone who has birds that have been proven in the show arena, and ask if they sell stock or eggs from those proven birds.

I am going to chime in here, because, well, I like to chime in.

Wynette has some very good points here, as did Totalcolour. It really comes down to what do you want out of your birds? and How much do you want to pay?

If you are looking for Giants, as backyard layers, anything will work, and it just depends on how much you want to spend, 2.50 from a hatchery(will probably be a little smaller), or up to 50 dollars or more from a breeder.

If you are looking to show locally, then it comes down to how competitive your local area is, and how competitive you want to be.

If you are looking to show a lot of places and win, then you are looking for a very select stock.

If you don't plan to show, but want SOP Giants, then you again will be looking for high quality show stock. It might be easier and in the long run cheaper, to buy started birds, then you know what you got.

Framac

 

[Framac]

Here is an interesting thing I noticed with a group of birds.

I feed all chicks up to the first egg from the first pullet Gamebird starter. The seem to very well for me on it, regardless of breed.

I had a few pullets start laying, so I switched to Layer. The cockerels, over the course of a month, lost at least 10, if not 20% of their weight going from 28 down to a 16% protein feed.

Anyone ever notice that?

Framac

 

[AutumnHotChick]

How big are the jersey chicks at their hatching compared to other breeds? I am incubating some right now, bu two bantam cochin eggs got tossed in the incubator and I am wondering if one or the other actually survive if I could brood them together? Thanks!

 

[Framac]

How big are the jersey chicks at their hatching compared to other breeds? I am incubating some right now, bu two bantam cochin eggs got tossed in the incubator and I am wondering if one or the other actually survive if I could brood them together? Thanks!

You can brood them together. I raised Giants and Standard Ameracaunas together, and there is a big size difference. Once the cockerels get mature, you might want to separate them.

 

[Totalcolour]

How big are the jersey chicks at their hatching compared to other breeds? I am incubating some right now, bu two bantam cochin eggs got tossed in the incubator and I am wondering if one or the other actually survive if I could brood them together? Thanks!

I didn't notice any difference at hatching. But, around 8 weeks they showed a big variation (J.G.'s vs BCM's) and at 12 weeks the Giants literally towered over the rest. My one cockerel at 14 weeks towers over my 18 month Brahma!

 

[WendyJeepchick]

Franca, I'm in Central California. I can't locate a JG breeder in my state. Well...I actually did locate one close to me...but he's on the Megan's law website...I hope he stops breathing soon

 

[Framac]

WendyJeepChick:

Try contacting Sherry L. Hintz. She is the Rep for your area. Another person to check with might be Sher Jennings, the VP of the Club, and I believe former Regional Rep.

 

[WendyJeepchick]

Awesome. Thanks for giving me a direction to go...

It's not WHAT you know but WHO you know.