show quality speckled sussex ??

[math ace]

I am reactivating this thread - - -


I have three groups of young speckled sussex (ss) from two different places. The chicks are young 7 weeks - 3 months.
I am going to invite some folks over to this thread to help me learn what to look for with speckled sussex.

My birds may not be show quality, but I can still learn from them . . . . .

My focus is still on breeding or finding show quality speckled sussex. . . .

I hope some knowledgable people will join us and show us what we need to look for when deciding who to cull and who to keep in our flocks.

If you have an interest in speckled sussex, specifically breeding show quality speckled sussex - - COME JOIN US!

GENERAL SCALE OF POINTS FOR SHOWING . .. . .

Total Possible SHAPE Color
Symmetry 4 4

Weight or Size 4 4

Condition and Vigor 10 10

Comb 5 5

Beak 3 2 1

Skull and Face 4 3 1

Eyes 4 2 2

Wattles 2 2

Earlobes 4 2 2

Neck 6 1 5

Back 12 (WOW) 6 6

Tail 8 4 4

Wings 8 3 5

Breast 10 5 5

Body and Fluff 8 5 3

Legs and Toes 8 5 3


TOTAL 100 pts possible 63 for SHAPE 37 for COLOR


STANDARDS - -

DISQUALIFICATIONS:

Yellow skin, shanks, or feet.
Combs: Side Sprigs
COMBS: Lopped Single Comb - - SLIGHTLY lopped comb in female at or near production is not penalized
COMBS: Split combs
TAIL - Split Tail
Tail: Wry Tail
Tail: Rumpless
Tail: Squirrel tail
Tail: twisted feathers
Shanks: Bow leg
Shanks: Knock Knee
Toes: Web foot




FAULTS
Combs: TWISTED comb in front
COMBS: Irregular serration of comb
Combs: Thumb mark
Wattles: Coarse Wrinkled Wattles
Earlobs: Loosely- fitted lobes
WEIGHT - - More than 1 pound over standard or any under standard
Tail - Pinched
TOES: Crooked toe
FEATHERS - - FROSTING Fault Per Section


Standard Of Perfection.....
WEIGHTS: Hen 7 lbs, Pullet 6 lbs, Cock 9 lbs, Cockerel 7 1/2 lbs.

COLOR - MALE
Comb, Face, Wattles, and ear-lobes: Bright Red
Beak: Horn
Eyes: Reddish Bay
Head: PLUMAGE, lustrous mahogany bay, EACH feather tipped with white, a NARROW black bar dividing the white from balance of feather.
Neck: HACKLE, lustrous mahogany bay, each feather having a narrow black stripe in lower half of web, the black stripe decreasing in width near end of feather
and then branching off to outer edge of each side of shaft near point. POINT OF FEATHER distinctly marked with diamond shaped white spangle.
BACK and Saddle ..... SAME as Hackle
Tail: Main tail feathers --- BLACK and WHITE
Sickles, Coverts, and smaller coverts - - - Lustrous, greenish black tipped with white
Wngs:
Fronts and Bows: Lustrous mahogany bay each feather tipped with white, a narrow elongated V shaped black bar dividing white from balance of feather
Coverts: Mahogany bay, each feather tipped with a large white spangle, a black bar dividing the white from balance of feather.
Primaries - - black and white
Secondaries - - outer web, bay edged with white
inner web, black edged with white, each feather ending with a white spangle
Breast:
Mahogany bay, each feather tipped with white, a black bar dividing the white from balance of feather
Body and fluff:
BODY - SAME as BREAST
FLUFF - Slaty Brown
Legs and TOES:
Lower Thighs - Same as BREAST.... except it is specified NARROW black bar
Shanks and Toes - - Pinkish white

UNDERCOLOR of all sections: SLATE, shading to salmon, the salmon shading to light gray at base.



SHAPE of MALE

Comb - - Single Comb... Medium in Size, set firmly on head, perfectly straight and upright, having five well defined points those in front and rear being
smaller than those in the middle. Fine in texture. blade following curve of neck.

Beak - - Stout, rather short, slightly curved
Face - - Surface smooth, skin fine and soft in texture
Eyes - - Large round prominent
Wattles - - Medium in Size. equal in length, well rounded at lower edges
Ear lobes - - medium in size, ovel, smooth
Head - moderately large, broad, medium in length
Neck - medium in length, slightly arched, having abundant hackle flowing well over shoulders.
Back - - Long, Flat broad its entire length, sloping slightly to tail
Saddle feathers - - of med length, abundant and filline well in frount of tail.
Tail -- Of med length, well spread, - - > 45 degree above horizontal
Main tail feathers - - Broad and overlapping
Main sickle - - of medium length, well curved extending slightly beyond mail tail feathers.
Lesser sickle and coverts - - of med length
Wings - - Rather long, well folded, carried closely to body without dropping
Points well covered with saddle feathers.
Breast - - Broad, deep rounding nicely into body
Body - Long Broad Deep
Fluff - Moderately full, fitting closely to body
Legs - - Legs set well apart straight when viewed from front.
Lower Thighs - Stout Of Med Length
Shanks - - med length, rather stout
Toes - - four on each foot, of med length, straight, well spread.



This is a 1920's Sewell print

Hope these will be useful in our discussions......

Around page 19 of this thread. . .we start our discussion on the head with the following specifications

Quote:

 

[3riverschick]

It is, but I guess my question is what makes it Heritage breed? I have read the basic definition, but what are the benefits and/or drawbacks if any. Can it also be "show quality"?

Well, the Heritage breeds are the "old school" breeds. Their value often lays in the fact they constitute "diversity" for the global poultry gene pool. Like the Sussex, often they are breeds which predated the modern breeds ( post-1952) and many times were the foundation breeds used to create the modern breeds and hybrids.
Benefits? : Keeping an old breed viable. Often very old vintage top quality strains to choose from when selecting for your flock. Some heritage breed strains have been carefully curated for over 100 years. Owning a beautiful creature from such a long illustrious parentage. The stability of a breed's minor hallmarks and complicated plumage patterns which comes from careful crafting over such a long time period. For instance the stunning barred symmetry of the Ringlet strain of Barred Rocks. The lovely visual eloquence of the mottled patterning on the Gary Overton strain of Speckled Sussex. The true historic Buff color on Dragonlady's Buff Orpingtons and on Danne Honour's Buff Leghorns. The symmetry and poise of Walt Leonard's Dark Cornish.
Yes, they can be show quality. In fact top show quality. Pick your new breed and make a short list of 3 or 4 top breeders. Look closely at their strains and pick out your favorite. Approach them with a breeding plan, buy the best and expect to pay for it. it is much cheaper than trying to "grade up" inferior stock because of all the sex-linked genes in poultry. Much more difficult than working with mammals.
Check with your chosen breeder and ID one or two other strains which he/she knows will cross well with his/her strain. Keep an eye on those strains in case you ever need a strain-cross. Do not cross strains at all to found your flock. I cannot stress that strongly enough. Do not cross varieties within a breed, (esp. color varieties ) to found a flock. Those sex-linked genes will come out to haunt you.
Linebreed on your chosen strain for several years until you get to know how it inherits and what to select for to best effect. Then you will know if you need a strain-cross or not. Probably not, if you have chosen wisely, smile.
Drawbacks? only what you make them out to be. There are strains of various quality in many breeds. The trick is to choose your foundation stock very carefully. Seek out the elite in your breed and keep their counsel to yourself. Pull all the advice together and decide. If you like Heritage large fowl, surf on over to the BYC thread Heritage Large Fowl Phase II . One of its basic purposes is to help a newcomer decide on a large fowl heritage breed and then introduce them to breeders with top strains.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/849075/heritage-large-fowl-phase-ii/7090
Best Regards,
Karen

 

[snowbird]

Will try and answer some of the questions. First off I will be very to the point, no snappy slogans posted for feel good effect.

First thing for anyone to do is buy a SOP.
second go to Hardware and get a sharp axe.
Third watch for a used hardware scale at yard sales, flea market.

Just a reminder first if you can not cull fowl, you are basically wasting your time.

There is no reason that you can not work on multiple faults at the same time. If you work on faults one at a time you could spend 20 years and still have culls just like you started with.

Working on size and body type, never use a small female when trying to work on developing a larger bird. The scale is for weighing all of your fowl and record the weight as I am sure you have already either wing or leg banded all the fowl. Start a record book with one bird on each page this way you will have room to ad info. anytime you have the bird in hand. Record different items about the bird even the good and the bad. In my breeding programs I always use a large size female with as close to proper type as possible. The pinched tail can be remedied by useing a male that has a more open tail with extra fluff.

Try and start up a breeding program doing all single matings as you will over time have a lot less culls. With the parti color fowl it is always averages when breeding for color. The good colored male is the first step in producing good colored birds. Mark all chicks at hatch so you will have a record of what pens they are from , enter all this in the record book.

Cull anything with DQs and major faults. I would rather have one good pair, than have several pair that have major faults. Just remember faults produce fault when bred to like birds. To expect to raise good fowl you will have to first learn how to use a sharp axe.

 

[mrheinz77]

I wrote to Jeff Halbach, APA and ABA judge and ABA President. The following is his response on the white feather issue. This and his name are used with his permission.

A solid white feather is a defect 2 pts.
I could find very little in the APA Standard although the ABA Standard says 3 or more solid white feathers is a DQ
jeff

He also stated that he has seen very few good large SS

Hope this helps,
Jim​

 

[3riverschick]

Katherine Plummer illustration .
The Light Sussex: http://katherineplumer.com/closeups/poultry/SOP/LLightSussex.html
The Delaware: http://thedelclub.webstarts.com/standards_to_breed_by.html
Marans:
2013 Newnan, GA results. This is always the national Meet for Marans. Serious competition brings the best birds:
http://tinyurl.com/k9frg27
http://www.heavensentranch.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=121265344
Peggy Taylor's "Hope". This hen undefeated in her show career against 100's of other Black Copper Marans.

 

[3riverschick]

American Poultry Advocate - Volume 31 - 1922
Speckled Sussex—A Worthy Breed
The Speckled Sussex is a breed worthy of our best efforts and while most breeders are breeding poultry on a business basis, many are breeding for pleasure only. Nevertheless alt of us want to see them made a popular fowl.
I took up the Speckled variety after having raised several other breeds. I wanted a fowl having beauty as well as the other necessary qualifications. I found these in the Speckled Sussex, they are very good layers and excellent table fowl. Their type is pleasing and they are a vigorous and hardy fowl, easy to raise and quick to mature. I believe there is no fowl today that can be grown as fast as the Sussex, the pullets begin laying when live to six months old.
To my way of thinking the breeding of Sussex docs not differ materially from any other breed. To obtain success in any business one must like the work and have something definite to work for. In the Speckled Sussex you have the only breed with three colors to work for and you will find it a most interesting undertaking.
Now is the time for the breeder to advertise and give the public what they want. There is always a demand for the eggs and stock of this variety and the future of the Speckled Sussex is bright and should encourage new breeders to take up this beautiful and useful bird. One important question confronting all beginners and some experienced followers of the poultry game is the question of what breed is the best. It is hard to answer but it is my opinion that the Speckled Sussex does not take a back seat for any other breed.
I hope to see the Speckled Sussex as popular as any breed ever was and it can be made so by the co-operation of the members of the National Club, by boosting a breed that is second to none. .
E. R. FIELDS.
President National Speckled Sussex Club.
===============================================
American Poultry Advocate - Volume 31 - 1922
The Speckled Sussex
By E. H. HOFFMAN
La Crosse, Wis. Secretary, National Sussex Club
EVERY breed and variety listed in the American Standard of Perfection, has some good qualification and merit. . Each breed has its supporters and some are more popular than others. We often hear the beginner ask which is the best breed of chickens, not having fully decided what he intends to breed. Invariably I answer this question by saying there is no "best" breed, because what may suit one may not meet the requirements of another. It is a well known fact, however, that the majority of people who keep chickens want eggs and plenty of them and then the next consideration is a-good fowl for table purposes. In addition to these two
principal qualifications
most of us prefer a bird that has attractive plumage. After looking through the standard we find a numiber of breeds that fill these requirements and then we must decide which one we prefer.
As a general purpose breed perhaps there is none that will surpass the Speckled Sussex for the farmer, the small fancier on the town lot as well as the large fancier who raises poultry for exhibition. I will try to briefly give a few reasons why the Speckled Sussex are one of the best general purpose breeds and why more people should breed them for eggs and table purposes. For many years prior to. admitting the Sussex to the standard this fowl was raised in Sussex, England, where they originated. At that time, however, there was no special effort made to breed for plumage, the principal qualification sought was a fowl that would lay a large number of eggs at all seasons of the year and at the same time make the best fowl for market purposes. With that point in view the English have succeeded in giving the poultry world a fowl that is superior to any other for market purposes. There are many American and French breeds that are excellent for table use but I dare say that the Sussex excel them all. Their meat is fine grained, very fine flavored and heavily laid on the breast and other parts of the body.
Another point that must be taken into consideration in the selection of a breed is the length of time it requires to grow a chick to maturity. The Speckled Sussex are a very hardy fowl, grow rapidly and at the age of five and six months the pullets are laying and cockerels make splendid broilers at eight weeks of age. It is these qualifications that have brought them to the front during the past few years, not only among fanciers but also a large number of farmers who have learned of their superior egg laying
and table qualities. The fact that the Sussex fowl is one of the leaders in producing the greatest amount of high quality meat in the shortest time and at the least cost is what appeals to the average farmer. Rapid progress has also been made along egg laying lines and
when we can produce a hen weighing seven pounds and over, laying over 200 eggs in a year, we have the kind of fowl deserving of the name of a dual purpose fowl. Now this is what the Speckled Sussex are doing, not only in one flock but breeders all over the country will say that the general average of their flocks will average close to that figure.
In addition to these general qualifications there is no breed in the standard that lias a more beautiful and attractive plumage than the Speckled Sussex. The general ground color of the male is one harmonious shade of rich, brilliant dark mahogany or reddish brown. The breast should show the three colors distinctly, ground color a rich dark reddish brown, each feather tipped with white, the white being divided from the ground color by a narrow bar of black. The back bar should cut off share and not mix with the white or the balance of the feather. The hackle and saddle feathers should have a rich greenish black stripe through the end of the feather, tipped with white. The best birds from a breeding standpoint should not have the stripe in the saddle run full length of the feather but should cut off about an inch from under the fluff.

Males ow this kind can be used as safe breeders of both males and females. In other words it is not necessary to resort to the double mating system in breeding Speckled Sussex as is the case in many other varieties. While the standard calls for white tipping in the hackle and saddle feathers we often find this lacking in some of the darker males, especially in their cockerel year, but after they moult out the second year the white tipping becomes more prominent. While we all want males with this white tipping, especially for exhibition purposes, it is not wise to discard males that do not show it for breeding purposes. It is far better to use a rich dark mahogany male without tipped hackle and saddle than a light red male that is tipped. By mat I mean that a male bird with an even shade of dark mahogany is far better than one showing orange colored hackle and saddle that is tipped. The day of these lighter colored males is a thing of the past and they should not be used in the breeding pen nor in the show room. By that I do not mean that they should be too dark, running into chocolate, because a Speckled Sussex male must be rich and brilliant and not a dark dull color. The wings of a good male should show the three colors mixed in, but when the wing is folded the wingbow should be a rich mahogany color. Much has been said about the undercolor, but I favor the three colors, slate, salmon and shading to white at the skin. It is quite important that the male heading a breeding pen show a bar of salmon in the undercolor because this strengthens the surface color in the females and helps to bring out that rich ground color, free from peppering and mossiness. In view of the fact that the Speckled Sussex is a tri-colored breed the three colors may be laid on a trifle heavier in some sections than in others. For instance it is quite common to find males that have almost pure white undercolor in the hackle and on the back, while others are a dark slate. Of the two extremes I prefer the one with a little too much white' than one that is too dark, because we must bear in mind that white must appear in all sections and must be properly distributed. For that reason I believe that too much stress has been laid to undercolor and probably many a good breeding bird has been killed simply because of this fact. Females invariably run darker in undercolor than the males and most of them will be found to have a dark slate undercolor, with occasionally a little salmon. (Turn to page 408)
(Continued from page 393)
Great care must be taken in selecting the females in the breeding pen. Like with all other breeds she should be fully matured, of standard size, broad deep breast and all the qualifications that go toward making up a good layer. In color she should be one even shade of dark reddish bay in all sections. The same shade of color should prevail in the breast as on the back as the latter usually runs lighter. A good rule to follow is to have the breast of the male corerspond in color with that of the breast and back of the fentale, that is to say that ^the ground color should be the same shade and each feather tipped with white and divided from the main ground color by a narrow bar of black. All females used for breeding should have a rich ground color free from peppering and the tips should be white and not grey.
Another important point in the selec* tiou of the females is to avoid those that show a heavy black cape around the neck. The standard specifically states that the hackle should be the same color as the rest of the sections and that is "reddish bay each feather tipped With white, the white divided from the bal* ance of the feather by a narrow bar of black." One of the principal defects in Speckled Sussex females is the black hackles ahd that is a section that We must improve and get It in keeping with the other sections, the description of which is the same.
The Speckled Sussex are One of the most beautiful as well as one of the best all around breeds in the standard and it affords anyone great pleasure to breed them. It might be well to call attention to the color of the chicks when they are hatched. In view of the fact that they are tri-colored variety the chicks are not alike when hatched. Some are pure white, some yellow, some reddish yellow with striped backs while others arc brown similar to the partridge varieties. Many who have never had experience with the breed become alarmed over the variety of color among the chicks, believing that they are crossed with other breeds. No matter what color the chicks may be when hatched they all look alike when feathered out and matured.
The standard weights of the Speckled Sussex are as follows: Cocks, nine pounds; hens, seven pounds; cockerels, seven and one-half pounds and pullets, six pounds. They have single combs and pinkish white shanks.
===========================================
American Poultry Journal - Volume 52 - Page 785, 1921
Color of Speckled Sussex.
In mating the Speckled Sussex the first thing to consider is type. The Sussex fowl has a type distinctly its own, and it is a type that is both practical and very beautiful, and breeders should strive to maintain it.
In picking the females for the mating select those having long, broad, deep bodies which slope slightly from shoulders to tail, full, prominent hreasts. low well spread tails, shanks of medium length, good substance and set well apart, strong necks of medium length and broad, deep skulls.
In surface color, tho female should be an even shade of rich mahogany" ground color over entire breast, back and body each feather ending in a black bar with a white tip.
There is a tendency toward peppering in the ground color of the feathers and this must be guarded against, although a small amount of this is not such a serious breeding defect as some people seem to think.
Under color should be slate or slate shading into salmon at the skin.
In wings I like to have the primaries mixed black and white, and the lower half or outer edge of each secondary feather a rich mahogany brown, and the upper hall or inner edge of secondary, black. This kind of wing shows a beautiful brown wnen folded.
Main tail feathers should be black and white, a little more black than white, and the coverts black, tipped with white.
The male to go with these females should be a bird that is full of vigor and vitality and of not less than 9 lbs. for cock or 7 1/2 for cockerel. He should have a long, broad, flat back which slopes nicely from shoulders to tail; a full, prominent, squared appearing breast, low well spread tail: shanks that are straight, strong and set well apart; large neck, of medium length; and a broad, deep head.
His color should be an even shade of dark rich mahogany over neck, back, wing bow and saddle, each hackle and saddle feather to have a narrow black stripe through the center of lower end.
It is desirable to have each hackle and saddle feather tipped with white, but do not be too particular about tipping in these
two sections, as males having very little hackle and saddle tipping will breed good stock. The thing to work for is the proper shade of ground color. One male having the correct shade of mahogany ground color and practically no hackle and saddle tipping is worth a dozen males that are nicely tipped in these sections but have the light red or sandy ground color.
As breeders, use those males whose under color is slate shading into salmon at the base in all sections. The breast, body and fluff surface coior of the male should be the same as that of the back of the females. Wing color, same as that described for the females. Main tail feathers about equally divided in black and white, main sickles, lesser sickles and coverts greenish black tipped with white.
However, it is not always possible to have the main sickle feathers black, as is attested by the fact that some of the winning males in our best shows have almost solid white sickles. From such a mating as is above described one may reasonably expect to get a large percentage of good exhibition specimens of both sexes.
Now about picking out the promising birds amidst the young stock, and on this matter I write for the purpose of aiding the beginner with Sussex to properly select and develop his young stock.
Picking the chicks for color is a comparatively easy task for me, and begins as soon as the chicks are hatched and thoroughly dried. When taking off a hatch it will be noted that some of the chicks have rich yellow-colored bodies with a reddish cast on top, others will be a deep brown with stripes along each side of the back and still others will be very light in color, in fact almost white. This great variation in the color of the chicks is due to the fact that the Speckled Sussex is a tri-colored or three-colored fowl. If the reddish yellow and the brown chicks are leg banded or toe marked and their development carefully noted it will be found that they are the ones that will grow into the best colored fowls. This does not mean that none of the whiter chicks will be of any value in color, as usually there will be a few of them that will develop- into nicely colored birds, but not any appreciable number. Occasionally chicks will hatch almost black and these will always remain too dark in color.
From this it will be seen that one may pick his Sussex chicks for color at a very early age. In fact, so early that some who read this may say it can't be done, but this is not an epistle to the unbeliever. I have followed this plan of selecting for color for several years, and found it satisfactory.
Picking for type requires a little age on the birds. The beginner should not attempt to select for type until his chicks are about twelve weeks old, although I have reached the point where I can pick most of those that will be best in type at a somewhat earlier age. If the chicks are closely observed it will be seen that some of them have long, flat backs, full round breasts and a considerable fullness below the vent. These are the fellows to select for type. The chicks that have slim bodies, flat breasts, long, slender legs and little body formation back of the legs never amount to much in type, and neither do those that have little, short "humped up" bodies. So much for selecting the birds. Now we come to the subject of feeding them.
When the chicks are forty-eight hours old give a feed of corn bread that has been soaked in milk and from which the excess moisture has been squeezed, being careful to give only as much of the feed as will be cleaned up in about 15 minutes. The bread and milk should be the only feed given the chicks for the first three days. After the third day a mixture of grain composed of one part corn, one part wheat, one-half part hulled oats' and one-half part kafir corn ground to the fineness of coffee when ground on mother's old hand mill should be added to the ration. Feed the chicks four times a day, giving two feeds of the grain and' two of the moist bread. Continue with this feed until the chicks are four weeks old, at which time you may discontinue the moist bread and substitute a bolied mash made up of one part corn meal, one part bran and one part rolled oats. You also should at this time increase the size of the grains in the grain mixture.
Any table scraps you have on hand may be added to the cooked mash and will be greatly relished by the birds. Provide plenty of green feed right from the start, and once a day give the chicks all the buttermilk they will drink, if obtainable. If you have no milk, add a little coarse beef scrap to the grain feed after the chicks are a month old. Grit, charcoal and clean water should
be accessible at all times. This constitutes the full feeding course from the time the chicks are hatched until fully matured. It is a method of feeding that is very simple and easy to practice and one that will produce results.
Now a few points on housing. Provide the growing stock with dry, well ventilated houses that are kept clean, free from lice and mites and well bedded. As the weather becomes warmer, usa the coarsest straw* obtainable for litter, and see that it is deep enough to hold the chicks well up off the floor so the air will circulate through the straw under them. Keep the birds off the perches until two-thirds grown, and thus avoid crooked breast bones.
Missouri. John Miller.
=========================================

 

[Woodsy]

Hello,

I am fairly new to this forum. However, it seems to me this is one of the best Speckled Sussex threads that I have come across in some years. I am a Canadian breeder of SS and this is a recent pic of my Champion pullet. I am very proud of her but still much to work on. This spring I hatched 200 and have culled down to 8 pullets and 2 cockerels. Hoping to do the same this spring but costs a lot of $$$$$ to feed 200 birds plus ducks etc. etc. Anyways, I love this thread and it seems to me that there are a lot of dedicated SS breeders out there. Hope you guys join the American Sussex ***.?? We need more members and hopefully have a national show in a few years.

Cheers,
Woodsy (English River Poultry)

 

[3riverschick]

Here's a neat little article discusses Speckled Sussex chick down by Miller. There's another great article in Google books called, " The Proper Color of Speckled Sussex by Falkenstein which also includes chick down.


American Poultry Journal, Volume 52 1921 , Page 784
Chicago : American Poultry Journal Pub. Co.
Color of Speckled Sussex.
In mating the Speckled Sussex the first thing to consider is type. The Sussex fowl has a type distinctly its own, and it is » type that is both practical and very beautiful, and breeders should strive to maintain
In picking the females for the mating select those having long, broad, deep bodies which slope slightly from shoulders to tail, full, prominent hreasts. low well spread tails, shanks of medium length, good substance and set well apart, strong necks of medium length and broad, deep skulls.
In surface color, tho female should be an even shade of rich mahogany" POMO color over entire breast, back and body each feather ending in a black bar with a white tip.
There is a tendency toward peppering in the ground color of the feathers and this must be guarded against, although a small amount of this is not such a serious breeding defect as some people seem to think.
Under color should bo slate or slate shading into salmon at the skin.
In wings I like to have tho primaries mixed black and white, and the lower halt or outer edge of each secondary feather a rich mahogany brown, and the upper hall or inner edge of secondary, black. This kind of wing shows a beautiful brown wnen folded. . , .
Main tail feathers should be black and white, a little more black than white, and the coverts black, tipped with white.
The male to go with these females should be a bird that is full of vigor and vitality and of not less than 9 lbs. lor cock or ih for cockerel. He should have a long, broad, flat back which slopes nicely from shoulders to tail; a full, prominent, squared appearing breast, low well spread tail: shanks that are straight, strong and set well apart! large neck, of medium length; and a broad, dee,} head. ■ , .
His color should be an even shade of dart rich mahogany over neck, back, wing bowl and saddle, each hackle and saddle feather to have a narrow black stripe through tM center of lower end. ,
It is desirable to have each hackle and saddle feather tipped with white, but do not be too particular about tipping in these two sections, as males having very little hackle and saddle tipping will breed good stock. The thing to work for is the proper shade of ground color. One male having tlie correct shade of mahogany ground color and practically no hackle and saddle tipping is worth a dozen males that are nicely tipped in these sections but have the light red or sandy ground color.
As breeders, use those males whose under co'or is slate shading into salmon at the base in all sections. The breast, body and fluft surface coior of the male should be the same as that o> the back of the females. Wing color, same as that described for the females. Main tail feathers about equally divided in black and white, main sickles, lesser sickles and coverts greenish black tipped with white.
However, it is not always possible to have the main sickle feathers black, as is attested by the fact that some of the winning males in our best shows have almost solid white sickles. From such a mating as is above described one may reasonably expect to get a large percentage of good exhibition specimens of both sexes.
Now about picking out the promising birds amidst the young stock, and on this matter I write for the purpose of aiding the beginner with Sussex to properly select and develop his young stock.
Picking the chicks for color is a comparatively easy task for me, and begins as soon as the chicks are hatched and thoroughly dried. When taking off a hatch it will be noted that some of the chicks have rich yellow-colored bodies with a reddish cast on top, others will be a deep brown with stripes along each side of the back and still others will be very light in color, in fact almost white. This great variation in the color of the chicks is due to the fact that the Speckled Sussex is a tri-colored or three-colored fowl. If the reddish yellow and the brown chicks are leg banded or toe marked and their development carefully noted it will be found that they are the ones that will grow into the best colored fowls. This does not mean that none of the whiter chicks will be of any value in color, as usually there will be a few of them that will develop- into nicely colored birds, but not any appreciable number. Occasionally chicks will hatch almost black and these will always remain too dark in color.
From this it will be seen that one may pick his Sussex chicks for color at a very early age. In fact, so early that some who read this may say it can't be done, but this is not an epistle to the unbeliever. I have followed this plan of selecting for color for several years, and found it satisfactory.
Picking for type requires a little age on the birds. The beginner should not attempt to select for type until his chicks are about twelve weeks old, although I have reached the point where I can pick most of those that will be best in type at a somewhat earlier age. If the chicks are closely observed it will be seen that some of them have long, flat backs, full round breasts and a considerable fullness below the vent. These are the fellows to select for type. The chicks that have slim bodies, flat breasts, long, slender legs and little body formation back of the legs never amount to much in type, and neither do those that have little, short "humped up" bodies. So much for selecting the birds. Now we come to the subject of feeding them.
When the chicks are forty-eight hours old give a feed of corn bread that has been soaked in milk and from which the excess moisture has been squeezed, being careful to give only as much of the feed as will be cleaned up in about 15 minutes. The bread and milk should be the only feed given the chicks for the first three days. After the third day a mixture of grain composed of one part corn, one part wheat, one-half part hulled oats' and one-half part kafir corn ground to the fineness of coffee when ground on mother's old hand mill should be added to the ration. Feed the chicks four times a day, giving two feeds of the grain and' two of the moist bread. Continue with this feed until the chicks are four weeks old, at which time you may discontinue the moist bread and substitute a bolied mash made up of one part corn meal, one part bran and one part rolled oats. You also should at this time increase the size of the grains in the grain mixture.
Any table scraps you have on hand may be added to the cooked mash and will be greatly relished by the birds. Provide plenty of green feed right from the start, and once a day give the chicks all the buttermilk they will drink, if obtainable. If you have no milk, add a little coarse beef scrap to the grain feed after the chicks are a month old. Grit, charcoal and clean water should be accessible at all times. This constitutes the full feeding course from the time the chicks are hatched until fully matured. It is a method of feeding that is very simple and easy to practice and one that will produce results.
Now a few points on housing. Provide the growing stock with dry, well ventilated houses that are kept clean, free from lice and mites and well bedded. As the weather becomes warmer, usa the coarsest straw* obtainable for litter, and see that it is deep enough to hold the chicks well up off the floor so the air will circulate through the straw under them. Keep the birds off the perches until two-thirds grown, and thus avoid crooked breast bones.
Missouri. John Miller.

 

[Wappoke]

Thanks very much! Exactly the type of genetic info I was looking for to start putting this puzzle together. I hatched out 6 chicks from Walt Reichert birds. 3 were solid gold/yellow, 3 were gold/yellow with some faint black markings, and black dots on heads. Unfortunately I did not band them at hatch to mark them, they were an experiment to see what the birds would produce. I sold them to a friend. 3 were male and 3 female. Now I wonder if there was some type of sex linking going on...

All of my Overton matings hatched out gold, some with faint markings, some solid. All had good ground color as 6 month olds.

Is there a genetics thread somewhere to learn more? Thanks!

Leela

If you want to know more about wheaten and the mottling genes, research papers on the subjects are a good source. Use google scholar to find published papers. Sometimes the papers are online and if not, a university library will sometimes have the papers. You go to the library and pull the papers then make copies to study. Most libraries have staff that will pull journals and you come in on a certain date and copy the articles. You have to have the reference for the article.Sometimes I find interesting information in articles that do not deal directly with the subject.

Abstracts can be very good also- if you can not get the article.

I have a large number of journal articles that I read and analyze-

http://www.bantamclub.com/PDF/Smyth.pdf

The above address is for a paper that is full of all kinds of information. You can not read it like a book- read sentences or paragraphs over and over until you get the gist of the information. Get a composition book and jot down important things in your own words you can use for reference. In order to keep information in an orderly fashion, Make sections in your notes before you start reading.
If you and others are serious, I will go back and look at the paper and make suggestion concerning
how to organize the material

Forget about remembering it all- the important thing is knowing where to find the information.

If you have questions- post them on a new string- Smyth paper would be a good title. If a bunch of people begin reading the paper- there will be lots of questions and learning will happen. I will be happy to answer any questions- questions that I can not answer may require some research on my part and that is good- it keeps me humble.

There have been some changes in genetics since the paper was published. I will let everyone know about the changes.

 

[Somewhere_In_The_Clouds]

I'm here, and I'm new. I have ten Speckled Sussex bantams that are nine weeks old, 7 of which are cockerels.

I'm trying to get more than a generalized standard of the breed, which is all I'm finding on the web. "Brick/horizontal" helps, a little. I want to keep the best looking of the boys to breed. I'm not expecting show quality, but just as good as I can do.

I'd love to talk to others about the breed, too.

Have you had a look at the standard for Sussex? Speckleds are just a colour variety.
http://www.openpoultrystandards.com/Sussex
Scroll down in the link and it has a small section on the speckled sussex.