Blue Jersey Giants or Australorps? Hmm

[IndiaBlueBrad]

Hey everyone,

I bought eight Blue Jersey Giant chicks almost four weeks ago from a breeder about 45 minutes from me. He said they were all two weeks old at the time. We met at a public place and he already had them in a box, and as soon as I got out of my out of my vehicle to meet him, it started raining very hard, so I only got a peak of the chicks. When I got home, one chick was clearly only a few days old, and the rest were varying by a day or two by appearance, but looked around two weeks old. They looked like BJG to me from the pictures I had seen on the internet. I only saw a picture of the breeder parents, not in person. I wouldn't have known the difference though, because I've never seen BJG or Australorps in person anyway. After doing a lot of research about BJG's, I know that they are supposed to have yellow bottoms of feet and black legs. Mine do have black legs, but their feet are not yellow really. I also found out that if their parents were both blue, the chicks would be 50% blue, 25% black, and 25% splash. All of mine look blue to me, except one that looks black. I just moved them from their brooder yesterday to their temporary pen before they go to their big permanent coop/pen and noticed (in the sunshine) that their feet are for sure not yellow. I thought that before, but they were inside and under a red heat lamp so I was a little unsure, but pretty certain they were not yellow. I tell you all of this because I'm not sure the breeder was being honest and I'm curious what I really have. I have no interest in contacting him again. By the way, the chicks are getting huge for their age, compared to how small they were. They are also extremely friendly. I'm attaching lots of pictures and I thank you for any help.

 

[NatJ]

I also found out that if their parents were both blue, the chicks would be 50% blue, 25% black, and 25% splash. All of mine look blue to me, except one that looks black.

The seller may have sorted the colors before selling, so you didn't get any splashes and not many bluesblacks.

If someone breeds splash to black, all the chicks will be blue. If the adults in the photos all looked blue, then that is probably not what happened with yours, but otherwise it is the obvious way for someone to produce just blue chicks.

their feet are for sure not yellow.

Looking at the photos, I think you are probably right that those feet are not right for Jersey Giants.

Possible other explanations:

Chickens that have the genes for yellow skin will sometimes show white skin. What they eat can affect it: the same foods that can make dark yellow yolks when hens are laying eggs, can make the feet more yellow too. Less of those foods can make the feet less yellow. Since I assume your chicks have been eating chick starter, I don't know of any easy way to check that. Just using white vs. yellow corn in the feed can be enough to make a difference, and the label would not tell that.

If your chicks eat lots of green plants when they are outside, their feet will soon be as yellow as their genetics permit (within a few weeks at most). So if the feet do turn yellow, that is the most likely explanation.

Yellow-legged hens who have yellow legs will have their legs gradually fade to white as they lay eggs for weeks or months, because their bodies put the yellow into the egg yolks instead of into their skin. The legs go back to being yellow when the hens take a break from laying (like when they are molting.) Since your chicks are much too young to lay eggs, this obviously does not apply to them at present.

I'm not sure the breeder was being honest and I'm curious what I really have.

Good question, and there may be no way to know for sure. You could have Australorps, or you could have mixes of some sort. If one parent has white feet, the chicks can have them too, even if the other parent has yellow feet.

Also, the breeder might be mistaken instead of dishonest in this case. If they bought mis-labeled birds in the first place, they might genuinely believe their birds to be Jersey Giants.

 

[IndiaBlueBrad]

The seller may have sorted the colors before selling, so you didn't get any splashes and not many blues.

If someone breeds splash to black, all the chicks will be blue. If the adults in the photos all looked blue, then that is probably not what happened with yours, but otherwise it is the obvious way for someone to produce just blue chicks.


Looking at the photos, I think you are probably right that those feet are not right for Jersey Giants.

Possible other explanations:

Chickens that have the genes for yellow skin will sometimes show white skin. What they eat can affect it: the same foods that can make dark yellow yolks when hens are laying eggs, can make the feet more yellow too. Less of those foods can make the feet less yellow. Since I assume your chicks have been eating chick starter, I don't know of any easy way to check that. Just using white vs. yellow corn in the feed can be enough to make a difference, and the label would not tell that.

If your chicks eat lots of green plants when they are outside, their feet will soon be as yellow as their genetics permit (within a few weeks at most). So if the feet do turn yellow, that is the most likely explanation.

Yellow-legged hens who have yellow legs will have their legs gradually fade to white as they lay eggs for weeks or months, because their bodies put the yellow into the egg yolks instead of into their skin. The legs go back to being yellow when the hens take a break from laying (like when they are molting.) Since your chicks are much too young to lay eggs, this obviously does not apply to them at present.


Good question, and there may be no way to know for sure. You could have Australorps, or you could have mixes of some sort. If one parent has white feet, the chicks can have them too, even if the other parent has yellow feet.

Also, the breeder might be mistaken instead of dishonest in this case. If they bought mis-labeled birds in the first place, they might genuinely believe their birds to be Jersey Giants.

Thank you so much for taking the time and being so thorough in your reply. I really appreciate that. I hope I have Jersey Giants, but if I don't, that's ok, they are so friendly and come running up to me as soon as they hear my voice. My main concern is being honest in selling their offspring in the future. You're right about the breeder, perhaps he didn't know. He does have Australorps I believe though, so he should know the difference. I can't remember 100% if he said he did though. We didn't get to talk as much as I wanted because of the rain. I know he said he has Orpingtons. Anyway, thank you again for your great answers.

 

[IndiaBlueBrad]

The seller may have sorted the colors before selling, so you didn't get any splashes and not many bluesblacks.

If someone breeds splash to black, all the chicks will be blue. If the adults in the photos all looked blue, then that is probably not what happened with yours, but otherwise it is the obvious way for someone to produce just blue chicks.


Looking at the photos, I think you are probably right that those feet are not right for Jersey Giants.

Possible other explanations:

Chickens that have the genes for yellow skin will sometimes show white skin. What they eat can affect it: the same foods that can make dark yellow yolks when hens are laying eggs, can make the feet more yellow too. Less of those foods can make the feet less yellow. Since I assume your chicks have been eating chick starter, I don't know of any easy way to check that. Just using white vs. yellow corn in the feed can be enough to make a difference, and the label would not tell that.

If your chicks eat lots of green plants when they are outside, their feet will soon be as yellow as their genetics permit (within a few weeks at most). So if the feet do turn yellow, that is the most likely explanation.

Yellow-legged hens who have yellow legs will have their legs gradually fade to white as they lay eggs for weeks or months, because their bodies put the yellow into the egg yolks instead of into their skin. The legs go back to being yellow when the hens take a break from laying (like when they are molting.) Since your chicks are much too young to lay eggs, this obviously does not apply to them at present.


Good question, and there may be no way to know for sure. You could have Australorps, or you could have mixes of some sort. If one parent has white feet, the chicks can have them too, even if the other parent has yellow feet.

Also, the breeder might be mistaken instead of dishonest in this case. If they bought mis-labeled birds in the first place, they might genuinely believe their birds to be Jersey Giants.

Hey NatJ, I have a question. After reading your response again, (I don't know how to quote just that part), does the part about their feet mean that they could still be Blue Jersey Giant's, just without yellow bottoms of feet? Their feather lacing looks just like Jersey Giant's and they are certainly very large for their age. Thanks again.

 

[NatJ]

Hey NatJ, I have a question. After reading your response again, (I don't know how to quote just that part),

To quote just one part, at least on my desktop computer, I quote the whole thing, then click with the mouse to put my cursor inside the quoted part and delete what I don't want. Then I click outside the quote to be able to type the answer.

does the part about their feet mean that they could still be Blue Jersey Giant's, just without yellow bottoms of feet?

Yes and no. If the feet turn yellow in time, then yes (this is possible depending on what they have been eating.)

If the feet do not every turn yellow, then I would say they are not Jersey Giants. They could be a mix, but not not purebreds.

Their feather lacing looks just like Jersey Giant's and they are certainly very large for their age.

Lacing can happen on any blue chicken, so that doesn't help much in identifying breeds. For size, I was under the impression that Jersey Giants would grow slowly at first, and keep growing longer than most other breeds so they eventually reach a giant adult size, but I have no personal experience to check that. So what I think I know about growth rates could be completely wrong.

 

[IndiaBlueBrad]

does the part about their feet mean that they could still be Blue Jersey Giant's, just without yellow bottoms of feet?

Yes and no. If the feet turn yellow in time, then yes (this is possible depending on what they have been eating.)

If the feet do not every turn yellow, then I would say they are not Jersey Giants. They could be a mix, but not not purebreds.

I don't know if I quoted right, but here goes

I've been a member for seven years, but just getting back on BYC as I'm starting to get birds again.

Ok, that makes sense. I've been feeding them 28% Nutrena Sporting Bird Medicated Starter Crumble. I know that's a little high protein, but I had bought it for peachicks, then the person I was getting peachicks from just stopped communicating, so I didn't want to waste the feed and figured it wouldn't hurt based on research I had done. (fingers crossed) They look very healthy, beautiful feathers, strong legs, very active, etc. I'll be changing them over to Purina 18% Medicated Grower in a couple of weeks.

Their feather lacing looks just like Jersey Giant's and they are certainly very large for their age.

Lacing can happen on any blue chicken, so that doesn't help much in identifying breeds. For size, I was under the impression that Jersey Giants would grow slowly at first, and keep growing longer than most other breeds so they eventually reach a giant adult size, but I have no personal experience to check that. So what I think I know about growth rates could be completely wrong.

Ok thanks, I didn't know that about lacing, but I'm much more familiar with peafowl than I am chickens. I'm certainly researching and trying to learn as much as possible though. I wanted Blue Jersey Giants because they are so unique and friendly and no one around here has them. I really only wanted purebred, but I'm still keeping them because I like them so much. I've read online that they grow fast at first, then grow slowly to adulthood, and I've read that they grow slowly in general, so I really don't know what to expect. They may be growing so fast because of what I've been feeding them.

I really appreciate your help!