The Sussex thread!

[Faraday40]

Our SS was not friendly when she was younger. We got her at 5 days old and handled her a lot. She was flighty and not social at all. One day when she was about 2 months old she suddenly decided she loves people. Now she follows us around the yard complaining that she isn't getting enough attention. Yep, she is very loud and talks constantly.

I love that about the sussex! Mine are constantly underfoot or examining my hands and scolding me when I don't have treats. Even the less friendly ones would join in.

Our female is the same way, although she has been friendly since day 1. Our rooster on the other hand has been friendly since day 1 than at 8 months decided he likes to charge people. He doesn't do it as much now though. But all of our chickens will come running as soon as they see you, Ducks too. They think everytime we come outside we should have treats! haha

I think my "mutt" must have some Sussex in her. She's LOUD & it sounds like she's always whining " Trrreeeats....Treeeeeeats" as she follows me around She also stands on my feet until I pick her up. There are only so many chores I can do one-handed, so as soon as she gets put down, she starts whining again. She's also a camera hog. I can never take pics of anything while she's in my lap. Notice the group of hens under the tree? - my intended pic.

 

[Faraday40]

That is why I love this site!!! No one in my regular life understands how wonderful these chickens are...except for my daughter I suppose!

Be careful. I spread my chicken addiction to my daughter as well. Because of her science projects, our flock has grown!!!

 

[3riverschick]

Hi all! I am hoping someone can tell me if they think my 12 week old pullet is a Silver Sussex. I purchased 2 fertile Sussex eggs for my broody Silkie to hatch and one was clearly a light Sussex roo and has been rehomed. (Not allowed to have Roos in my town). This girl has been slower to feather in and the color around her neck, wings and tail are very light silver.
I posted pics of her when she was younger and a few people thought that she was not a Sussex at all but a mix. Her legs were yellow, they said. They look white to me but I am a newbie.

Hi,
I know you are serious about the breed. So I am going to be blunt. In poultry, shape makes the breed. Color makes the variety within the breed. This bird is colored like a Silver Sussex. In Sussex, the shape is so closely allied with its production virtues that if it doesn't look like a Sussex, it literally isn't a Sussex. I am so happy for you this bird has given you a love for the breed. They are wonderful birds. But it is not a Sussex. It is a chicken with coronation colors. I am not trying to be mean, I am trying to explain the chicken world. Now here is what the ideal Sussex should look like ( breed type silhouette) in any color variety. This is the illustration used for the Light Sussex in the most recent American Poultry Association Standard of Perfection (2010 ) .
http://www.katherineplumer.com/closeups/poultry/SOP/LLightSussex.html
Sometimes our first birds' testament is their ability to help us select a breed. Not the excellence of the birds themselves. My first Marans were like that. Tho I eventually left the breed for the Sussex, I learned to love the Marans with my less than stellar, would-be Golden Salmon Marans. Tho I never was able to correct the color, the bird's temperament and production virtues really make me smile.
Grading up? It will take years and $$$ with this bird. Your best bet is to put this pullet in the egg flock and start again with better stock. Been there , done that. Your cock is more than 1/2 your flock, so you want to get the very best. Your females should be hatched by a hen which is a very good layer. Your cock should have a dam who is a very good layer as he will also pass this virtues to his daughters. A quality breeder will know these things.
Don't get over excited by the size of your birds. The cock should be 9 lbs. and the hens should be 7 lbs. These huge Australian birds cannot be showin in APA shows because they are automatically DQ'd for being over-size. Find an American strain which has incorporated the Cornonation color and kept the correct size in their birds. Silhouette, silhouette. Keep that uppermost in your mind. Also take another look the Plummer painting. See how you can see the thighs on the hen? We should always be able to see the outline definition of the thighs in spite of the feathers. If the bird is all fluff and pantaloons down there and all you can see is legs sticking out of the fluff, this is incorrect. The Coronation is just a Light Sussex with the Lavender gene instead of the Hackle Black gene. Happily, it is based on the eWh ( Wheaten) allele so there is no color balancing of the underfluff needed to get correct top color.
What does the APA SOP say about the Sussex and why are they constructed the way they are? How does their structure affect their production virtues? On BYC there is an older thread, now completed, called Chicken State University. It's function was to take breeds one at a time and analyze them for the "students". In posts 1093 thru 1108 https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/732985/csu-chicken-state-university-large-fowl-sop/1090 we discussed the Sussex. Dragonlady stepped in and shared some wonderful information. She has been breeding purebred poultry for over 50 years. It is very enlightening.

Here's some great reading on the breed.
This is a wonderful short expostion on the variety and the breed. Judge Whitehead was a judge for Sussex poulrty. One of three brothers who were famous in the poultry world, he went on to become President of the Poultry Club in Britian. I got back and read this over andover again. It is very enlightening.
The Light Sussex.
By Broomhead, William White
Pub. 1921 , 8 pages
http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924003137332;view=1up;seq=5
The book below was written by a legendary Sussex breeder. Sharpe was also the creator of the Light Sussex. Lots of great information on all the varieties. The Coronation was not yet created when these 2 books werre written.
The Sussex fowl (1920
https://archive.org/details/cu31924003091398
Best Regards,
Karen

 

[ChickenWing]

What did you expect if you named him Sue? HAHA. Just like the Johnny Cash song, it makes him a fighter.

 

[3riverschick]

I would like to buy young pullets of the speckled Sussex. I live in the Kansas City metro area. I would like perbred. If anyone has some they want to sell pm me. They will have a good home. I have six 4 months chickens I got this February and spoil them rotten everyday. They will be pets at my home.

If I may, Many breeders have closed their breeding pens for the year. Waltz's Ark breeds in the high plains of CO. so their breeding season starts later in the year. Note they raise everything naturally. Folk say their Sussex are good quality.
They have several colors of Sussex including Speckled.
Best,
Karen


Cornerstone Poultry http://www.cornerstonepoultry.com/
Waltz's Ark www.naturalark.com/poultry.html
http://www.featherauction.com/detail.asp?id=3926&n=Rare-Breed-Juvenile-Pairs-and-Trios
Sunset Meadow Farm http://sunsetmeadowfarm.com/

There are several strains and mixtures of strains of Light Sussex in the US.
1. Dinger line, the old American line. Considered a bit inbred and smaller than usual. No website
2. Bradshaw line. The Aussie line imported by Greenfire arms. Considered over-height and too fluffy by APA Standard. Usually DQ for excessive fluffiness at APA shows. greenfirefarms.com/
3. Ron Presley line. Developed by Ron. See HPBAA for details on 1-5.
4. Ron Presley, Bradshaw, Dinger, Grisham crosses. Various combination of 2 or three of these lines and strains to compensate for faults and to combine virtues in the various three lines.
5. Grisham is mentioned as a strain, but, currently, I only see it mentioned when already combined with Dinger. HBPAA has more info on Grisham..

Canadian and English strains in the US:
1. Waltz's Ark in Colorado ( www.naturalark.com/sussex.html ) has strain of pure Canadian strain of Light Sussex; a flock of Greenfire Light Sussex. And strain of Canadian/Greenfire crosses. He keeps the three flocks separate.
2. Lynnrae Troples in NW PA, USA has at least one hen of Dinkle , A Canadian strain she brought down to combine with Marans to make a Columbian Marans. See HBPAA for details.
3. Walt Boese pure English strain Light Sussex, MT. ( Facebook page only ) Imported thru Canada years ago. Walt shows and wins nicely in APA shows with his pure English Light Sussex. He has show quality stock and let me obtain some last Dec. Not the place to go for stock to cross with other strains and lines. ( Walt is not breeding poultry anymore)
4. Read more about strains at the parent Club website, American Sussex Association: americansussexbreeders.webs.com/ And at the Heritage Poultry Breeders Association of America website: www.hpbaa.com/Sussex_History.html
Best Regards, Karen Tewart

 

[Beer can]

How'd you talk your wife into keeping them, lol?

She thinks were keeping them just to grow them out for a few layers and to eat them, I figure I have some months maybe before I have to explain that my plan is breeding them Lol!

 

[Faraday40]

Here's a pic of my only sussex enjoying one of those few sunny days we've had. (It's been raining & flooding since May.) And yes, she's wearing a cape. (My daughter likes to play dress up with the hens) This girl is huge - as big as my orpingtons - and very sweet.

 

[3goodeggs]

I gave you an ovation and hit two p's instead of one.
She's 'super' not 'supper'. Your daughter might not understand.

 

[Faraday40]

I gave you an ovation and hit two p's instead of one.
She's 'super' not 'supper'. Your daughter might not understand.

Boy did we get a great laugh.

DD is carrying the giant 10 lb hen around the yard shouting:
Are you feeling down & hungry?
It's a bird; it's a plane; it's SUPPER CHICKEN to the rescue!

 

[chicken-clucky]

Spencer