Fun for me project about to start

[lukkyseven]

So I'm pushing the reset button on my flock. As of Thursday I'm getting 9 Sussex (speckled) chicks. Eight are females and one is a male.

I always like to try and learn something with each flock I have so one day I'll be able to just do everything in my sleep. I'm really trying for a sustainable flock this time around. Since I'm going with one breed, I would like to try my hand and selecting and saving good traits within the line to keep the best chickens in my flock.

How would you go about this? My thought is to weigh them about every week at the start and then maybe every month until maturity.

Beyond that I need to do more research on what is "desirable" within the Sussex line and maybe try my best to build the flock towards that goal.

I will be aging out hens every year with whatever hens they lay on their own. Every 2nd year I plan on switching the rooster out for new genetics. I can maybe see this being a problem if I don't get a rooster with the traits I want. My thought here would be to order 3 or 4 roosters at a time since Sussexs' are cheap and just pick the one I like. Maybe I should do this from the start?

This is just a fun little project I want to do while basically collecting my eggs and sustaining my own flock. I'm open to suggestions on what else I can do in general or specific to Sussex chickens.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm really trying for a sustainable flock this time around. Since I'm going with one breed, I would like to try my hand and selecting and saving good traits within the line to keep the best chickens in my flock.

The first thing to me is to know your goals. What are you breeding for? "Best" is kind of a nebulous term, it can mean different things to different people. Not everybody breeds to the SOP but may have other objectives. You mention sustainable, does that mean you want hens to go broody? Not everybody does and breeding can affect that.

It sounds to me that you may want to try breeding to the breed SOP. If that's the case get a copy of the SOP and study it. Maybe join a Sussex Breed Club, at least online. See if anyone in your area is breeding Speckled Sussex and would they be willing to mentor you. Go to chicken shows to get a better idea of what you are trying to achieve if they have shows in your area this year. If you go to the APA (American Poultry Association) website there should be a link to a club. Basically determine your goals and learn to recognize what you are looking for.

My thought here would be to order 3 or 4 roosters at a time since Sussexs' are cheap and just pick the one I like. Maybe I should do this from the start?

My goals are different from yours but this was my general approach. My chickens came from a hatchery so hatchery quality. When I was ready to introduce a new breed I ordered 20 cockerels to raise to butcher, saving one for breeding. With hatchery quality birds there was a lot of difference in the cockerels. Getting down to the final three that met my goals was fairly easy but the decisions between the final three was challenging. But that means any one of the three was probably a good choice and certainly better than the others.

Bringing a flock of hatchery quality birds up to SOP show quality is challenging. It can be done and probably has a steep learning curve. Getting your initial stock from a breeder with high quality show birds would make that a lot easier but you still have to know what you are doing to maintain quality. You can improve the quality of what you have but actually developing a champion SOP show quality bird is not easy or quick.

Good luck!

 

[lukkyseven]

Thank you for this well thought out response. Let me do my best here.

I actually tried looking for Sussex breeders in the area without any luck. But I didn't try to find an online group for them so that's a fantastic idea I will be pursuing.

I kind of would like to breed to the SOP, but tailoring it to my needs would be great. Broody being a quality I do actually want.

I like the idea of getting 20 or so chickens and narrowing it down based on what it is exactly that you want and butchering ones that don't meet the standards. I think if I cannot find a good Sussex breeder in the future I may have to do that. When I currently looked, a Hatchery was my only option - I'm sure I could look harder.

I suppose the search is on for a mentor and a breeder!