Is it a Silver Sussex.. can you call them Silver Sussex?

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
I am thinking Paul needs to hire a genetics expert so he knows what the heck he is doing.

 

[Fortheloveofchickens]

Quote:
Good Post. I love my Silver Sussex, or should I say crossbred, or should I say Split? I went by the info I read on the internet and breeders too. What do we really have? It is still not really clear to me. And your right, if Paul bred the Pure Silvers to Light Sussex hens we have Splits, but a least they have been worked on for a few years so the color should be getting better should it not?
So far I have summed up that if I take my Pure Silver Sussex chicks that came from Pure Silver Sussex parents and continue to cull and check for color I will end with some decent Silver Sussex. The Silvers that were bred to Light Sussex hens are another story..... They should be advertised as Crossbred or Splits (still not sure which one) and a work in progress towards Silver Sussex. Someone please clarify what they should be called.
I adore all my Silver's too, whether they are Split Light or the Silver, they are stunning , big, friendly giants. I intend to keep them and work on them, they are worth it in my opinion.
Thanks Jenn for the beautiful Silver chicks.... there are 4 pullets and a Cockerel all Silver. Beautiful!

 

[revolutionmama]

That is the UK / British Standard, but what standard are we trying to follow considering the Silver Sussex color isn't in the US Standard of Perfection. In the US, Speckled, Red, and Light Sussex are recognized but not the other colors. GreenFire lines are to the Australian standard due to being imported from there. Here is the link to the Sussex Club of Australia-

http://sussexclub.webs.com/home.htm



and some info on Feathersite.com

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Sussex/BRKSussex.html




Quote:

 

[Casey76]

Again... they are not "split" for silver... each chicken (pullet/cockeral) is 100% Silver

What you do end up with though, is a hotch potch of birchen, colombian, Wheaten and autosomal red... fortunatly silver is dominant to AR, else you will end up with red bleeding though the white, and ar is very difficult to get rid of once it is bred in to a line.

 

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
Well, as I am understanding this all ..... really this is all about genetics, not about Standards. Simply that Silver and Light Sussex should not be crossed. As well, one could not expect to get 50% Silvers and 50% Lights from these crosses.

 

[revolutionmama]

I'm so glad you are happy with them

I've been getting some nice quality stock and I am very pleased so far. I would wait until they are full bloomed out before judging how they will turn out. It is so hard to tell with the "teenager" age what they will turn out like except for the few that really look awkward. I do have some that turn out to be culls like with all breeds and colors of chickens and ducks - but I keep them for eggs or sell them to my local patrons for pets or laying hens.
It's great we can all have a thread here and learn from each other.

Quote:
Good Post. I love my Silver Sussex, or should I say crossbred, or should I say Split? I went by the info I read on the internet and breeders too. What do we really have? It is still not really clear to me. And your right, if Paul bred the Pure Silvers to Light Sussex hens we have Splits, but a least they have been worked on for a few years so the color should be getting better should it not?
So far I have summed up that if I take my Pure Silver Sussex chicks that came from Pure Silver Sussex parents and continue to cull and check for color I will end with some decent Silver Sussex. The Silvers that were bred to Light Sussex hens are another story..... They should be advertised as Crossbred or Splits (still not sure which one) and a work in progress towards Silver Sussex. Someone please clarify what they should be called.
I adore all my Silver's too, whether they are Split Light or the Silver, they are stunning , big, friendly giants. I intend to keep them and work on them, they are worth it in my opinion.
Thanks Jenn for the beautiful Silver chicks.... there are 4 pullets and a Cockerel all Silver. Beautiful!

 

[revolutionmama]

I found the actual email from Paul to me about breeding the Lights to Silvers....

"Hey, Jenn. Glad to hear life is going well. The light Sussex cross is a good one with this bird. Cross your male silver with some pure light hens; cross the hens they produce with the father and you’ll get about 50% pure silver birds that will be immediately recognizable when they hatch. An inexpensive way to produce lots of silvers and also inject some genetic diversity into your flock.
Next year should be exciting. Lots of new breeds and varieties in the works. Take care. Thanks for writing.

Paul"



Quote:
Well, as I am understanding this all ..... really this is all about genetics, not about Standards. Simply that Silver and Light Sussex should not be crossed. As well, one could not expect to get 50% Silvers and 50% Lights from these crosses.

 

[kathyinmo]

Quote:
Well, as I am understanding this all ..... really this is all about genetics, not about Standards. Simply that Silver and Light Sussex should not be crossed. As well, one could not expect to get 50% Silvers and 50% Lights from these crosses.


Yep, I think Paul needs to take a course in genetics, or hire someone that knows genetics. It is obvious he is giving out false information.

 

[keeponcluckin]

Very interesting email revolutionmama. Looks familiar. HA! I too am glad we all have each other to concur with. I should have been on here a long time ago and ask these questions. The more I try to figure it out, the more interesting and confusing it gets. Your right about the standard. We really don't have a standard here and maybe that is how this whole thing should have been put forth (a US project). No matter the details, we all still have rare chickens and at the beginning of a new breed. HUH?

From what I'm gathering in a previous post about the Silver genetics.....Paul really shouldn't be calling my Split Roo a Split? Are they all Silvers with just different hodge podge patterns some alot and some not so much? I'm telling you the truth, I have never seen so many different looking pictures of the same birds in my life. IT'S CRAZY. Heard he started in 1987 and then his web sais 2007. Looks like to me if there was going to be any "GETTING CORRECT COLOR", would be a bit farther along by now.... Price of these haved dropped and now they have went lower in price than my Blue Orps........another head scratcher but starting to make sense. Would anybody like to explain? HA

Don't mean to sound so yuck because anybody would love to see these in their yards and experience their personalities but....a little dishartening.

(need to correct my previous post about the lavender crossed to black. That equals all splits carrying the lavender gene....THEN...bred back produces lavs, splits and blacks. Sorry was just wondering if it wasn't the same with Silvers...thinkin not at this point. LOL

 

[RoRoinGA]

Quote:

Yep, I think Paul needs to take a course in genetics, or hire someone that knows genetics. It is obvious he is giving out false information.

He advertised Pure Silvers, thats what I went on. You all are right, we do not have any "breed standard" for these birds. Another tidbit of information that doesnt sit well with me is all of us who have these Silver Sussex, have the same genes. Revolutionmama, me, keeponclucking and all the others, we all got our birds from Paul and there is no new blood to breed to. How are we supposed to breed for color when we all have the same gene pool with the actual "silvers". Unless someone brings in new blood to this line of Sussex, will we be looking at a stagnant breed? In order for that not to happen and without new silver bloodlines, one would just about have to breed to light sussex and then breed back. Am I making any sense, cause it would be the first time lol.