To be a rooster, to not be a rooster, that is the question...

[Acre4Me]

Here are our BJG chicks on up. They conform to breed standard nicely.

As Chicks:

At 4 months old - there is 1 male and 1 female, pretty large already.

Over 1 year old - here is the male. He is very large and big. That is a SLW hen behind him. Our Coop is elevated 2.5" off the ground for reference. The female BJG is smaller than he is, but our largest hen.

 

[Trevorusn]

As chicks, that is exactly how all 4 looked. Exactly. Tan Beak was all black until the feathers started coming in. Even the leg coloring was within JG coloring.

And then I saw this pick of a rooster listed as a BJG and it only added to the mystery!

 

[Acre4Me]

As chicks, that is exactly how all 4 looked. Exactly. Tan Beak was all black until the feathers started coming in. Even the leg coloring was within JG coloring. View attachment 1811755And then I saw this pick of a rooster listed as a BJG and it only added to the mystery!

Definitely not a BJG rooster at all. They stay black. The only recognized colors of JG are Black and white. However, there are Blue and Splash JG, but they are not colors recognized by APA. The Rooster in above pic has the wrong coloring for any of the JG colors, although there are some aspects of the above rooster that seem to indicate there may be some JG in the gene mix somewhere. But, standard for JG indicate many things, but here is where the above pic differs from APA standard from JG (from what I can see):

1. Comb: "Single, rather large, straight and upright, having six well defined and evenly serrated points, the blade following the contour of the neck"
2. Back: "rather long, broad, nearly horizontal, with a short sweep to tail"
3. Tail: "Rather large, full, well-spread, carried at and angle of forty-five degrees above horizontal."

For your chicks, check the bottom of their feet. JG should have yellow feet bottoms


So the classic rooster tail that goes high with long curving feathers isn't what a JG should have. It should look more like my BJG Rooster.

 

[Trevorusn]

Show standards don't trouble me, but having another breed outside JG potentially could, especially cold hardiness which it seems Leghorns are not noted for. I will try to snap better side profile pics today, hopefully can help with ID'ing more...hopefully.

 

[BantyChooks]

Show standards don't trouble me, but having another breed outside JG potentially could, especially cold hardiness which it seems Leghorns are not noted for. I will try to snap better side profile pics today, hopefully can help with ID'ing more...hopefully.

I do not have input on the breed, but I do have input on Leghorns.
I have winters that regularly involve highs below zero Fahrenheit for days on end. The White Leghorns I keep have been stellar. Their combs get some frostbite, which is inevitable in such frigid weather, but all their other traits are well-suited to cold temperatures. They have firm, abundant feathering, and an active personality that keeps them from withering away on the roost. In my opinion, the "Leghorns aren't cold hardy" stereotype doesn't hold true for many of them. If you're gauging hardiness purely by comb size, maybe, but that's a limited perspective. I have had plenty of pea or cushion combed birds that couldn't take the cold.

Some of my past leghorns. I believe this was taken in fall of 2018.

 

[Acre4Me]

Show standards don't trouble me, but having another breed outside JG potentially could, especially cold hardiness which it seems Leghorns are not noted for. I will try to snap better side profile pics today, hopefully can help with ID'ing more...hopefully.

APA are breed standards and used for show, of course, but also used to ID a breed. Since your chick in the pic does not match the breed description, it is not a JG.

 

[Acre4Me]

I do not have input on the breed, but I do have input on Leghorns.
I have winters that regularly involve highs below zero Fahrenheit for days on end. The White Leghorns I keep have been stellar. Their combs get some frostbite, which is inevitable in such frigid weather, but all their other traits are well-suited to cold temperatures. They have firm, abundant feathering, and an active personality that keeps them from withering away on the roost. In my opinion, the "Leghorns aren't cold hardy" stereotype doesn't hold true with a lot of their strains. If you're gauging it purely by comb size, maybe, but that's a limited perspective.
View attachment 1811792
Some of my past leghorns. I believe this was taken in fall of 2018.

Agree - my neighbor had white leghorns like yours. They weathered the Polar Vortex (18F still air, and -36F wind chill), and included winds just fine. He doesn't lock them in the coop either (but they are kept in a run), so they were in and out to eat and drink during the very cold winter. But, I'm remembering that he does put a heat lamp in the upper part of their coop during winter.

 

[Trevorusn]

I do not have input on the breed, but I do have input on Leghorns.
I have winters that regularly involve highs below zero Fahrenheit for days on end. The White Leghorns I keep have been stellar. Their combs get some frostbite, which is inevitable in such frigid weather, but all their other traits are well-suited to cold temperatures. They have firm, abundant feathering, and an active personality that keeps them from withering away on the roost. In my opinion, the "Leghorns aren't cold hardy" stereotype doesn't hold true for many of them. If you're gauging hardiness purely by comb size, maybe, but that's a limited perspective. I have had plenty of pea or cushion combed birds that couldn't take the cold.
View attachment 1811792
Some of my past leghorns. I believe this was taken in fall of 2018.

That is quite reassuring, as we also have long, sometimes harsh bitterly cold winters.

 

[Trevorusn]

APA are breed standards and used for show, of course, but also used to ID a breed. Since your chick in the pic does not match the breed description, it is not a JG.

I get the purpose of using standards for ID, but many times they are so rigid or show oriented that they discount an animal based solely on color, like white boxers not being considered a true show boxer in standard with breed regs, yet they are still an acknowledged boxer.

 

[Trevorusn]

Agree - my neighbor had white leghorns like yours. They weathered the Polar Vortex (18F still air, and -36F wind chill), and included winds just fine. He doesn't lock them in the coop either (but they are kept in a run), so they were in and out to eat and drink during the very cold winter. But, I'm remembering that he does put a heat lamp in the upper part of their coop during winter.

Also very good to know just in case, glad that at least if Tan Beak is a Leghorn they will still be good on bitter nights.