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Sussex

The Sussex was developed in Sussex County, England over 100 years ago. It was famous...
Overview Reviews (105) Gallery
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General Information

Breed Purpose
Dual Purpose
Comb
Single
Broodiness
Frequent
Climate Tolerance
All Climates
Egg Productivity
High
Egg Size
Large
Egg Color
Brown tinted
Breed Colors/Varieties
Speckled and Light
Breed Size
Large Fowl
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The Sussex is a dual purpose breed that originated in England around the time of the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43, making them one of the oldest known breeds. Today they are a popular breed for show exhibitions as well as a garden breed.

The Sussex is an alert, docile breed that can adapt to any surroundings. They are comfortable in both free range or confined spaces and in the presence of humans, although they will mate and breed better in larger spaces. The breed frequently goes broody in the warmer months. They are good foragers and are generally vigorous and hardy as a garden fowl.

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Sussex egg

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Sussex chicks

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Sussex hen

rooster.jpg
Sussex rooster

For more information on this breed and their owners' and breeders' experiences with them, see our breed discussion here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-breed-focus-sussex.1154699/
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Latest reviews

triciayoung
Love My Speckled Sussex Chickens
Pros: Calm
Friendly
Nice
Beautiful
Cons: Too nice get bullied
Loud (if this is a problem)
I have a flock of 11. I was supposed to have 3-speckled Sussex hens, but 2 ended up being roosters. All three are very calm, extremely friendly, and easy to care for. My hen, Lucy, is too nice and ends up being low on the pecking order scale, only above the 3- Silkies. She is a good egg producer and started laying at 20-weeks.
Purchase Price
$5.00
Purchase Date
06/01/2022

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SesameRoad
Speckled Sussex pullet...
Pros: Very pretty plumage
Cons: loud, food crazed, not friendly, skittish
Got her with a few others at Coastal farm store as chicks. Never was friendly. Lays every 2 days or so. Avoids me unless there are treats. Got for the plumage, but just disappointed in the breed, at least the quality from Coastal farm.
Won't be purchasing again unfortunately.
Purchase Price
$4
Purchase Date
August 8nd 2021
SnowyJball
Love These birds!
Pros: They are super beautiful birds
Very cuddly to pick up and like to be held
They LOVE attention and they are very "sticky" and love to follow you around.
They are amazing mothers
they are very soft and gentle when hand fed.
they are not aggressive at all.
Cons: they can be slightly noisy when they are young (at around 10 months) females sometimes crow or cluck really loudly, but it stops once they have fully developed/ adults.
They lay quite small eggs, but they are pink and very pretty
They go broody A LOT (but that might be a pro for you :D)
I got one of these beautiful birds as a pet on my birthday a few years ago. Such a lovely bird! She loves attention and loves being pet or hand-fed. She would even fly outside my window, and would always wait for me to open the window to pet her and carry her back into her coop. every time I came home before dark, I would always go to the coop and hand feed her some corn, She is so soft and gentle. The trust and bond I have between me and my light Sussex, Snowball is stronger than titanium. I love her very much. Overall, the light Sussex is an extremely friendly bird, they are normally at the top of the pecking order because of their large size, but they rarely peck other chickens. They are perfect for if you want to raise them as pets.

Warning: I got my light Sussex chickens from a very good breeder, so the prices would most likely be lower in other places.

Snowball waiting downstairs.PNG snowball and baby.PNG
Purchase Price
adults: $75, day olds: $12.50
Purchase Date
2/1/2020, 20/11/2021
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Comments

chickencowranch
I like my specks as well. I never heard of this breed until I went to tsc last year and bought 5 chicks. 3 roosters 2 pullets. I got rid of the roos. The two hens are bossy with the other chickens in the flock. If i dedide to get anymore chickens, I'll consider getting another coop to keep them away from the specks. They are friendly. I'd consider getting more.
 
Curly Beard
I only kept the one breed instead of a mixed flock , hatched out replacements in the spring and culled out unproductive birds and small birds ... they were looking nice when i lost the land i lived on and had to sell off the flock , i only kept about a dozen at a time anyway(including the roo)
 
Sylvestor12
Awww they sound so cute! I've found that many heavy breeds hold up against cold weather well. Could you imagine little bantams in sitting all poofed up trying to keep warm? The sight would be terrible! And just a side thing, your avatar is absolutely adorable! For the chicks that I raise that are really pet-like I set on my head for pictures too. Hah, I remember one time that I put one on my head and the crazy thing started trying to nip at my eyes and fell off. Luckily I caught her though. Phew!
 
vlselz
I just got two Speckled Sussex chicks, and a barred rock 5 days ago, so far they seem lovely. Now hopefully hand rearing all of them they stay that way =)
 
pupchick
Do you have any other breeds of chickens? I have a large variety of rare and common breeds and I also have 120 eggs in my incubators... I do not really have a favorite breed of chickens though...
 
pupchick
I forgot to ask, do you have any rir/speckeled sussex crosses? if so how is thier temperment and what do they look like? Thanks
 
Boichik86
I have only 1 s.sussex, but its growing up every bit as fast as its Faverolles (a relatively quick growing heritage breed) nest mates.
 
snowflake
the sussex is a fun breed, I have 2 and if I am digging in the garden they are ON the shovel kicking the dirt of in hopes of a worm. a very friendly breed
 
H
where did you you get her from??I want to get a pet hen and sussex seem to be the best choice if you dont want silkies, but I want to make sure I get them from the same line where people have had extremely friendly and cuddly birds.
 
H
where did you get this girl, I m looking for a pet hen to cuddle and sit on the couch with me and I want a SS from the same place that you got her! ;)
 
sbhkma
I have to agree. My SS are really friendly. Nice size (mine are only 10 week old pullets atm) and they love to just come hang out with me on the back porch while my cuckoo marans rummage around in the brush. Pretty birds, easy to work with (except Annie, who loves to sit on you and hates to be picked up!). They border on being pests, but I can shoo them away and eventually they "get it' and go forage. I'm glad I got them!
 
ibreathe4u
I have to say, my Sussex has the funniest, friendliest personality. Like someone else mentioned, it borders on pest. She likes being carried, and when the back door is open, she makes a beeline for the kitchen. She so wants to be an inside chicken! She's the bottom of the pecking order, but she has no clue.
 
Joultry
I have raised a flock of Speckled Sussex before and they are by far one of my favorite breeds. I only have two hens due to a viscous fox attack. Originally I had 10 speckled Sussex hens and 1 RIR rooster but 8 of the hens got eaten and I got rid of the rooster because would surreptitiously stalk me until I walked away. And he would attack me trying to spur me but I always defended myself with a stick or either a bucket. Over all though I have thoroughly enjoyed the two hens that I have now and they will always be considered pets not egg layers.
 
canesisters
I have 2 speckled sussex - LOVE THEM!!! They are the friendliest birds in the flock. They have both gone broody and are sharing a bunch of eggs right now.
They are Sola and Nova. Great birds.
 

Item information

Category
Chicken Breeds
Added by
bilbothebanty
Views
89,834
Watchers
32
Comments
126
Reviews
105
Last update
Rating
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