White Jersey Giants

[BGMatt]

Just found this thread by coincidence, but on the discussion about creating a new line of them, the White in Jersey Giants is a simple recessive white just like it is in the Langshan, so if you want to improve the quality or start a new line on the Whites, you can cross them to Black (or a blue but that's more confusing), and then either breed those offspring together for 25% whites (50% of the offspring will still be carrying white) or breed back to the original White for 50% White and 50% Black split to White. I can't believe I'm about to say this but you could probably even get away with using a hatchery male for the first year over really good stock Blacks.

 

[feathers4fun]

Just found this thread by coincidence, but on the discussion about creating a new line of them, the White in Jersey Giants is a simple recessive white just like it is in the Langshan, so if you want to improve the quality or start a new line on the Whites, you can cross them to Black (or a blue but that's more confusing), and then either breed those offspring together for 25% whites (50% of the offspring will still be carrying white) or breed back to the original White for 50% White and 50% Black split to White. I can't believe I'm about to say this but you could probably even get away with using a hatchery male for the first year over really good stock Blacks.

Thanks Matt! That is what we are doing, just takes time as we did start with, basically, hatchery whites and really nice Blacks.

 

[draye]

I bought white jersey giants( as well as black and splash) this past May from Sand Hill Preservation Center. The whites seem hard to keep alive when young compared to the others for some strange reason. We lost 2 in shipping, and one seemingly healthy white rooster just fell over dead one day. No other deaths occurred afterwards, and we keep the area scrupulously clean, plus the others seem fine. So we don't have very many whites at all now. They're 6.5 months old now. I'll try to get some better pictures of the whites specifically.


















This is our first time with a large number of chickens (35) and the first time we get stock with the intent to breed. Also, the 17 JG hens started laying last month, about 5 months old. A month later, they seem to be averaging about 6 eggs per day. There is a big range of sizes among them; some have extremely thick feet and legs, others more slender. The hens' sizes seem more varied than the roosters too. I have a very tiny black JG hen with some reddish brass streaks near her neck..Wondering if she's a cross, though Sand Hill is supposed to be pretty reputable. Since they're getting older now I'm looking up information on culling so that i know which to keep. We have too many roosters right now, but surprisingly they aren't killing each other, as all the birds share a giant coop and yard. I'm interested in purchasing some higher quality whites, as mine seem to be on the small side compared to the blacks and splashes. My largest white rooster seems to have a beigeish tone to his feathers. That is a fault i assume, but since his bone structure is heavier than the others, is this a forgivable fault or a dealbreaker?

What are the weights on the Sand Hill White Jersey Giants? I have a quintet of Black's (Blue rooster), they are 7 months old and are ginormous, haven't weighed them yet.

 

[informative]

Any thoughts on the idea of crossing these with Buff Orps or maybe even Red Star types to keep the birds large but hope to speed up maturation and egg laying?

This of course is setting aside all notions of SOP show colors and just looking for a large hardy bird that lays well, good personality, heat and cold tolerant, possibly even able to broody hatch some of their own chicks and fend off low level flying predators (we have hawks and vultures mostly in our local bird of prey category)

 

[draye]

Any thoughts on the idea of crossing these with Buff Orps or maybe even Red Star types to keep the birds large but hope to speed up maturation and egg laying?

This of course is setting aside all notions of SOP show colors and just looking for a large hardy bird that lays well, good personality, heat and cold tolerant, possibly even able to broody hatch some of their own chicks and fend off low level flying predators (we have hawks and vultures mostly in our local bird of prey category)

That might increase egg production. Mine doesn't need that ( I have the Blacks) out of four hens I got four eggs.
The crossing to Buff Orpingtons and especially to Red Star you'll loose type and size. Type and size are what Jersey Giants are all about.

I'm looking for the White variety and also Blacks to put back into my flock.

 

[informative]

I've ordered a half box of JG whites from Ideal Hatchery in Texas but they wont be shipping until April. I'll come back and post what sort of quality giants they have over time.

I know the thumbs down all the chicken people give the hatcheries but I still buy some from hatcheries and then work toward the perfection of the genes that matter to me (personality, bird size/hardiness and consistent early egg production). I don't sell birds so the SOP doesn't matter to me.

 

[wyochickenlady]

I have a supposed white jersey giant. She is 7 weeks

 

[Lucky KY Chicks]

Ordered 6 white Jersey Giant chicks today! 1 cockerel and 5 pullets. I'll come back with pictures when they arrive! These are my first Jersey Giants!!! They are coming from Cackle so I'll let you all assess the quality once they are older.

 

[Lucky KY Chicks]

Here they are!

This is my little cockerel

 

[Mpks92]

I live in California near Yosemite. Does any one near me have any jersey giants? I really want to add some to our flock.