The Sussex thread!

[ThatFarmerChick]

Congrats Mocha!  It's such a big deal.  I took all kinds of photos or our first eggs. (Here's the egg in the nest.... the hen who laid the egg.......my daughter carrying the egg to the house in a basket,,,,,,,, the tiny egg compared to other eggs..... the egg in the fry pan....etc.)  I was so excited that one would think that I had laid the egg myself!

You do know that you can share all the pics. We love it!!!!

 

[LesGus5]

You do know that you can share all the pics. We love it!!!!

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!

 

[Faraday40]

You do know that you can share all the pics. We love it!!!!

OK. You asked....
So here's a pic of the last store egg we ever bought (Left) compared to the 1st yummy home grown egg we tasted (right). Back then I couldn't believe how dark the yolk looked. Now I can't believe that we actually ate such pale eggs.
(At a restaurant on vacation, my preschooler spit out his hard-boiled egg & said he wanted "a real egg." Although we scolded for his lack of manners, I had to agree that the restaurant eggs were rather bland. LOL)


When a pullet lays her 1st egg, we like to photograph it next to the others.

The tiny egg in the middle (above) came from Cookie, who is pictured below. (Bantam Orpington)


Because our eggs look so pretty, we decided not to color our Easter eggs last year. Instead the kids added stickers to our hard boiled eggs.


Although family & friends enjoy receiving any extra eggs we share, they don't always understand why we get excited every time a new girl starts to lay. After 2 years, I still get very excited when gathering the eggs. We label each egg with the date & hen's name. My kids always request whose egg they wish to eat.

 

[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!!!

 

[ThatFarmerChick]

OK. You asked.... So here's a pic of the last store egg we ever bought (Left) compared to the 1st yummy home grown egg we tasted (right). Back then I couldn't believe how dark the yolk looked. Now I can't believe that we actually ate such pale eggs. (At a restaurant on vacation, my preschooler spit out his hard-boiled egg & said he wanted "a real egg." Although we scolded for his lack of manners, I had to agree that the restaurant eggs were rather bland. LOL) When a pullet lays her 1st egg, we like to photograph it next to the others. The tiny egg in the middle (above) came from Cookie, who is pictured below. (Bantam Orpington) Because our eggs look so pretty, we decided not to color our Easter eggs last year. Instead the kids added stickers to our hard boiled eggs. Although family & friends enjoy receiving any extra eggs we share, they don't always understand why we get excited every time a new girl starts to lay. After 2 years, I still get very excited when gathering the eggs. We label each egg with the date & hen's name. My kids always request whose egg they wish to eat.

I love it! That is so awesome and special to me as well.

 

[ThatFarmerChick]

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!

I guess the same goes for me and my crew.

 

[Roxys8]

 

[Outpost JWB]

I was playing with the flock today and noticed that one SS hen, the only one I've ever gotten eggs from, has a pinched tail. We were hoping to start a little breeding program, but I guess she's out. I haven't had any sussex eggs since October, when I added some dominant, aggressive amber whites to the flock and then everyone got fowl pox.

Now that they're over the pox and have the pecking order settled I thought they would lay again, but no luck so far.

Are the sussex finicky about laying, like box size or material? Are they particularly susceptible to stress? I've considered rehoming my amber whites if it would mean sussex eggs again.

I don't currently have any SS hens, so can't help you with most of the questions. Sorry! My last one got ate by a dog. UGH! When is the last time you wormed them? Also by the comment you made about a pinched tail.....are you talking about wry tail? If so, the gene can be passed along and she should not be bred for stock. But you can still eat her eggs

 

[LooperChickens]

I'm new to SS and I'm just wondering how good is their egg production?

 

[WNCcluck]

We have one SS hen along with 7 others of various "flavors". Our SS laid well during the summer / fall. She's in the molting / winter lull now, but I fully expect her to be back at her 4 egg a week routine when spring rolls around. We got all of our hens from a farm that was rehoming part of their flock. All of our girls are two - three years old. Gladys (our SS) is an absolute delight!