What is a sapphire gem?

[Shiekkitten]

I have 4 sapphire gems and love their personalities I named one Emma ruled and her sister name is Jade and another is opal and last one name is onix I love their colors 2 are exact twins and the other 2 are so different. I also have black sexlinks and love how their personalities are. My husband wants to get some more polish chickens because he loves the feathers lol

 

[Tlhill]

they are 6 months. They were born February 28th. Most started laying around 16-18 weeks.

I got a couple of pictures that are a little better of the one I’m not sure is a pullet or a cockerel. I realize it is still too early to tell, but can you just tell me if there’s a chance it is a hen? Lol

 

[PachecoPeeps]

I got a couple of pictures that are a little better of the one I’m not sure is a pullet or a cockerel. I realize it is still too early to tell, but can you just tell me if there’s a chance it is a hen? Lol

The comb is big but it’s not pink so I would think there is still a chance for her to be a pullet.

 

[Shiekkitten]

I got a couple of pictures that are a little better of the one I’m not sure is a pullet or a cockerel. I realize it is still too early to tell, but can you just tell me if there’s a chance it is a hen? Lol

Your babies are gorgeous my profile picture is my sapphire gem Emma ruled she is so sweet and I love watching her and her sisters play with my other chickens

 

[greggooo]

Does anyone know how cold hardy they are?

 

[PachecoPeeps]

Does anyone know how cold hardy they are?

Probably as hardy as barred rocks. They should be able to handle it well minus their combs.

 

[AshleySGM]

Anyone notice any brown feathering in your sapphire gems? I ordered 6 female sapphire gems from Hoovers Hatchery, one has brown feathering in the neck. It's very odd, I don't see any brown in the others at all.

They are 11 weeks old as of today. Pictures taken this morning.
View attachment 1465901 View attachment 1465900

I had a pair of hens a few years ago who looked like that. They were hens I picked up at the flea market so I knew nothing about their history or age. All I knew is that they were blue (my favorite color) and I had to have them. Here's a couple photos of them. Ever since then I've wanted to create my own like them, but haven't had a chance to do it so when I heard about Sapphire Gems it was a no-brainer. I ordered 3 which are now 2 weeks old.

I loved those hens and they were excellent layers of double yolk eggs. They would lay 2 days, off a day, lay 2 days, off a day.

 

[renk777]

How does the gold ring on a string work? Do you put it above them and see which direction it swings? I have two SGs that are 3 weeks old, and I have that is growing MUCH faster than the other. The comb is also HUGE compared to the rest! I’m curious to try the test for fun!

I just used what I'm assuming is a pure gold ring from a great, great, grandparent. Tied a thread to it and just let it hang as still as possible abo e the chick. This time around, the results were odd. The ring swung one direction first and then indicated the opposite on a few of the birds. I have since researched if gender can change during incubation and it can if certain conditions are met . Not sure if that's what we had but my incubator went cold on 3 separate occasions with this hatch...and to get it back to temp, also got a bit hot a few times. So I'm wondering if the gold ring and any sort of magnetism/energy associated with it really is interacting with something specific to a chick's gender, if some of our chicks had changed...as in their DNA says they're one gender but their body obviously developed into the other. Wish I'd documented which ones confused the ring and what order it moved in. Next time!

 

[Mak24456]

I just used what I'm assuming is a pure gold ring from a great, great, grandparent. Tied a thread to it and just let it hang as still as possible abo e the chick. This time around, the results were odd. The ring swung one direction first and then indicated the opposite on a few of the birds. I have since researched if gender can change during incubation and it can if certain conditions are met . Not sure if that's what we had but my incubator went cold on 3 separate occasions with this hatch...and to get it back to temp, also got a bit hot a few times. So I'm wondering if the gold ring and any sort of magnetism/energy associated with it really is interacting with something specific to a chick's gender, if some of our chicks had changed...as in their DNA says they're one gender but their body obviously developed into the other. Wish I'd documented which ones confused the ring and what order it moved in. Next time!

Gold is not magnetic, though. Neither is DNA

 

[Tlhill]

I just used what I'm assuming is a pure gold ring from a great, great, grandparent. Tied a thread to it and just let it hang as still as possible abo e the chick. This time around, the results were odd. The ring swung one direction first and then indicated the opposite on a few of the birds. I have since researched if gender can change during incubation and it can if certain conditions are met . Not sure if that's what we had but my incubator went cold on 3 separate occasions with this hatch...and to get it back to temp, also got a bit hot a few times. So I'm wondering if the gold ring and any sort of magnetism/energy associated with it really is interacting with something specific to a chick's gender, if some of our chicks had changed...as in their DNA says they're one gender but their body obviously developed into the other. Wish I'd documented which ones confused the ring and what order it moved in. Next time!

That is truly fascinating! Yes, please document and share next time. I’m interested to find out too!

I think I have decided that my questionable one is indeed a pullet. She just seems to be about a week or so older than the others, which is what is throwing me off on how fast she is developing. I only have two SGs, so I don’t have many to compare her to, but the other one seems to hit the same milestones a week later. Right now, my older one is the only one that is fully feathered. The rest are close, but maybe another week away.