Speckled Sussex - Breeding to the SOP

[gwells1980]

Hello! and I hope you follow along and enjoy this breeding plan.

PLEASE OFFER SUGGESTIONS AND CRITICISM WHERE NEEDED! Don't worry about pulling punches, I'm a grown man, I can take it.

To start I am going to say I first saw the Speckled Sussex chicken when I was 14 years old (I am now 42) and have since that day wanted to raise some. Somehow every time I was about to get one something would happen that would make it impossible for me to get it. They were always more of a unicorn than a chicken to me, beautiful to look at but impossible to catch. Until tonight.

A wonderful couple in Southeast Ohio had an amazing male and female pair and after about 6 hours of haggling, was willing to trade them to me plus a really nice Buff Orpington Hen for 2 Sapphire Gem Pullets and 2 Light Brahma Pullets for his breeding project. (He has the largest Light Brahma rooster I have ever seen, I believe they are wanting to breed some super-giant brahmas! 1 of the pullets I traded him is 6 months old and already was pushing 7 pounds, she will be massive as well. Good match.)

Please take time to look at the pictures, I will post better ones tomorrow I got them home late, and tell me what you think.

Rooster (Name - Champ) - 2 Years Old
1st - We had a vicious winter this year as everyone knows, and the Rooster suffered frostbite on his comb. Instead of letting it stay with the damage it could cause him, they chose to remove the narcotic tissue. So now his comb looks very NON-SOP - He can never be showed now but that is okay, he is going to be used as the breeding rooster in my project.
2nd - He doesn't appear to have a lot of white speckles on him from the angle of the original pictures but his chest does have a lot. Better pictures to come.


The Hen (Name - Rose) - 1 Year Old
Please look her over and tell me what you think. What traits should I try and emphasize and do you notice any problem areas.

IF ANYONE HAS THE S.O.P. FOR SPECKLED SUSSEX PLEASE SEND IT TO ME. I have looked and can't seem to find it.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Sussex have a flat back slightly sloping to 45 degree tail set. Moderately large head with stout beak. Cock- 9lbs, hen 7.5 lbs. Cockerel 7.5, pullet 6.

That should get you going, hatch a lot then cull for body type. Size and silhouette.

Speckled is mahogany with every feather tip white and black band lower web of feather. Main tail feathers are black and white; sickle and coverts are black with lustrous green shine and white tip.

 

[gwells1980]

Following. I just got bantam Speckled Sussex chicks and am interested in learning more about the breed.

I'm glad you are along for the journey! I have only had this breed for 24 hours now and am already in love with them. Got the rooster and hen home last night, and got an egg from her this afternoon. I think she will be my favorite chicken! Unfortunately, she free ranged with a Light Brahma, Buckeye, and a different Speckled Sussex rooster on her old farm so there is no way of knowing what rooster mated with her. I will have a month worth of eggs to eat before I am comfortable comfortable putting anything in the incubator from my rooster. I did catch him breeding with her today!

 

[gwells1980]

Quick Update Photos of The Earl Grey and The Lady Grey



For me it is finally official, Sussex is my favorite breed. Sorry Orpingtons they narrowly beat you out! How can you look at Lady and Earl and think anything else. For me the best breed needs to do the following; produce eggs well but doesn't have to be an egg factory like most hybrids, looks amazing like Lady and Earl, and have a great personality to match. My Sussex is like having a little smaller Orpington but without wanting to sit on eggs every week. Follows me around like a puppy and has never tried to attack me or my 3 year old, even when she chases the rooster around the yard.

Also, her test eggs will be hatching in 7 days! Down to the final week!

Sussex for the win!

 

[gwells1980]

Hi, I can't advise on your birds at all other than to congratulate you on finally fulfilling your childhood dream and wishing you luck with them. However, I do feel I should comment on your roost as a minor adjustment or two would be good for your birds' health. Your roost bar needs to be rotated a quarter turn so the wider surface is topmost, to give them a wider surface on which to perch; it would strain their feet less. And if you could possibly move the perches farther from the coop wall, they would be more comfortable as well. Um... it's hard to tell from the pictures, but is there ventilation in the coop? Adequate ventilation prevents both the buildup of ammonia in the coop and also condensation, which can be very dangerous, giving rise to frostbite and respiratory issues. Sorry, I guess that's three criticisms.

Don't apologize that is what I needed to hear. The coop was originally built when the sapphire gems in there were a lot smaller. Didn't really think to far into the future and made parts to small, I will be fixing that tomorrow as well as moving the larger roosting bars further from the wall. There is ventilation. It is just on the side that can't be seen. Also, the entire top lifts up on hardware cloth wrapped 4 by 4 by a few inches to provide extra ventilation. I just haven't yet because it has been very cold. I designed it to come out in winter. Maybe I should rethink the hardware cloth and enclose it with wood with grates that open and close. That may work better and be better for the chickens.

BigBlueHen53 Thank you for taking the time and reading my post. If you ever come across the SOP for Speckled Sussex's please let me know.

 

[gwells1980]

I dont believe mottling inproves with age I have one that has terrible mottling and its still terrible 3 years later it never changed heres both of mine when my one was molting the one on the left has always had worse mottling she barely has any View attachment 3433826
A better pic of the sec one View attachment 3433832

Oh that's different than what I have been told. I was told they get more white with each molt but I haven't seen it myself. The one in the bottom picture is beautiful looking BTW! Exactly what I think when I imagine a Speckled Sussex.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hi, I can't advise on your birds at all other than to congratulate you on finally fulfilling your childhood dream and wishing you luck with them. However, I do feel I should comment on your roost as a minor adjustment or two would be good for your birds' health. Your roost bar needs to be rotated a quarter turn so the wider surface is topmost, to give them a wider surface on which to perch; it would strain their feet less. And if you could possibly move the perches farther from the coop wall, they would be more comfortable as well. Um... it's hard to tell from the pictures, but is there ventilation in the coop? Adequate ventilation prevents both the buildup of ammonia in the coop and also condensation, which can be very dangerous, giving rise to frostbite and respiratory issues. Sorry, I guess that's three criticisms.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

I dont believe mottling inproves with age I have one that has terrible mottling and its still terrible 3 years later it never changed heres both of mine when my one was molting the one on the left has always had worse mottling she barely has any

A better pic of the sec one

 

[gwells1980]

Update 04-30-23 !

There is a little bit of a change up we are going to get into and there will be some updates on the incubating eggs and the test batch that we have already hatched out.

Lady Grey is being your typical friendly Speckled Sussex hen, walking around like she owns the yard and laying either daily or at the very least, every other day. Typical friendliness, she is the 1st to run up and greet you, (Beg for a treat) when you go into the yard. You can't help but lover her.

Earl Grey is gone. Over the past week he decided he didn't want to be a friendly guy anymore and started flogging me when I went into the yard. I kept his spurs under control so I didn't think to much of it, roosters will be roosters, but then he started flogging my 3 year old daughter and that was it. I rehomed him instead of turning him into dinner... (I honestly couldn't bring myself too. He was too good looking of a Sussex to end him) and the lady that came to get him was fine with the way he was acting, not her first rodeo either.

I do have 28 eggs he fertilized in the incubator and if I understand how things work correctly, the girls will still be laying eggs fertilized by him for the next week or two. So all of them will be getting incubated. (He was my only rooster, now I have none)

I will be taking the two best roosters that conform to the SOP and keeping them to continue on his line. THEY WILL BE GETTING HANDLED DAILY! We are going to turn them into lap roosters if we can. Zero hostility, or as close as we can get to it, is one of our new goals for the breeding.

Saphron (My Sapphire Gem) continues to lay enormous eggs (XL - Jumbo) daily even though she did take a 3 day break last week which was unusual for her. After seeing one of Earl's and Saphron's chicks, I am incubating all of her eggs for the next 2 weeks. (Some of her chicks will be available if you want some)

Buffy (My Buff Orpington) did in fact go very, very, very broody. (*Normal for a Buff Orpington hen I was told) So I gave her 5 of her eggs back and she is being the perfect mom. Sitting on her eggs, keeping them warm. I am a little concerned however, we just had a massive storm and the nest is wet. Should I remove the eggs or let mom keep them going?

EGG UPDATE - 29 eggs went in - 28 eggs remain. 1 was a dud.... not fertilized, but it was a Earl / Buffy cross so not to bummed out.

only 8 days left

We have 13 Speckled Sussex eggs left, 13 Buff Orpington eggs left, and 2 Sapphire Gem eggs left. (We were using Saphron's for food, now I am saving them for the next hatch)

CHICK TIME! - THERE IS SOME SERIOUS WHITENESS ON A COUPLE OF THE TEST CHICKS NOW. - They hatched on 04-13-23 so they are 2 1/2 weeks old while I am writing this. - If you want to start guessing for genders go ahead! We will see if we are right!

Chick #1 - (Big'un) - I'm going to say BOY





Chick #2 - (Dutchess) - Finger's crossed for a GIRL





Chick #3 - (Princess) - Again, hoping a GIRL, or the name is going to confuse people





Chick #4 - ( Yet Unnamed) - Thinking he is a boy based on his attitude




SAPHRON and EARL'S CHICK! The picture's don't do her justice. The down is not grey, it is actually blueish looking and the white is BRIGHT WHITE. Like she has been thrown in the washer with bleach. Also she has red, soon to be Mahogany spot on the top of her head. And yes I am going to keep saying HER even if SHE starts crowing and tries to breed with the girls. I want to keep her, she isn't allowed to be a boy.
She is a little smaller, hatched 3 days after the others, she is 2 weeks old today.

BLUEY - PRAYING IT IS A GIRL!!!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

You're most welcome. You need ventilation in winter, too, and it won't hurt them as long as it's not a draft that blows directly on them. Remember, they're birds, and if the cold doesn't kill sparrows and cardinals, it won't kill chickens either. As long as they don't get wet, they'll be fine.

I have a couple (4) SS but I know nothing of the SOP, sorry. Have you done a search here on them? We had a lovely lady here named Sumi who used to do breed studies, she has since passed away, I don't know if she did one on Speckled Sussexes or not. Do you know how to search the site?