Jersey Giants thread for pictures and discussion

[bosingleton]

I took this pic a couple of hatches ago to show all three colors for my sale add.
I kept some from my first hatch for some new breeders, they are 5 weeks now. I'll try to get a new pic with all three colors again.

Black, blue, splash?

 

[Momhunter]

Black, blue, splash?

Yes. The black are always obviously black. The blues are anywhere from dark to light. The splash are yellow as babies then grow in the white feathers.
I have found a lot of people trying to call the lighter blues splash, but in my experience only the yellow chicks grow up to be splash adults.

 

[Momhunter]

I'll try to take another pic from the top when my next group hatches that will show the color better than the front view does. And a pic of my five week olds that are growing out nicely.

 

[carolinasculpture]

Hi All! I have been lurking around this thread for a while, but have not had time to read the whole thing...yet... We are entertaining the thought of having a JG for our roo but would like some input from folks who know them. Here are our basics: We have a 6x9 coop in a 50'x50' covered run. We tend to keep up to 14 hens and then the one roo. Right now we are "starting over" as we live pretty rural and had a
coyote ambush which decimated the flock. We found our electric fence wasn't working at the time and have since fixed that and buried fencing around the perimeter for extra safety. We plan to get 5 standard size hens this year (as "day-olds" from our local feed store, but they come from a hatchery, and the JG chick as well) and add about 3 girls per year. Our coop is off the ground and has a ramp into the coop and then a ramp up to the roosts. Anyway, I have a couple of questions...any answers would be appreciated.
1 - do they make a good roo, am looking for the laid back part I have been hearing about.
2 - with their size, are the OK with standard size hens?
3 - what should I look for to make sure I am getting Jersey Giants as opposed to something else? (have had australorps, but only females)
4 - do they go up ramps alright? I have a short ramp from the ground into the coop and a slightly longer one to get up to the roost.
5 - has anyone notice a difference in personality between had raised roos and hen raised roos?

Thanks again!

 

[silkiechicken]

Hi All! I have been lurking around this thread for a while, but have not had time to read the whole thing...yet... We are entertaining the thought of having a JG for our roo but would like some input from folks who know them. Here are our basics: We have a 6x9 coop in a 50'x50' covered run. We tend to keep up to 14 hens and then the one roo. Right now we are "starting over" as we live pretty rural and had a
coyote ambush which decimated the flock. We found our electric fence wasn't working at the time and have since fixed that and buried fencing around the perimeter for extra safety. We plan to get 5 standard size hens this year (as "day-olds" from our local feed store, but they come from a hatchery, and the JG chick as well) and add about 3 girls per year. Our coop is off the ground and has a ramp into the coop and then a ramp up to the roosts. Anyway, I have a couple of questions...any answers would be appreciated.
1 - do they make a good roo, am looking for the laid back part I have been hearing about.
2 - with their size, are the OK with standard size hens?
3 - what should I look for to make sure I am getting Jersey Giants as opposed to something else? (have had australorps, but only females)
4 - do they go up ramps alright? I have a short ramp from the ground into the coop and a slightly longer one to get up to the roost.
5 - has anyone notice a difference in personality between had raised roos and hen raised roos?

Thanks again!

1) Mine is pretty laid back, but they are powerful birds. I had two JG roos, and one day they decided they hated each other so badily one brother had to be put down. Not a mean bone to us people types and they were getting along just fine for about 8? Months. Mine were from Wynette.
2) I have mine with Leghorns, which are small birds, he is just very rough on their backs but they are fine. I need more hens.
3) Yellow foot bottoms.
4) I don't see why not.
5) I almost always hand raise birds. Broodies can be a gamble.

My rooster:

 

[amyandkids]

hello, I'm new to the thread and finally read through the whole thing! I would love to know how much that roo weighs and how tall you are silkiechicken? I'm waiting impatiently to hear from wynette about available eggs! I absolutely love the pure beauty of this breed, I have ordered some from hatcheries but I am not satisfied with what I got. All the pics are stunning, I cant wait to have some of my own!!

 

[silkiechicken]

LOL. Pictures can be deceiving. I'm only 5'2". He is hard to weigh, but with me holding him on a human scale and subtracting my weight, he's somewhere in the 14/15lb area. Some day I might try to kennel him and weighing him on a fishing scale. LOL. He is a fenceless free ranged on acerage bird so he's not as well groomed as he could be, and is leaner than almost every other backyard and "pet" chicken I've held.

 

[carolinasculpture]

Thank you SilkieChicken! That is just what I wanted to know! Can I ask, how many hens do you have him with? Will 14 be enough? I plan to start with a five and add a few each year. Do you think the hens will survive him? Impressive roo!

 

[cabinchicky]

silkiechicken he is beautiful, and so is the grin you have showing him to us! thank you! I too want some of these gentle giants you all speak of.

 

[Wynette]

hello, I'm new to the thread and finally read through the whole thing! I would love to know how much that roo weighs and how tall you are silkiechicken? I'm waiting impatiently to hear from wynette about available eggs! I absolutely love the pure beauty of this breed, I have ordered some from hatcheries but I am not satisfied with what I got. All the pics are stunning, I cant wait to have some of my own!!

Hi, amyandkids - need to get some e-mails sent out, but - my Giants just began laying last week. I'm THRILLED, and as soon as the rest begin again, I'll be ready to ship out hatching eggs. I lost my awesome blue cock bird, who was the father of Silkiechicken's gorgeous cock bird. I am using a Black cockerel now - very, very nice male, though not quite as big as the blue was that I had (although the black is still young, and has some filling out to do yet, so he could very likely catch up). My females are my pride & joy, every time I look at them, I smile from ear to ear!

Thank you SilkieChicken! That is just what I wanted to know! Can I ask, how many hens do you have him with? Will 14 be enough? I plan to start with a five and add a few each year. Do you think the hens will survive him? Impressive roo!

14 would be too many hens for one cock bird to cover with efficiency. That's not to say that he won't service them all, but - it's asking a lot, and I would suspect you wouldn't see 100% fertile eggs with that many hens. I've had up to 12 in one pen with a male, but not for Giants. Because they tend to be laid back, that tendence follows them through breeding, usually. They'll not work too awfully hard to get a female bred - at least most of them. If the female isn't very willing, or the chase is too long, often a male Giant won't bother following through.

silkiechicken he is beautiful, and so is the grin you have showing him to us! thank you! I too want some of these gentle giants you all speak of.

I think you'd love them. Especially if you get heritage bred (not from a hatchery) Giants. I noted in the winter how beautiful the blacks are against the white snow. I should have gotten some pictures on the days they came out!