Sussex Reviews

I've got one Coronation hen and two splits. These are the first Sussex hens I've ever owned. I got them with a Hatricks (c) silkie flock so I got a real deal on them. The coronation hen is supposed to be rare but either way they've been great hens for me so far, for these lat three weeks :)

We've not had them for long but our flock of 10 Red Sussex's are very friendly girls. They respond so well to our voices they like being handled, are gentle and curious. Very fun to watch and (shhhhh but I swear they talk back). 

They are very friendly chickens! They come when I call them, follow me around yard. Easy going lovely birds I've ever met!! 

I started with an order of 6 Sussex hens (as chicks). One didn't make it in the mail. They all grew rapidly but I lost another two within months of each other (reason unknown--looked sick, then died)

There are three left and they are just the perkiest bunch!  It's funny to see them rooting around in the barn and when I approach, they go into their squat routine. No roosters, but I may make them feel like I am the rooster?  Funny.

Highly recommend this breed because they are so friendly and calm.

They have laid nicely, but this past fall they went into a molt and have not started to re-lay as yet.

Seems to be off in her own world a lot of the time; contemplative - anthropomorphicly speaking.  Doesn't often "hang out" with the other chickens but has never shown any problems with them.  Very pretty and calm for the most part though avoids being picked up.  Has not yet begun to lay at 23 weeks.

The hatchery birds are not the best, but are the easiest to acquire. I have acquired some Coronations from imported stock, but my Speckled are from a hatchery. It has been hard for me to find good quality Speckled, because most people have hatchery birds. The hatchery birds seem a great bit smaller than the imported lines or versions. I have had some fertility issues with my hatchery birds. A very cold hardy breed, and does well in the heat as well. The eggs range in size, frequency, and shades of brown. Most of my hens have laid medium to large eggs. The frequency of egg lay varies from 4-6 per week. The shades have been from a medium brown to cream (light tinted) color. I find the feather coloration of the Speckled very stunning and they tend to be the show stoppers on the yard. I am very fond of the Coronations color as well, but their size is just phenomenal. The rooster I have, I have not weighed yet but plan too, feels to be close to 12lbs and the hen looks close behind at what feels to be around 10lbs. I would consider them to be a excellent duel purpose breed. Their feathering is not very compact, giving them a more 'fluffy' appearance. They can be difficult to determine the sex at early ages, typically easier around 4-5months. Even though they are not going to be a favorite for everyone, I have found my breed. I would rate them somewhere along the lines of for intermediate chicken keeper. I think that a beginner would do well with the breed, but may be disappointed with the possible rate of lay, how often they can become broody, or the possible size of the eggs. They do have a very calm and friendly nature to still keep them in the running for beginners.  I plan to make the Sussex my primary duel purpose breed.

If you want a bird for the kids to enjoy, this is it.  They're the most gentle and enjoyable birds I have ever owned in fifty years.

I have 5 they are the friendliest girls in my flock always run up to me to see what is going on.

Absolutely love these birds they seem so smart they are great foragers and are always the first ones to meet me when I am outside.  Mine lay a nice large egg about 5 per week.  My only issue is my Roosters tend to be a little aggresive to other chickens and I am down to one and he may have to go if he does not settle down.  The hens tend to take the top in the pecking order but once they get that figured out they are fine.  These are by far the friendliest breed of chicken I have ever owned almost to the pointe of being a pain in the but, I have to watch where I am walking so I dont step on them.

I've had 3 of these. 1 was super friendly but laid a messed up egg shell. The other 2 made sure to stay pretty far away from you.

The biggest complaint I have about these is the egg size. In the Meyer description they say this lays Large eggs when in fact it lays Medium eggs. It's like they are stuck on baby egg size. This is not the best bird if you sell eggs.

The spots are random on each one. Some look better than others. I have read that they get more spots each molt.

This ones head is way more white than most. The black spots will shine green under the right light.

I have had Sussex on and off over the years as good solid production birds. My favorite are the Light Sussex. They will lay in sub zero conditions.

Not the greatest layers but are very friendly and calm.

Lucy is a sweet chick, but doesn't like behind held too much. We'll keep trying! She was the first to discover "chicken scratch" in the coop!

These girls are amazing.... the roos are very calm as well as big and strong. They are very protective but are very gentle to humans... if you are going to far he will let you know but will not hurt you..... The hens are very calm and gentile.

When I look at a chicken, I want something distinct, signature, special. But that's just me and the Sussex doesn't have that. But still a productive, nice bird.

I love this breed almost as much as my orpingtons, and I love me some orpington!

These beautiful birds are inquisitive and positively endearing with their puppy dog personalities. They excellent helpers in the garden, the compost pile, working on the car, in the laundry room, in the TV room and wherever else they can manage to follow you to, just so they can be with you and inspect what you are doing (us humans need constant supervision you know).

If  you love dual purpose, gentle, beautiful birds like I do, you will love this breed if for nothing more than their personalities. Even as chicks, their quirky silliness will keep you smiling.

When I picked up my first shipment of babies containing a speckled sussex from the post office, they were particularly loud, so I popped open the top when I got to the car. My darling Snow was running around the box, grabbing the other chick's toes and chirping in delight as they shreeked! She quickly became leader of the pack, and constantly found herself under my feet, or between my knees, watching the ground for sqirming worms as I worked in the garden.

Sadly, I lost my dear Snow to a hawk just around the time she reached point of lay, so though it is said they are excellent winter layers, I cannot yet attest to their egg laying abilities. When I lost my darling snow, I ordered two more speckled sussex. They arrived a week or two ago, and have the same wonderfully endearing personality that she did as a chick, and I have high hopes that as adults, they will be every bit as wonderful as she.

Speckled Sussex are among my favorite breeds. Besides being gorgeous eye-candy, (and they get more white with every molt)  they are wonderful layers of medium to large sized light brown eggs. Personality wise-they are some of the most laid-back, calm, sweet birds I've ever owned. They have an almost constant flow of  soft chatter as they follow you around to see what you are up to. Wonderful birds, great layers, and beautiful to boot.

i was lucky to get them! they only had 6 left at TSC!

Our speckled sussex hen explores much further on free range than our other hens, and she is one of the few survivors of multiple predator attacks.  We love watching her forage on our full 5 acres. The other chickens stay within a 1-2 acre area near the coops, but not Speck!!  We love her!!

We all liked this chicken, except for the noise.  We are urban people and a couple of our neighbors were sure we had a rooster or two.  We could hear her a block away. She was at the top of the pecking order - including the ducks who left her alone.  We miss her eggs though - she was re-homed to a more rural area.

I am from New Brunswick, Canada.  I am looking to start a light sussex flock and am having a hard time finding some. I've heard there is a breeder in Maine.  Any ideas for me?

We got our Sussex chicks last summer from my Mom's flock of Sussex. It turned out we had all hens which was fine since we wanted them for layers. They lay even in the coldest weather and are by far the friendliest chickens I have ever seen. They follow us around like a dog, come when they are called and will let  you pet them and pick them up without hesitation!

Mine seem to be the opposite of WoofMeowCluck's - the two I have are the best layers in my flock (I also have Plymouth Rocks and Wyandottes), but one is loud and skittish and the other is very bossy.

By far my favorite egg layer breed.  When raised as chicks, these hens are so friendly!  Mine come up to me and let me pet them. Great layers and very beautiful.  My best seller.

This review pertains ONLY to the imported Sussex, not the common Speckled or Light Sussex often found at feedstores/hatcheries.

I have some Coronation Split Sussex hens, one even a rare rumpless type, and let me first say - They're huge! If you're used to the average laying hen, these are some fluffy giant mommas!

They're very docile, friendly, cold hardy, produce a lot of meat on their bodies which makes for a great dual purpose bird, are super broody and super moms, will even take in other hen's chicks, but my only true complaint on them is that they're often so broody, they don't get much of a chance to lay. My remaining two hens (the last ones were taken after going broody in the back end of our rather wild pasture) give me an average 8 eggs each "round" before going broody again, but those eggs to me are always very precious and never eaten, as I find imported type Sussex make GREAT meat birds and dual purpose crosses. I always use the eggs to hatch out chicks to raise for meat projects or meat birds.