Raising a variety of meat breeds

[OrganicFarmWife]

Lol speaking of Lucky Males. I believe this is going to be my Rooster

I asked the experts on the Jersey Giant thread and was told he was too young for a definite answer and I need to get a picture of him standing still and upright, but that he was a ok start. Getting a picture of him standing still and upright is just about impossible. Those JG are a very skittish birds.

 

[a704]

Great pic thanks for sharing

 

[ChickenChaser9]

Quote:

How old is your Giant now?

I found they are very easily sexed during the first few weeks of their lives. Case and point: As chicks, my boy Giants do not develop tail feathers right away like the girls but DO begin to grow wattles and comb much earlier and so their profile is strikingly different from the girls. That being said, here is a picture of my Cockerel at 4 months old.

See how mature his saddle feathers are already? They are long and drape luxuriously over his backside and even hang over his wing tips at this point. That is a sure fire indication that he is male.
Now imho Jerseys are not particularly skittish it is just that Colonel Cluck is much to dignified to he handled by a monkey or carted around when he is meant to be strutting his stuff so the ladies can see what a perfect gentleman he is. Our girls are very tolerant of being touched and approached and will in fact come running full tilt to us whenever we are spotted entering their yard and will crowd around your feet trying to trip you up until they are given proper attention and treats. Of course we spent a lot of time raising them by hand as babies so they are very used to getting attention from us humans. The Colonel has never cared to be held or touched any longer than is necessary even as a little chick and he is plenty fast enough these days so that if I want to hold him he makes me work for it. Anyhow, do let us know as your bird develops. I am always keen to see other folk's Giants. Best Wishes.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

Lol speaking of Lucky Males. I believe this is going to be my Rooster I asked the experts on the Jersey Giant thread and was told he was too young for a definite answer and I need to get a picture of him standing still and upright, but that he was a ok start. Getting a picture of him standing still and upright is just about impossible. Those JG are a very skittish birds.

See how mature his saddle feathers are already? They are long and drape luxuriously over his backside and even hang over his wing tips at this point. That is a sure fire indication that he is male. Now imho Jerseys are not particularly skittish it is just that Colonel Cluck is much to dignified to he handled by a monkey or carted around when he is meant to be strutting his stuff so the ladies can see what a perfect gentleman he is. Our girls are very tolerant of being touched and approached and will in fact come running full tilt to us whenever we are spotted entering their yard and will crowd around your feet trying to trip you up until they are given proper attention and treats. Of course we spent a lot of time raising them by hand as babies so they are very used to getting attention from us humans. The Colonel has never cared to be held or touched any longer than is necessary even as a little chick and he is plenty fast enough these days so that if I want to hold him he makes me work for it. Anyhow, do let us know as your bird develops. I am always keen to see other folk's Giants. Best Wishes.

They are only 8weeks. I am certian he is a male, they just couldn't tell me if he was a decent male. I am not looking for a show bird by any means, but I figured I wanted to get a Rooster that was as close as possible to SOP for breeding. Mine are more skittish then the others, they hate weekly weigh in, but they are also smaller then my other meaties. It could be that because the others are so much larger and slower then the JG, the JG seem more skittish in comparison. I did get a decent picture of him last night, I think it is him, he removed his tag

This was taken at a distance and zoomed up.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

Lol speaking of Lucky Males. I believe this is going to be my Rooster I asked the experts on the Jersey Giant thread and was told he was too young for a definite answer and I need to get a picture of him standing still and upright, but that he was a ok start. Getting a picture of him standing still and upright is just about impossible. Those JG are a very skittish birds.

See how mature his saddle feathers are already? They are long and drape luxuriously over his backside and even hang over his wing tips at this point. That is a sure fire indication that he is male. Now imho Jerseys are not particularly skittish it is just that Colonel Cluck is much to dignified to he handled by a monkey or carted around when he is meant to be strutting his stuff so the ladies can see what a perfect gentleman he is. Our girls are very tolerant of being touched and approached and will in fact come running full tilt to us whenever we are spotted entering their yard and will crowd around your feet trying to trip you up until they are given proper attention and treats. Of course we spent a lot of time raising them by hand as babies so they are very used to getting attention from us humans. The Colonel has never cared to be held or touched any longer than is necessary even as a little chick and he is plenty fast enough these days so that if I want to hold him he makes me work for it. Anyhow, do let us know as your bird develops. I am always keen to see other folk's Giants. Best Wishes.

Your Colonel is a very handsome guy. Thank you for the pic, so I have something to base mine off of.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

We have a predator. I counted heads last night and am missing one JG. The birds have taken to roosting outside the coop and when I go out to lock up I occasionally miss one in the dark. Last night everyone went to bed early so I could be sure to get everyone in and my layers got locked up in the brooder room, much to their horror.
This morning I found fur right inside the barn and several things knocked down, as if a fight occured. I am thinking whatever it is went after a cat, hopefully the Tom got in a few good punches.
My brother is coming out with a live trap today. Hopefully we can get him taken care of quickly.

 

[ChickenChaser9]

They are only 8weeks. I am certian he is a male, they just couldn't tell me if he was a decent male. I am not looking for a show bird by any means, but I figured I wanted to get a Rooster that was as close as possible to SOP for breeding.
Mine are more skittish then the others, they hate weekly weigh in, but they are also smaller then my other meaties. It could be that because the others are so much larger and slower then the JG, the JG seem more skittish in comparison.
I did get a decent picture of him last night, I think it is him, he removed his tag

This was taken at a distance and zoomed up.

The Colonel acknowledges your appreciation of his form with his typical aloofness. I say thank you for the compliment. Jerseys 'grow' slower than other birds because they have to build alot more frame to support the largeness of their mature size and so they tend to be a bit behind the curve and look more lanky than other breeds at that age or being all 'knees and elbows' as I like to call it. Some of the characteristics that set a bird of mediocre breeding apart from a really great bird in the case of Jersey Giants are Face, feet and posture. His face should be red with comb and wattles the same, free of black. Not talking about his feathers but his skin. For his feet you want to see some of that yellow color on the bottoms which he does have based on your other pictures. When standing still his toes should both point forward and not at all appear bowlegged or splayed with tail held erect at about a 70 degree angle. From what I see this bird does look pretty good for 8 weeks. Thank you for sharing!

EDIT: I read about your missing bird. I don't know how many chickens you have out there but I missed one of my Jerseys during a storm and she got attacked over night too. They are hard to see after the sun goes down. Be vigilant, whatever is after your chickens is not going to stop.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

They are only 8weeks. I am certian he is a male, they just couldn't tell me if he was a decent male. I am not looking for a show bird by any means, but I figured I wanted to get a Rooster that was as close as possible to SOP for breeding. Mine are more skittish then the others, they hate weekly weigh in, but they are also smaller then my other meaties. It could be that because the others are so much larger and slower then the JG, the JG seem more skittish in comparison. I did get a decent picture of him last night, I think it is him, he removed his tag This was taken at a distance and zoomed up.

The Colonel acknowledges your appreciation of his form with his typical aloofness. I say thank you for the compliment. Jerseys 'grow' slower than other birds because they have to build alot more frame to support the largeness of their mature size and so they tend to be a bit behind the curve and look more lanky than other breeds at that age or being all 'knees and elbows' as I like to call it. Some of the characteristics that set a bird of mediocre breeding apart from a really great bird in the case of Jersey Giants are Face, feet and posture. His face should be red with comb and wattles the same, free of black. Not talking about his feathers but his skin. For his feet you want to see some of that yellow color on the bottoms which he does have based on your other pictures. When standing still his toes should both point forward and not at all appear bowlegged or splayed with tail held erect at about a 70 degree angle. From what I see this bird does look pretty good for 8 weeks. Thank you for sharing!

Thank you! I will keep my eye on him...and move him in with the layers when it is time.

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

They are only 8weeks. I am certian he is a male, they just couldn't tell me if he was a decent male. I am not looking for a show bird by any means, but I figured I wanted to get a Rooster that was as close as possible to SOP for breeding. Mine are more skittish then the others, they hate weekly weigh in, but they are also smaller then my other meaties. It could be that because the others are so much larger and slower then the JG, the JG seem more skittish in comparison. I did get a decent picture of him last night, I think it is him, he removed his tag This was taken at a distance and zoomed up.

The Colonel acknowledges your appreciation of his form with his typical aloofness. I say thank you for the compliment. Jerseys 'grow' slower than other birds because they have to build alot more frame to support the largeness of their mature size and so they tend to be a bit behind the curve and look more lanky than other breeds at that age or being all 'knees and elbows' as I like to call it. Some of the characteristics that set a bird of mediocre breeding apart from a really great bird in the case of Jersey Giants are Face, feet and posture. His face should be red with comb and wattles the same, free of black. Not talking about his feathers but his skin. For his feet you want to see some of that yellow color on the bottoms which he does have based on your other pictures. When standing still his toes should both point forward and not at all appear bowlegged or splayed with tail held erect at about a 70 degree angle. From what I see this bird does look pretty good for 8 weeks. Thank you for sharing! EDIT: I read about your missing bird. I don't know how many chickens you have out there but I missed one of my Jerseys during a storm and she got attacked over night too. They are hard to see after the sun goes down. Be vigilant, whatever is after your chickens is not going to stop.

I know and agree. We will get it. My brother has some experience with traping and hunting and is looking for something to do. I am just going to have to get stricter about appropriate bed times for birds.

 

[Dave C]

Some of my Buff Plymouth Rocks
4 weeks and averaging 315g (a bit puny compared to my meatballs)
Not sure what they going to bring to my meat project, but I like buff birds.
I'm hoping they have a strong statue, but we will see.