Because of its stunning appearance, the Sapphire Gem chicken is quickly rising in demand. And yet, these birds are useful in more ways than one. They lay a lot of eggs and require little attention.
Sapphire Gems have a calm demeanor and are efficient chicken egg layers. First, we need to determine if these birds are the right fit for you.
Questions like “what color of eggs do sapphire gem chickens lay?” and “how to care for a Sapphire gem chicken?” are handled in this article.
History of the Sapphire Gem Chickens
Since Sapphire Gem chickens are a relatively new breed, not much is known about them. To date, they haven’t even been officially acknowledged by the American Poultry Association. They were probably first bred in the Czech Republic.
As a result of their likely ancestry in both the Blue Plymouth Rock and the Barred Plymouth Rock, some people refer to this breed by either of those names: the Blue Sapphire Plymouth Rock or the Sapphire Blue Plymouth Rock.
Because of this, they look different from other Plymouth Rocks but can still lay eggs. Both the Barred and the Blue Plymouth Rock are simply color variants of the original Plymouth Rock breed.
The history of this unique designer chicken breed is shrouded in mystery. There isn’t much information available online about this bird’s history. What exactly makes for a “Sapphire Gem” is a topic of some contention even among breeders and farmers.
Historically, Sapphire Gem chickens have been traced back to the Czech Republic. A breeder in that country is credited with creating this unofficial breed by crossing a Blue Plymouth rock chicken with a Barred Plymouth rock.
However, it has been theorized that Blue Plymouth Rocks and Barred Plymouth Rocks can be crossed to produce these birds.
The Andalusian chicken, a heritage breed that dates back to the mid-nineteenth century, is the direct ancestor of the Sapphire Gem chicken.
Both the Plymouth Rock and the Barred Plymouth Rock can trace their ancestry back to Massachusetts, where they were likely first bred in the nineteenth century (as their names imply).
The dominant blue gene is what led to the selection of the Sapphire Gem chicken breed for its blue plumage. This hybrid chicken was developed to produce many eggs and to have a pleasing appearance.
The Advantages of the Sapphire Gem Chickens:
- Beautiful Feathers
- Abundant laying of eggs
- Superb scavengers
- Fits various weather conditions
- Positive character traits
- Compatible with other pets
- Low maintenance birds
The Sapphire Gem is not capable of reproducing successfully due to its unique genetic makeup. Thus, it is possible to breed two Sapphire Gems, but the resulting chicks may not be true Sapphire Gems.
Keeping the original two breeds in the mix is often required to achieve the desired appearance for the breed standard.
Appearance
Being an “unofficial breed,” these chickens lack a recognized standard. Here, however, is what they will look like throughout their entire lives.
Egg Color of Sapphire Gem Chickens
The eggs laid by a Sapphire Gem chicken are a dark brown color. The eggs of the Sapphire Gem are larger than the norm, and contrary to popular belief, they are not blue.
You might want to try a different breed of chicken if you’re hoping for more colorful eggs.
Sapphire Gem Chickens Chick and Pullet Appearance
Chicks and pullets can come in a wide variety of colors. While others may lean more toward gray or lavender, some may be more blue or black. Soon after the chicks hatch, their genders become readily apparent.
Adult Sapphire Gem Chickens can be identified by the white spot on the male’s head and the necklace of gold or gray spots on the female’s body.
Sapphire Gem Chicken Adult Color
Images of sapphire gem chickens show that both sexes sport a bluish or lavender color on their feathers. There is a subtle visual distinction between hens and roosters.
Blue feathers and a white spot on the rooster’s head or wings are telltale signs of the bird’s male status. The females have blue feathers, with a patch of gray or gold feathers on their necks.
There is only one comb on these birds, and they stand taller than other chicken varieties. They may have a more lavender color to their feathers than blue at times.
Sapphire Gem Chickens Size and Weight
When fully grown, these birds take up a medium-sized bird. Sapphire Gem hens typically weigh around six pounds, while roosters are slightly larger at five to seven pounds.
Sapphire Gem Chickens Temperament and Personality
A lot of people say the Sapphire Gem is a calm, sociable hen. An employee of Hoover’s Hatcheries, in an interview with Paws 4 Hearts Rescue, said that the breeding process was designed to foster a certain temperament in order to create “a calm bird that performs well in all environments.”
Hoover’s Hatcheries adds that they’ve found the Sapphire Gem breed to get along well with other chickens of various breeds.
The chicks are reportedly quieter than those of other chicken breeds, according to their farmers.
Sapphire Gems are excellent foragers, which means they thrive in a free-range environment. They appear to have good observational skills, which could make them warier of danger than less perceptive chickens.
Due to their pleasant demeanors, Sapphire Gem Chickens are ideal pets for novice chicken farmers. Thanks to their versatility, they can thrive in almost any environment.
Also, because of their calm behavior and gentle nature, these chickens are great for families with young children. Also of their sociability, they are frequently kept as pets rather than as livestock.
In terms of overall temperament, they’re among the best chicken breeds to raise.
Broodiness of Sapphire Gem Chickens
In general, Sapphire Gem chickens don’t go into brooding mode. So, even inexperienced chicken keepers can successfully raise chickens for eggs. But first, you’ll have to figure out how to hatch eggs from your own chickens.
Are Sapphire Gem Chickens Noisy?
Thankfully, these hens rarely make any loud noise. The mornings may be quiet unless you have a Sapphire Gem rooster chicken. A Sapphire hen may make a few chatters during the day, but that’s all.
Can You Expect a Sapphire gem Chicken to Get Along with Other Pets?
The Sapphire Gem chickens get along well with other pets. When kept in a flock with other chicken breeds, they won’t fight with any of the other varieties. However, larger animals may scare them because they resemble dangerous chicken predators.
These are some other breeds of sociable chickens that could share your home with Sapphire Gem Chickens:
Plymouth Rock
Silkie
Buff Orpington
Speckled Sussex
Cochin
Requirements for Raising Sapphire Gem Chickens
In many ways, caring for a Sapphire Gem chicken is not dissimilar from caring for other similar breeds. Although they make excellent starter chickens, you should still do your homework before purchasing.
What do you need to know before you bring these hens into your coop?
Feed Requirements
You need to feed your chickens appropriately throughout their entire lives. Young Sapphire Gem chicks have higher protein requirements because of their rapid growth.
So, a chicken feed with 18% to 24% protein is fine for their first meal. They no longer need quite as much protein as they once did.
After a Sapphire Gem hen begins laying eggs, she should be switched to an adult feed that contains a bit more protein and calcium.
The shells of Sapphire chicken eggs will be particularly hardy if the hens are fed a diet rich in protein and other nutrients. Feeds formulated specifically for laying hens are readily available.
Coop for Sapphire Gem Chickens
These chickens need at least four square feet of space per bird in their coop. However, they dislike being confined, so a larger space is preferable.
If allowed some time to roam freely, these birds will thrive. They are excellent foragers, so as they venture out they will discover new sources of nourishment.
Unlike chickens, they have a heightened sense of awareness and awareness in general, making them excellent predator avoidance tools.
Chickens are flighty creatures, so letting them out on their own is safe unless they feel threatened. Because of the safety and security of their coop, they will return there each night if they are fed and housed properly.
Predators are most active at night, so it’s best to keep the chickens inside their coop.
Temperature
Blue Sapphire Gem chickens thrive in any environment. But you should still take extra care in bad weather, just like any other bird.
Given that Sapphire Gems are single-comb chickens, frostbite is their primary wintertime health concern. When temperatures drop below freezing, having a safe and secure place to stay is essential. They can also be kept safe by investing in a coop heater.
To keep your birds comfortable during the hot summer months, you should provide them with multiple means of cooling off. Remember to give your chickens access to clean, cold water at all times.
Frozen fruits and other cold treats can be given as a hydrating snack. They need lots of outside shade and fresh air in their coop. The addition of fans to your Sapphire blue chicken enclosure is recommended if you live in a particularly hot climate.
Your blue Sapphire chickens can survive in any climate as long as you take the necessary safety measures to protect them.
Health Issues of Sapphire Gem Chickens
The health of a Sapphire Gem is typically very stable. Therefore, their primary concerns are equivalent to those of any other breed of chicken.
Parasites are the primary cause of death in chickens. If not treated regularly, all chicken breeds are at risk from parasites like fleas, ticks, and worms.
Eliminating pests from your flock is as simple as keeping a clean coop and providing fresh water and food on a regular basis.
It’s also possible to keep your chickens healthy by maintaining a clean coop. Several diseases, including avian flu, coccidiosis, and fowl pox, could spread to your chickens if you’re not careful. But these problems aren’t unique to Sapphire Gems.
Provide a balanced diet and shelter from the cold to ensure the chickens’ continued good health. You can monitor their health and well-being by taking them in for routine veterinary exams.
Because of its calm demeanor, the Sapphire Gem, like its close relative to the Plymouth Rock, is ideally suited to life in a backyard coop.
As long as they have enough space to move and are provided with fun, they are unlikely to mind living in a confined space.
It’s common knowledge that Sapphire Gem chickens are most content in tropical or subtropical environments, but this rare breed also has a reputation to withstand the weather even the harshest of winters.
If you reside in a cooler area, your Sapphire Gem chickens will need to spend the winter months inside.
Keeping your birds warm will protect them from frostbite and other conditions that can cause their combs to fall off. To avoid this, you can apply Vaseline to their comb.
Breeding Sapphire Gem Chickens
Chickens require minimal human intervention during the breeding process. All it takes to get your hens to start laying eggs is to introduce them to a Sapphire Gem rooster.
Breeding these birds could potentially result in less-than-perfect consistency, as the Sapphire Gem is a rare offspring of two different strains of Plymouth Rocks.
You can keep these chickens for eggs only if you like. To produce eggs for sale and consumption, many keepers provide care for the hens. How many eggs does this breed lay per year?
When Do Sapphire Gem Chickens Start Laying Eggs?
If you’re looking for a chicken with a quick maturation time, look no further than the Sapphire Gem.
In other words, they may begin laying eggs as early as four to six months of age. In general, Sapphire Gem chickens lay large to medium-sized eggs.
Sapphire Gem Chicken Egg Production
If you need a hen that lays a lot of eggs, the Sapphire Gem is your best bet. These fowl are not ideal for slaughter because their primary purpose is to lay eggs.
An average, healthy adult Sapphire Gem hen will lay between 250 and 300 eggs per year or about four to five eggs per week. Between the ages of 18 and 24 weeks, they enter the laying phase.
Some people think the Sapphire Gem lays blue eggs because of the common misconception that it is the same breed as the Sapphire chicken. The Sapphire Gem hen, in contrast to the tiny white Sapphire chicken, lays brown eggs.
With its prolific egg-laying all year long, this bird will keep you busy no matter the season. The eggs laid by a Sapphire Gem hen are typically large to extra-large.
After the first two years of laying, the Sapphire Gem hen, like the average chicken breed, will typically see a decline in egg production of around 20%.
This flock of chickens typically produces four to six eggs per week. In other words, they will typically produce between 280 and 300 eggs per year.
The majority of their egg production occurs in the first few years of their lives, and then gradually decreases with age, as is the case with all breeds.
As a result of the abundance of eggs produced by these hens, you may wish to research tasty ways to cook eggs.
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s natural to have concerns if you’re thinking about bringing one of these birds into your home. Keeping chickens is a new hobby for many people, so here are some questions they may have.
How long do sapphire gem chickens live?
These birds have a lifespan of 5-10 years. The average lifespan of a chicken is the same as this one.
How long they live is highly dependent on their living standards and the quality of care they receive. As they age, they may reduce the number of eggs they lay.
Are Sapphire Gem Chickens Good for Meat?
Even though these birds can be slaughtered for food, it is not a common practice.
Because of their selective breeding for egg laying, harvesting meat from a Sapphire Gem flock will reduce the number of eggs you collect.
Where Can You Buy Sapphire Gem Chickens?
A large number of breeders sell this breed. Look for a breeder who puts a high value on the birds’ well-being so that they live long and lay good nutritional eggs.
Typically, you can expect to pay somewhere between $3 and $5 for one of these chickens.
Recommendations on Raising Sapphire Gem Chickens
It goes without saying that if you plan to raise any breed of chicken in a hot climate, including the Sapphire Gem, you will need to provide ample shade and cool water.
Electric fans can be used to create a soft breeze, which can be beneficial whether you’re using the enclosure indoors or outdoors.
Star Milling Company, a premium animal feed manufacturer, recommends giving your chickens access to ice in any form.
Birds can cool off by standing next to ice blocks or by drinking the icy liquid. You can help your chickens remember to drink by leaving them frozen pieces of fruit, as recommended by Star Mill.
Do supply warm indoor shelter if you reside in a region with harsh winters. Have plenty of clean, toasty bedding on hand for your hens, and think about getting heat lamps or portable coop heaters for the really chilly nights.
There are a variety of things you can do to keep your Sapphire Gem chickens occupied and happy. To keep your hens busy and content, especially during the colder months, try using a suet block or a rolling treat dispenser.
They also recommend spiffing up the coop with some ladders, perches, and mirrors.
Sapphire Gems are clearly an exceptional breed. This bird is a great addition to your flock because of her beautiful blue and purple plumage and her high egg production.
Are Sapphire Gem Chickens Best For You?
It comes as no surprise that this particular breed of chickens is considered to be quite attractive. Unique in appearance thanks to their blue plumage, these hens are highly sought after by poultry farmers.
However, there’s a lot more to consider about their upbringing than how they look.
This breed of chicken is great if you’re just starting out and want some eggs. Just make sure there’s enough room for them, and that you’re prepared to keep them safe from bad weather.
Following those guidelines will ensure years of hen bliss and nutritious eggs.
Still, this bird is on the cutting edge of avian evolution, making it potentially elusive.
The true Sapphire Gem is either an offspring of a Blue Plymouth Rock and Barred Plymouth Rock cross or the outcome of a mating between two Sapphire Gems whose plumage conforms to breed standards.