Texas

[mandaleigh1981]

I do FF. I know you weren't asking me but my results are pretty neat. My birds have such full soft wonderful feathering on less feed. They are all over me and the bucket every time I feed. Two hens need a wing trim since they cant wait and have started flying over the gate to help me scoop it in the morning. I have some mobility issues after a severe auto accident so if it wasn't simple I couldn't do it. In Texas, it cooks pretty fast so you get off to a fast start. My feeling was I wanted to give it a try and decided to just jump in. If it didn't work I would have dumped the mess out in the middle of the chicken run and gone back to what I was doing.

Thank you! I was a little nervous, but reading the thread, and talking to Bee, I was sold. I have my batch outside, just starting simple with some seed and layer feed and will go from there. We are getting chicks soon, and I plan to just start them from the beginning on it. I am glad to hear about your results, and I am so excited to see some in my own birds.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Our chickens are old line breeder stock - Javas that nearly went extinct when the poultry business became so commercialized in the early 20th century, so perhaps it may also be a breed thing or an individual flock or chicken thing too. Or it could be that because I don't spend hours every day with the chickens, I have missed the dance because it is too subtle.

I finally had a friend describe it to me. The rooster taps his foot on the ground and circles the hen. She said the wing drop is part of it. Basically he asks permission. You might not have noticed it as I think it is subtle behavior. I suspect it is a strong trait in your breed.

 

[bnjrob]

There was no cost for rude rooster behavior in a forced breeding situation. In the farm yard or more natural setting, a rude rooster wouldn't get as many hens, so the solicitous behavior would be naturally selected for by the hens themselves. The rude behavior would be selected against, there would be less offspring of the rude rooster, and that trait (rude/aggressive breeding behavior) would die out. I read in one of my chicken books (THE SMALL-SCALE POULTRY FLOCK, written by Harvey Ussery) that he, the author, has found less damage to the hens since he started to select roosters for their courting behavior. These aren't my ideas.

Harvey Ussery is a great read.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I had one that was a HORRIBLE bully and found the same with him. His were like big rounded giant butter beans. But he was absolutely delicious.

Okay, just how big are testicles? This morning I butchered some 5.5 month old Silkie cockerels. They were horrible little things always trying to bite me. I had read that testicles were like kidney beans, but these were more like eggs, almost as big as my thumb. In fact, they really reminded me of a cocktail sausage! I've been weighing my eggs from the bantams that have started laying and they weigh just over an ounce. My store-bought eggs weigh two ounces. I would guess just by looking at them, they weighed about 1/2 to 3/4 of the little pullet eggs. They weren't big birds.

Read the excerpt of Dr. Temple Grandin's book. Near the bottom she discusses rapist roosters and talks about how that aggression could have been selected for. It's quite interesting.

 

[bnjrob]

I finally had a friend describe it to me. The rooster taps his foot on the ground and circles the hen. She said the wing drop is part of it. Basically he asks permission. You might not have noticed it as I think it is subtle behavior. I suspect it is a strong trait in your breed.

If it is subtle, I may not have noticed. I spend a good bit of time doing chicken chores and evaluating them for who is going to be suitable for breeder stock, but other behaviors get my attention more since I dont' want to breed aggression and want to get a flock of good dual-purpose homestead birds that get along, forage, are predator-savvy, cocks take care of the hens and call them to food etc. Looking for "romantic" mating rituals never even crossed my mind as something to watch for.

 

[bnjrob]

Okay, just how big are testicles? This morning I butchered some 5.5 month old Silkie cockerels. They were horrible little things always trying to bite me. I had read that testicles were like kidney beans, but these were more like eggs, almost as big as my thumb. In fact, they really reminded me of a cocktail sausage! I've been weighing my eggs from the bantams that have started laying and they weigh just over an ounce. My store-bought eggs weigh two ounces. I would guess just by looking at them, they weighed about 1/2 to 3/4 of the little pullet eggs. They weren't big birds.

Read the excerpt of Dr. Temple Grandin's book. Near the bottom she discusses rapist roosters and talks about how that aggression could have been selected for. It's quite interesting.

The testicles we pulled out of those more sexually aggressive cocks were literally like smallish eggs. My hubby was like "Whoa, look at the size of these things!" Sounds like those Silkies had the same thing going on - too much testosterone!

 

[mandaleigh1981]

If it is subtle, I may not have noticed. I spend a good bit of time doing chicken chores and evaluating them for who is going to be suitable for breeder stock, but other behaviors get my attention more since I dont' want to breed aggression and want to get a flock of good dual-purpose homestead birds that get along, forage, are predator-savvy, cocks take care of the hens and call them to food etc. Looking for "romantic" mating rituals never even crossed my mind as something to watch for.

I am curious as to what to look for as far as breeding. Once our JGs and NNs get old enough we want to begin breeding, as we already have people around us wanting chicks (and our chicks aren't even here yet). There are a few people around us that are wary of ordering and having chicks shipped and would rather buy them from a local person, which I totally get.

 

[goddardd]

I am curious as to what to look for as far as breeding.  Once our JGs and NNs get old enough we want to begin breeding, as we already have people around us wanting chicks (and our chicks aren't even here yet).  There are a few people around us that are wary of ordering and having chicks shipped and would rather buy them from a local person, which I totally get.

If you pull up the national jersey giant site you will find the standard posted there.
You will also find some pics

 

[mandaleigh1981]

If you pull up the national jersey giant site you will find the standard posted there.
You will also find some pics

Thanks! I am not necessarily looking for show quality birds, but of course I would like to only breed the best of what I DO have. These buggers are so hard to find around here, and I have had many people who were curious about getting larger birds etc. I tried to look at the JG thread, but I was kinda turned off by some of the people on there. I plan to get some from you as well, in the Spring.

 

[goddardd]

Well, as a suggestion, you may wish to look at the national site, so you can see
what folks are trying to breed toward. As you know there is not a perfect JG when compared to the standard. Just a desirable goal we strive for. Can't wait to hear about your new birds!