I read they give about 290 eggs annually, and they are very pretty in color, i want some, but they are so new, so its harder to find, i was hoping our tractor supply carried them but they dont.
What is a sapphire gem?
- Thread starter EColson15
- Start date
Order direct from Hoover's. .. if you don't want or need 15 chicks (minimum Order for standard size chicks through them) post in your local fb groups, etc and find someone that wanted to go in on an order withyou. I had an excellent experience ordering with Hoover's ...have a second set of chicks coming in a combo order from them through the local feed store
Goldenchik
In the Brooder
My hubby and I went to Rural King today and we purchased 2 BCMarans 2 Sapphire Gem and 1 Lavander Orpington. I will post Pics when the Sapphire Gems get older. There are some nice images on Google of hens. Hoover Hatchery has only one pic. And that is where these chicks are from. I was curious how they are as hens. was not able to find much. But i will find out myself soon enough.
One week in and we lost one little girl 
She passed the 2nd day. Found her lying on her side twitching her leg. I tried to revive her throughout the day and she was doing better...sitting up more, cheeping, etc. I placed her back in the brooder and she did the little spread-the-wings-out-to-the-sides thing they do to sleep. Which was a good sign that she wasn't falling on her side. My brooder is in my office so I returned to my desk to work and figured i'd check on her in an hour. When I did, she was gone. Some of her sisters were sitting on her like a perch. I'm wondering if one did so and she didn't have the strength to shake it off. And then another came along and thought 'this is a nice, soft spot' and did the same and so on Next time, I'll set up a nursery brooder if I have a struggling chick. Last year, we had some wry-neck babies and the other chicks gave them their space so I never expected perching to be a threat. Now I know The rest are doing great. They're inquisitive little things and not as skittish as our mixed breed chicks were last year. Those remained somewhat skittish but very docile and sweet once I catch them. They're part GC, part Phoenix and part ??? so maybe the Phoenix and the ??? contributed to the nervous demeanor. I'm thinking the Sapphire Gems will be better suited to those wanting friendlier birds . Here's hoping! No pic update today...phone is temperamental but I'll try soon 
She passed the 2nd day. Found her lying on her side twitching her leg. I tried to revive her throughout the day and she was doing better...sitting up more, cheeping, etc. I placed her back in the brooder and she did the little spread-the-wings-out-to-the-sides thing they do to sleep. Which was a good sign that she wasn't falling on her side. My brooder is in my office so I returned to my desk to work and figured i'd check on her in an hour. When I did, she was gone. Some of her sisters were sitting on her like a perch. I'm wondering if one did so and she didn't have the strength to shake it off. And then another came along and thought 'this is a nice, soft spot' and did the same and so on Next time, I'll set up a nursery brooder if I have a struggling chick. Last year, we had some wry-neck babies and the other chicks gave them their space so I never expected perching to be a threat. Now I know The rest are doing great. They're inquisitive little things and not as skittish as our mixed breed chicks were last year. Those remained somewhat skittish but very docile and sweet once I catch them. They're part GC, part Phoenix and part ??? so maybe the Phoenix and the ??? contributed to the nervous demeanor. I'm thinking the Sapphire Gems will be better suited to those wanting friendlier birds . Here's hoping! No pic update today...phone is temperamental but I'll try soon 
I got 2 in my brown egg layers assortment ...from Valley Farm hatchery... So excited went to order some for a friend and they are sold out apparently
So my SGs are officially 3 weeks old and despite ordering 10 females, I suspect we have 2 roos :/ I believe I mentioned it above but I ordered through TSC. I wasn't sure which hatchery supplied our birds but I suspected Hoover based on location. We received 10 fairly dark grey birds and 2 much lighter grey birds with no dark contrast marking on the heads. Just an overall light grey with yellow underside and such. Of the 10 dark chicks, 2 are really dark without any yellow banding around eyes and almost black heads. Legs are a mix of light and grey and beaks are the same. The lighter of the darker birds are still fairly dark with contrasting heads and some yellow banding around eyes. Beaks and legs are a mix of light and grey. The 2 lighter chicks have pink beaks and legs. Early last week, I started to suspect that the lighter chicks are cockerels. Couldn't quite put my finger on why but something about them just gave me the cockerel vibe despite the fact that they're grey and only in their second week. I have tried repeatedly to look up how to sex this breed but I'm coming up empty; there isn't much info available out there. I assume because the roos end up being a single gene barred bird (read that somewhere) that the male chicks would be light but 'light' could be white, yellow, or light grey, etc. I called Hoover on Friday to question how they sex the SGs but the woman--although sweet--couldn't tell me more than that the cockerels are a light with grey color. That didn't bode well. This morning, I decided to take a handful of chicks down to my kitchen to compare in brighter, more natural lighting. The darker girls remind me of pullets...barely any comb and hardly a hint of a wattle at 3 weeks. Their backs slope down into what I feel is a typical length tail for their age. They haven't been handled as much this past week and will dodge into a corner when I lift the monstrosity of a lid we have to keep the cats out. But once I place my hand in, they're inquisitive and easy enough to catch.. They settle right down when I cuddle them. The 2 light ones stand different and although I see no difference in the size of the legs at this point, the combs are slightly more evident...as is the slip of pink skin that is the emerging wattles...and although it isn't evident in the photos I took, the wattle flesh is really pink already...no the pale flesh color the rest of the chicks have. Also, the tail feathers are shorter but often held more erect. When I put my hand in the brooder, one of the light ones often charges my hand which could be indicative of a roo. The other is more submissive and does not do that. I'll try to post some photos from my phone...let me know what you all think I did place a call to TSC today and the rep is placing a call to Hoover to determine if we accidentally received 2 roos. Figured this could be helpful to others that are wondering how to sex them as well. I'll attach pix in a separate comment. They're on my phone....
I did place a call to TSC today and the rep is placing a call to Hoover to determine if we accidentally received 2 roos. Figured this could be helpful to others that are wondering how to sex them as well. I'll attach pix in a separate comment. They're on my phone....
Not sure why my phone posted some twice. There should be 2 photos of the lighter birds and 2 photos of the darker birds. The rest are duplicates. Sorry folks!
My only loss this year was one ood my two saphires, of course that was the ones I was most excited about getting...go figure. Lost her at about a week old for no apparent reason.
Anyway, this is the other one taken yesterday, so 2 1/2 weeks old. Really liking this girl!
They're adorable, aren't they? <3 <3 <3
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