CSU - Chicken State University- Large Fowl SOP

[snowbird]

Next up is a hen hatched the beginning of June 2012 (I guess she is a pullet for about a week yet.) Source Eggs from Walt Reichert who started with Overton lines. When Gary Overton needs to do an out cross, he does so with birds from Walt Reichert (according to Mr. Overton) Weight 5 pounds 3 ounces Band Green 29

She didn't want her picture taken,



In the middle with No Number on the left and Blue 25 on the right











I think this girl has the best coloring of them all. As she molts several more times, she may end up with too much white. She has a wide back and an open tail, Her comb isn't too bad either.

If I had this hen and her sister I would single mate them to a good colored SS male without a lot of extra white in wing and tail. Would hatch all the eggs these two layed and not worry about the other female you have pictured. These two are far better SOP quality wise. How about a couple of male SS pictures so we can see what you have available to breed these two hens with.

 

[mrheinz77]

If I had this hen and her sister I would single mate them to a good colored SS male without a lot of extra white in wing and tail. Would hatch all the eggs these two layed and not worry about the other female you have pictured. These two are far better SOP quality wise. How about a couple of male SS pictures so we can see what you have available to breed these two hens with.

Don,
The problem is that I only have hens. I got more eggs from Walt but none hatched due to rough handling by the post office.

Walt didn't have ant cockerels to sell and doesn't want to ship eggs because of how the post office handles them. He doesn't ship chicks.

Gary doesn't ship birds

Tony doesn't have anymore available this year.

When I talked to Gary last Fall, he told me to use a male from Walt, Tony, or Art Reiber. They all have his line according to him.

 

[Pozees]

Don,
The problem is that I only have hens. I got more eggs from Walt but none hatched due to rough handling by the post office.

Walt didn't have ant cockerels to sell and doesn't want to ship eggs because of how the post office handles them. He doesn't ship chicks.

Gary doesn't ship birds

Tony doesn't have anymore available this year.

When I talked to Gary last Fall, he told me to use a male from Walt, Tony, or Art Reiber. They all have his line according to him.

I am growing out a dozen of Tony's cockerels right now, 4/1/13 hatch. Once they get a little older and I decide which 2-3 I want to keep, if you want to pay the shipping I will be glad to send you 1 or 2.

 

[mrheinz77]

Please keep me updated.

 

[thedragonlady]

I am growing out a dozen of Tony's cockerels right now, 4/1/13 hatch. Once they get a little older and I decide which 2-3 I want to keep, if you want to pay the shipping I will be glad to send you 1 or 2.

That's a great HELPFUL offer ! Grab it !

 

[Yellow House Farm]

That's a great HELPFUL offer ! Grab it !

Seconded! Very generous!

 

[math ace]

It is raining now with a 70% chance of rain tomorrow. I am going to submit photos I took previously of my SS rooster. If you need more photos, let me know and I will get them as soon as the sun comes out again.

Here is a head shot at 1 year of age. There is a hen right behind him... Her speckles are showing up in the photo.




Wing and tail shot.




Leg and underside shot



Profile...




Sorry, I don't seem to have a view of the chest or from the top... If you need those, let me know and I will do my best to get them.

Go Speckled Sussex! Ooo Rah...

 

[3riverschick]

The Brown Sussex



Ok this is going to take a while. Here is the excerpt from Outram's 1925 , "The Sussex Fowl", regarding the Brown Sussex, "from an 1914 Sussex Poultry Club yearbook article by John Ade, the poultry man who introduced the brown for acceptance in England and noted Brown Sussex breeder: Comments on the Brown in their raw state, Pages 34 and 35. "In the early state the Brown presented many difficulties for the fancier to overcome. For instance the breast of the cock had a tendency to throw some red instead of a pure black and the tail commonly had some white feather, whereas pure black was aimed for. In the hen a difficulty was experienced getting the dark motley back and wing together with a pale wheaten breast, also many of the earliest hens were almost devoid of mottling on the wing. These primary difficulties were in the end mastered, the chief difficulty now being the getting of a strong contrast between the color of the back and of the breast, with a freedom from blotchy red feathers below the shoulders.". Thus we see what problems beset the breeders of this variety in pre-war days . (Karen: he writes of WWI.). Outram related the Brown are , "very fine layers of a big deep tinted egg varying often to that of a rich brown color.". end quote.
Ok, moving on to page 35. Here we go on the coloring, " When we first attack the colour subject of this variety it looks as if we are in for some study.
The cock has two "master colours", a top shade which is a dark mahogany, and the underbody a very rich deep beetle green black, the latter being as rich in sheen as possible.
There should be no signs of red or gingeriness, the whole breast colour extending throughout the lower parts of the body including the stern fluff.
The top parts of the bird's body are marked thus:-neck hackle with characteristic Sussex black stripe, not very wide; the shoulders and back rich mahogany and the saddle hackle with a very fine stripe; the tail beetle green and bushy in feather. The wing marking if not clear in color will very much spoil the bird's appearance; there being actually three colours; the bow- deep mahogany, flights- a light brown which is divided from the mahogany by a blue-black bar, this latter really being the flight coverts. All these three colours should be pure and definite in themselves, or the effect will be entirely lost.

Turning our attention to the hen we find ourselves compelled to give a very close study, for we have a colour contrast that, unless it is nearly perfect in combination , all the bird's attractiveness will be lost.
As with the male, there are two "master" colours the whole top part of the body being somewhat a dull brown , whilst the lower is a rather delicate shade of pale wheat. With this color contrast the bird has an appearance of having its body divided in two, and it can be seen that it is quite necessary to have the colours perfect in shade or the effect of the contrast will be lost.
The back and wings of the hen should be finely "peppered" with black, but this peppering must be clearly defined, otherwise the bird will appear to have an almost black back; yellow shafting or any light or red shades of colour must not be seen. The neck hackle should be a dull mahogany brown with the usual characteristic black stripe and the tail a sound black.
Now with the breast colour it is quite important that one light shade of pale wheaten colour should rule throughout, and it must be free of lacing, red tinge, or any foreign colouring, this shade extending to the stern fluff which should fade to almost a grey.
Some breeders assert that to get perfect colour combination in both sexes, it is necessary to resort to double mating, but it has been proved beyond all doubt that this method of breeding is quite unnecessary and that good specimens of each sex can be secured from one breeding pen." end quote.


http://sussex.webs.com/restofthesussexcolours.htm
Note the salmon breast on this lovely hen. Technically, it should be pale wheaten brown. This hen has to be e+ based . The Mh is darkening the salmon breast which should be a pale wheat color if the bird was eWh based. This bird is a Red Duckwing. I have had this color several times in my yard when incorrect Golden Salmon Marans hatched out. GSM are e+/e+ s+/s+ (s-). Red Duckwing are e+/e+ s+/s+ (s-) Mh.
Really nice breed type on this hen.

The Brown Sussex is a classic eWh based coloring.
Here is a Wheaten Marans which is the same, I think:
See the color of the Wheaten hen: http://maransofamericaclub.com/wheatenmarans.php
Note the hen has some red tinges which we would not like to see in our Sussex. It is noteworthy that we have a black stripe in the hackle In e+ poultry the presence or lack of striping in the male hackle has a direct effect on the coloring in the female. Now we have an eWh based variety. I do need to check and see if the presence or lack of a black stripe in the male hackle has any effect on the coloring in the female. We need the striped hackle in any case, it is our SOP. I am just curious of lack of the stripe effects eWh based female coloring.
http://maranschickenclubusa.com/Wheatenvariety.html This hen shows the proper amount and pale wheat color of the hen's breast.
Also shows the sharp demarcation of top and bottom colors which divides the hen's body into "two colors", as Outram remarked.
The Buff Sussex is a Black-Tailed Buff. It has the Co gene, which the Brown Sussex does not.
The Red Sussex is a Black-Tailed Red. More like a New Hampshire coloring.
http://www.irish-poultry.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=85314466
lovely brown Sussex rooster. Noteworthy it is missing the black stripe in the hackle.

British Poultry Standards , 2009, Google Books limited preview; the Sussex
http://tinyurl.com/mdnbdmo
The Brown Sussex. Description: Male on Page 289; Female on page 293. Notice in the female picture, the breast is medium brown, even tho the SOP states a pale wheaten color. Noteworthy the male is missing the black stripe in the hackle.

Best Regards,
Karen
Waterford English Light Sussex
in western PA, USA

 

[3riverschick]

All of the above brings to mind the research on the Hackle Black gene, Hum. I wonder why we can have the same coloring in 2 breeds but one has striping in the hackle and one does not. Now Grant Brereton in his book, " 21st Century Poultry Breeding", thinks Hackle Black may be needed to get good black coloring in the hackle striping. I wonder if Hackle Black could be the difference between the hackle we see in the Wheaten Marans make ( non-striped) and the Brown Sussex male(striped).

 

[math ace]

Are there more Sussex pictures / students coming or is this it?