Jersey Giants thread for pictures and discussion

[slickchik]

Quote:
I have to say that a JG crow is much deeper than a bantam and not as ear piercing. It is kinda pleasant in a way. I rehomed some JG roos and when I visit them I actually love hearing how deep a crow they have.

 

[seminolewind]

Speaking of JG crows, I have one young dude who has crowed so much that he was squeaking for a while and now his crow is almost non existent. Poor guy, crowing and nothing comes out but an "urk"!

My babies from Kathyinmo eggs are doing great. Of seven, I think 3 are male, they seem to be taller and stand taller. But they are all very happy to jump all over me and peck at my earrings, sit on my arm, taste my hair........ very sweet. I need pics!

 

[KDH]

This may have been asked before, but I didn't find it easily... so here goes:

I have four black Jersey giant chicks and four GLW chicks, all pullets (assuming the sexing went right). I got them all as 1 day olds; they're four weeks now. A couple of the chicks - including two of the Jersey giants - are about half the size of the others. They were all the same size, pretty much, when I got them. The only thing I can think is that the chicks that are bolder - and therefore come up to me and actively get worms and other treats (cooked brown rice and flax seed) - are the chicks that are much bigger. All of the chicks have 24/hour access to chick crumbles, H20, and I do scatter cracked corn around for them to play with. Nodody is starving, and they're all active and healthy. They have a big space (8 chicks in a 6 x 12 foot area). But is it possible that the much bigger chicks are simply benefiting from extra worm nutrients (yuck) and so are growing more rapidly? Will the littler chicks catch up over time?

Here's a picture to show the differences: Look at the JG kid in the far upper left - and the one to the right - both of them so much smaller than the golden laced Wyandotte inbetween them, as well as the GLW up front - and all the same age, raised under the same conditions, yadda, yadda, yadda. What gives?

 

[kathyinmo]

Jersey Giants are very slow growing. It really takes 2 years to see their full growth. I raised mine with other breeds, and could not even tell the difference until they were about 5 or 6 months old.

 

[Bassleg]

Quote:
If you are feeding them cracked corn they will need grit.

 

[Lurch1]

Has anyone butchered their Giants? How long does it take before they have a decent carcass? I've heard 6-9 months..... Can they be roasters at that age or are they to tough?

What do you think of what this guy has to say about the JG as meat birds?

 

[kathyinmo]

I have never butchered any yet. However, I do have one that is huge and 8 months old that will probably be processed. The only reason is because I don't need him. I have 3 roosters and only want to keep 2 of them.

 

[LivinNewDreamInND]

I have a question for your Jersey Giant experts. My husband is almost done with remodeling our coop room for our 4 week olds, four of them are Jersey Giants, how big are your nest boxes that your giants actually like to use? Here is a picture of my Jersey Giants outside fot the first time with the rest of my girls:

Here is a closer look at one of my JG's Peanut, she is my smallest chick:

 

[hunterland]

typical box size for a chiken is 12 x 12, but I noticed that my giants like my 18 x 12 better and my 24 x 24 goose nest better. The 12 x 12 gets squooshed into by two hens on occasion and end up with broken eggs if one is trying to go broody. I have mine less than 2 feet off the ground as is my roost. Many place them on the ground for GJ to keep them from having to jump so far down as this is hard on their feet and legs.

I hope this helps.

 

[kathyinmo]

This is what I use for a nest .... This is in the White Faced Black Spanish pen. I have larger ones for the Giants.