Jersey Giant Hatching Eggs

[Fanixon]

i bought a dozen jersey giant eggs from Cackle Hatchery. When they come in, they were extremely small - smaller than the buff Orpington and ameracauna eggs I had. I emailed the hatchery, saying specifically that jersey giants are known for hatching large to extra large eggs. This was the response I received:

Hatchery: “Hi, generally these eggs are medium to large eggs….we have very young pullet eggs right now and they are small right now.”

Me: “Thanks, I appreciate the response. However Jersey Giants are known for laying large to extra large eggs. Many references say they lay jumbo eggs. I am hopeful that the young pullets you have are laying fertile eggs. We will see in 21 days. “

Hatchery: “From my experience with that breed they lay medium to large, leaning more to medium. We ship out the same eggs we are setting… that breed hatches between 70-80 % for us over all….. now in small quantities because of luck of draw… could hatch 30% or 100%.. Of course mailing eggs is always a gamble after they leave our hatchery….. thanks for the comments.“

This doesn’t sound right to me. I am worried the eggs are too small to hatch. Any thoughts on this?

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

Meyer hatchery says medium to large too. Remember the overall size of the egg is not taken in consideration when sizing, only the weight.

 

[tacothechicken]

That is a somewhat odd convo, but I've also never had a 'too small' egg. the yolk and egg are sized to each other as they are played(if that wording makes sense? :/) and if the chicks are Jersey giants then id assume their genetics will kick in as they grow and they'll buff up later on, post feathering out most likely. I had 3 bantamxStandard chicks from tiny eggs! But the standard genes kicked in at about 3 weeks when they got bigger and now you can barely tell the difference between them and their standard half sibs as compared to hatch when they were about half the size at most. We also have a maincoon mix who while small house cat size at 6 months shall continue to grow over a few years, getting to be quite large, so as long as their flocks are healthy and have good genetics and quality, I think your chicks will be fine.

 

[Fanixon]

That is a somewhat odd convo, but I've also never had a 'too small' egg. the yolk and egg are sized to each other as they are played(if that wording makes sense? :/) and if the chicks are Jersey giants then id assume their genetics will kick in as they grow and they'll buff up later on, post feathering out most likely. I had 3 bantamxStandard chicks from tiny eggs! But the standard genes kicked in at about 3 weeks when they got bigger and now you can barely tell the difference between them and their standard half sibs as compared to hatch when they were about half the size at most. We also have a maincoon mix who while small house cat size at 6 months shall continue to grow over a few years, getting to be quite large, so as long as their flocks are healthy and have good genetics and quality, I think your chicks will be fine.

I have read multiple articles that said if the hens are too young and the eggs are too small, the chicks won’t survive and hatch. The genes are the same so the chick grows too large for the size of the egg. I don’t think the yolk size has anything to do with the size of the chick. That being said I hope you are right and we have a good turn out.

 

[Fanixon]

Meyer hatchery says medium to large too. Remember the overall size of the egg is not taken in consideration when sizing, only the weight.

We weighed the eggs before we set them and they weighed less than the other breeds. We are not as concerned with the size as whether the chicks will hatch because the eggs are so small

 

[MichelleBelle]

My Jersey Giant hens laid small/medium eggs when they first started laying, but are now laying what I would consider jumbo sized eggs. I'm no expert, but I've always heard that you are supposed to give hens at least a month of laying before incubating their eggs, and that you want to select eggs that are typical for the breed. I was curious about this question, too, so I've got a few of the smaller eggs they laid in the incubator. The chicks inside are developing on schedule so far. They're only on day 10 though, so I can't say yet whether they'll hatch normally. I'll keep you updated on whether they hatch- we can compare results

 

[Fanixon]

My Jersey Giant hens laid small/medium eggs when they first started laying, but are now laying what I would consider jumbo sized eggs. I'm no expert, but I've always heard that you are supposed to give hens at least a month of laying before incubating their eggs, and that you want to select eggs that are typical for the breed. I was curious about this question, too, so I've got a few of the smaller eggs they laid in the incubator. The chicks inside are developing on schedule so far. They're only on day 10 though, so I can't say yet whether they'll hatch normally. I'll keep you updated on whether they hatch- we can compare results

Sounds good! I weighed mine before I put them in the incubator. The smallest was 43 grams, most were 47-48 grams. I did have one 60 grams.

 

[MichelleBelle]

How are your small eggs developing? My small Jersey Giant eggs are developing right on track with the other eggs in this batch. Fingers crossed that they hatch normally

 

[aart]

How are your small eggs developing? My small Jersey Giant eggs are developing right on track with the other eggs in this batch. Fingers crossed that they hatch normally

I'd like to know too....but new member @Fanixon might not be back.

 

[Fanixon]

My small eggs are actually doing great. We are on day 9. I lost 2 - 1 blood ring and 1 clear - other 10 are doing great. The two that didn’t develop were not the smallest of the bunch - 50 g and 47 g. Glad to hear yours are doing well too!