Chicken breed
Jersey Giant
Also called Black Jersey Giant
The Jersey Giant was developed in New Jersey as a large table bird and is one of the biggest chicken breeds. Hens are calm and lay large brown eggs, including through winter. They are very cold-hardy but do poorly in heat.
At a glance
150–260eggs a year
3–5eggs a week
16–26weeks to first egg
10 lbhen weight
13 lbrooster weight
Largeegg size
Traits
- Cold hardyhigh
- Heat tolerantlow
- Goes broodymedium
- Egg colour
- brown (light cream to dark brown)
- Temperament
- calm, friendly, docile
- Noise
- loud
- Origin
- United States (Burlington County, New Jersey)
- Comb
- single
- Bantam size
- Available
- APA standard
- Recognized
- Conservation
- Recovering
- Purpose
- dual
Good for
- cold climates
- winter eggs
- meat and eggs
Watch out for
- needs ways to stay cool in hot weather
- can be noisy
- heavy hens may crush eggs when sitting
- roosters' large single combs can frostbite
Looks and feathers
Largest American breed; APA large-fowl varieties Black, Blue, White.
Our drawing shows the most common US variety; colours vary.
Similar breeds
All breedsSources
- 1Black Jersey Giant Day Old Chicks (product/breed profile)Meyer Hatchery
- 2Black Jersey Giants (product/breed profile)Cackle Hatchery
- 3Jersey Giant Chicken (breed facts)The Livestock Conservancy
- 4Accepted Breeds & VarietiesAmerican Poultry Association
- 5Jersey Giant (breed page)My Pet Chicken
- 6Chicken Breeds & Varieties (A2880), incl. APA standard weightsUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension
Hatcheries often disagree on eggs a year; ranges span every source we read. How we check the facts.