Pros: Good layer, beautiful feathers, smart, quiet, likes humans.
Cons: I think she sometimes THINKS she's a human, escape artist, docile with the other chickens so can be picked on.
We got a mixed flock and our speckled sussex hen has easily become ours and the entire neighborhood's favorite. While I read that they were a docile and quiet breed (I thought she'd be a little boring to tell you the truth), I've been pleasantly surprised at her spunk. She is quiet (she coos like a pigeon more than she clucks) and is second to last in our pecking order, when out free ranging in the yard, she keeps to herself. That is, unless she sees any human around, she'll follow us anywhere, waiting for a 'treat'. When we dig in the yard, she stands on the shovel as we dig! She totally loves the attention!
While I swore that our backyard flock weren't going to be PETS and if things happened, we weren't going to go to extraordinary measures to 'save' them, when we had a unfortunate raccoon incident (I forgot to shut one coop window one night...never again, believe me), Apples had a bloody beak. I watched her for a couple of days and she just wasn't bouncing back. Well, guess who found the premier avian vet in our area and carted Miss Apples 45 minutes away to see him. All the neighbors were so glad that Apples was going to be okay (he said her beak had been 'degloved' *shudder*). She's definitely the favorite in our flock. Her sleek, speckled feathers lay down tight and give her a round appearance, but she's all muscle underneath. Skin/feet is white based in color. She's a beauty and a riot to be around.
I will also say that her eggs are the same sized all our other standard chickens.
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