JGxBR

[mduerksen]

Yesterday I hatched out 2 eggs.(Long story why only two). Anyway, I have JG roo, my pullets are 2 barred rocks, 1 white leghorn, 1 RIR and 1 JG.

My hatched eggs were from the leghorn and the barred rock. My white chick has HUGE feet and is Tall and bigger than the jg x br.

Pretty sure the br is a male cuz of the spot on his head.

Would my jg x br be a decent mear bird?

Thinking if keeping the JG roo to breed with my BRs if they'll make good meat birds.

I have no idea what to expect from the jg x white, assuming not goo meat since whites are so small to begin with

Thoughts?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

They won't grow fast. By 16 weeks, they'll be the same size as a heritage. Maybe a smidgen bigger, but nothing like a Cornish cross

 

[mduerksen]

Thanks.

Trying to find something that would be decent dressed size around 3-4 months. And can ve sustainable by my own flock
Not looking for the cornish cross growth

 

[Ridgerunner]

Thoughts?

There is only one way to find out. We all have our own criteria for what makes a good meat bird. We butcher them at different ages, cook them different ways, some only butcher cockerels while some also eat pullets, size is usually a criteria but more for some than others. Many consider early maturity to be a benefit. The test is not whether I'm happy with it but whether you are.

I've never raised Jersey Giants. I've read that they are slow to mature, first they grow the boney framework and then add meat to it. If that is true you may need to pay to feed them longer so they can better reach the potential for how much meat they could produce. But you may also find that they have enough meat on those bones to make you happy even at a younger age. A while back someone on here said they deboned some slow-growing Brahma crosses and some faster maturing dual purpose breeds at the same age and got equivalent amounts of meat so they were OK with that.

I can't remember who but someone on here likes their leghorn crosses. I can't remember what they cross them with either, not the best memory here. Leghorns are supposed to be fairly early maturing and they like the conformation.

I can see where you might like either of those crosses or you might hate them. Only one chick of each cross isn't much of a test but at least you can decide for yourself.

 

[AprilWC]

So this picture is older (likely 10 years) but it shows a Barred Rock (left) and Jersey Giant (middle) compared to a Cornish X (right). Barred Rock and Jersey Giant were about 6 months old while the Cornish X was about 11-12 weeks old. I didn't weigh the birds although I wish I had. The CornishX was obviously very large and had very full breast and drumsticks, BUT my family preferred the flavor of the Rock and Giant best. The CornishX was very similar to what you get from the grocery store. To me that flavor was quite bland once we tasted the other breeds. The Jersey Giant appeared very large, but like someone else posted, he was mostly frame: not a lot of breast meat (but what was there was delicious), but plenty of drumstick and thigh!

Aside from a few adorable speckled Sussex in a moment of weakness, we only have Jersey Giants now. It really depends on what you want out of your birds. I would encourage you to taste an older, heritage breed bird. They are not like what you get at the grocery store. Not bad, in my opinion, you just need to make sure you and your family like the taste and texture.