Jersey Giant Chicken Breed

The Jersey Giant chicken breed was originated from the united states. Between 1875-1890’s the poultry association was demanding for the kind of chicken breed that would produce a large quantity of meat and eggs and would be a competition for the ‘Turkey’. The Jersey Giant chicken was initially developed by two brothers Thomas and John black in Jobstown near, new Jersey.

Breed Origin

It is believed that while producing the Jersey Giant chicken the parental breeds used by the black brothers were dark Brahmas, black Langshan and black Java. The Jersey Giant chicken adopted various names with a different interval of time, such as Giants or ‘Black Giants’ etc. However, between 1910 to 1920 the name Jersey Black Giants was suggested in honour of the state where they were produced.

Appearance

As the name suggests the Jersey Giant chicken is a big fowl, whose body is covered with feathers. Three different colours black, white and blue have been identified for the Jersey Giant chicken. However, the Black colour was the first one to be recognized by the American Poultry Association nearly in 1922. White Jersey Giant was recognized in 1947 by the American poultry association and the blue Jersey Giant was recognized in 2003.

• They have quite a tall and wide body. They have a tail which is small in size. The crest is brick red. Their legs are feather-free and are black. They have four toes per foot.
• Their eyes are dark brown.
• White Jersey Giant has willow coloured legs and the beak is slightly yellowish.
• The blue Jersey Giant mostly have black legs.

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Weight

We already know that the Jersey Giant is a big bird. Hens of this breed weigh about 10-11lbs which is around 4kgs and the rooster of this breed weighs around 14-15lbs which is around 6-7kgs. 

The Jersey Giant chicken is taller than many other chicken breeds and can attain the height of 18-20 inches (in females) and 24-26 inches (in males).

Egg-laying Capacity & Size

Though the chickens belonging to this breed are quite heavy and big they don’t produce a large number of eggs yet an average number of eggs are produced by them. The hen lays about 3-4 eggs per week which means around 180-200 eggs per year. But the good point is the size of the egg is pretty large as compared to other chicken breeds. The colour of the eggs is light to medium brown.

Behaviour

The Jersey Giant is considered to be a very tame and friendly bird. They love to move freely in the yards even the rooster love to play with children. As the jersey giant hen is heavy the chances of the breakage of the eggs increases when the hen sits on them. Thus, most of the time the Giant eggs are set under a regular broody hen to make sure the safe hatching of the chicks. As the eggs are large they may take some extra time to hatch.

Note:

This friendly fowl is labelled as an endangered breed by the livestock conservancy in 2001. Though they have not completely vanished from the earth but are still considered to be rare in united states.