Jersey Giants thread for pictures and discussion

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
Congratulations! Beautiful girl!

 

[mame1616]

Thanks! I can't wait to get some land, away from neighbors like I have now, so I can have some roos and breed my own!

 

[chowmaine]

Hi everyone....novice chickener here....I picked up these girls in July, the blue giant hen and two black hens a few weeks apart in age. I've seen posts about the bottoms of their feet being yellow and my blue girl has 'em but the black ones don't. Is it possible the black are not in fact Jersey Giants? What do you think? Those two have started laying eggs this past week and they are medium-ish in size and a buff color. The second/third picture is 9/10. Just wondering.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Quote:
Beautiful girls!

 

[Soaring Chicks]

hello,
I have liked the JG's for a while and have looked into them. For some reason I have just never got any.? What is the size of the eggs? I hear some say a lg med egg to xlg eggs.
Are they big eaters? Are they really the gentle giants where at breeding age. If someone could give me the pros and cons on them? It would be great if someone could. I have wyandotte's,wheaten marans that I will keep ,but I have blue marans or Olive Egg Layers that I'm thinking of getting out of. If I do I want to get another breed and once again I'm looking at the JG's. I can read everything I can on them, but I would rather hear from someone who has the breed and hands info. on them.
Thanks

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Quote:
Houdy from Texas -

I can't help you w/the size of JG eggs because my 3 JG hens haven't start laying yet. But they should in about a week!

Um, they eat just about the same as Standard Chickens, I'd say. I have food out 24/7 so I can't really tell ya how much they eat.

My oldest Black JG hen, Black Beauty, is very tame and docile. I can't say the same thing for my other Black JG pullet but my Splash JG hen is quiet sweet too..when you catch her that is!

They can be very friendly I'm sure if you handle them alot when they're chicks. I didn't handle mine all that much, so mine aren't THAT friendly.

They're quiet cold hardy, or at least mine take the cold well enough.

I'm sure there are others that can give you more info then me...sorry I wasn't much help!

 

[Soaring Chicks]

Thanks for the reply. I thought they would not eat more then other LF breeds,but hear say from book and such are so wide it's hard to read between the lines.
As long as they do not eat like meat birds do I'm fine with that. As far as gentle I know that can be in diff. forms too.
Thanks again, and I hope I can get more info.

 

[mame1616]

Adore them, and they are my favorite breed. Very quit, not easily startled. Not the greatest layers, but the eggs are big. They are very docile, but they need to be handled young. I have one now that I got as a year old and requires a great deal of strength to control her. My other that just passed was handled all the time since she was a baby, and was very resigned to my picking her up. All of mine are very dignified, and picking them up is beneath them. My friend has several of them and they are all wonderful. I have one who is hard to catch, but ok once I get her, and I just got a five-month old from the Ohio National. Been leaving her alone to settle in. This is the breed I will really concentrate on once I get some land in the next five years. i haven't read about anyone not liking them, unless your primary issue is eggs. They aren't leghorns - they're a meat breed. Same as above - I have food out all the time, but I don't see them eating more than anyone else. But, they don't eat like meaties.

 

[Soaring Chicks]

No not to worried about getting a lot of eggs as I have 40 chickens right now and more in the bator. With that said hubby does love lg eggs and I love the large size breeds. The little breeds are so cute,but would not last a day here. We have a few breeding pair of red tail hawks and this year a bald eagle flying around. That is another reason I keep coming back to them I think size does matter in some cases. I'm not big on white birds, so I would get blk or blue. Any one know of a good breeder that will sell eggs? I have talked tpo marie about her line, but I don't want to spend that kind of $ till I know if I like them or not. As I just dropped a few hundred on top lines in my wyandottes. I will trade eggs or chicks if I have something someone wants and they have good JG's to try.
Thanks for the info.

 

[Wynette]

I'll also vouch for them as a wonderful breed to have on the farm! They are large, laid back, & curious, which makes them interesting to watch..."Chicken TV" my DH calls it. They are so darn big, they look like turkeys when they run toward me! The roosters have a lovely deep crow - not grating at all like some small breeds. I just find them very regal looking & neat birds.

I don't know as I'd say, for their size, that they eat a lot. Of course, they eat more than a standard size chicken, but I will also say I don't believe my Jerseys eat any more than my silver penciled plymouth rocks who, for their sizes, are huge pigs.

Mine are decent layers, and eggs, once they reach full size, are XL to Jumbo.