Are they really Sussex?

[seachainanmadra]

Early last week, I got these two young ladies from someone on Craigslist. They were advertised simply as "Sussex". I'm not extremely familiar with the breed, but they looked right according to the quick googling I'd done. After I got them home and took a closer look at them, however, I started to second guess the breed. There were five chicks that were said to be 4 weeks old, and one that was three weeks older. All were said to be Sussex, but after I'd picked mine out (I got the older one, and one of the younger ones) and paid for them and was chatting with the lady, I discovered that she didn't own the parents, but had been given hatching eggs from a friend. It wasn't until later that, when I started noticing differences in the appearance of the two chicks, that I realized it would be odd for one of the chicks to be older unless she had received two different sets of hatching eggs. I still think the younger one could be a Speckled Sussex, but I suspect the older one is not! Could you help me figure this out?

Estelle
Age: 5-6 weeks (according to the seller)
Comb: Single? (it is a single, short, smooth ridge that extends to just above the fuzz line, then ends and has one little bump above that, like an upside down exclamation point)
Feet: Pink/White
Estelle is the one I think may be Speckled Sussex







Ophelia
Age: 8-9 weeks (according to the seller)
Comb: ?? - wider, smooth, barely raised with rounded top (like a hill rather than a mountain), seems to have a small scab at the top, so it may have been picked at by other chicks
Feet: Pink/White, maybe with a very subtle blue/gray cast that makes them look a bit dusty on top
Ophelia is the one I don't think is Sussex. She's just started growing some big girl tail feathers under the juvenile fluff, and they are coming in almost solid black. I don't see any white tips on her at all. I've looked at so many other breeds, but nothing quite fits. I realize she may be a mix, but am curious what might have gone into the mix.

 

[Kelsie2290]

The first one could be a Sussex. The second really looks to be a mix of some sort, did the people also have Easter Eggers, could be a Sussex cross if they really thought it was a Sussex.

 

[seachainanmadra]

EE had crossed my mind too, because of the color, but absolutely everything else about her seems wrong-especially body shape. I have no idea what breeds the seller has, but Sussex is not among them. She mentioned Sussex as being on her wish list before she got the hatching eggs. The woman talked about them like the older chick was part of the Sussex group, but she might have just been trying to pass off the last remaining chick from a previous hatch as though she was the same as the younger ones. The Craigslist ad stated that the Sussex were 4 weeks old, but a few older chicks were visible in the photos. One was a blue/lavender color (possibly cuckoo) and appeared to be the same age as the older girl I bought.

I'm not upset or even disappointed that this chick isn't what I expected, as I want diversity in my flock. She's a very sweet and curious little chick, so I'll be happy with whatever she happens to be. But I am planning to get some more chicks in the early spring. My goal is to have as many different egg colors as possible, and I'm choosing breeds accordingly. I'm mostly interested in finding out what to expect from her as a layer, so that I can plan the rest of my flock-to-be.

 

[Wyandottes7]

Neither of them are pure Sussex. As Kelsie said, they could be Easter Egger mixes. It can be hard to determine the exact mix of breeds in a crossbred, however.

 

[BantamLover21]

Neither of them are pure Sussex. As Kelsie said, they could be Easter Egger mixes. It can be hard to determine the exact mix of breeds in a crossbred, however.

x2

 

[Michael OShay]

Neither of them are pure Sussex. As Kelsie said, they could be Easter Egger mixes. It can be hard to determine the exact mix of breeds in a crossbred, however.

X3 on that.