Light Sussex Thread!!!

[el pollo rey]

Well then that is where you will start. We all do the best we can with what we have available. I don't do eggs any more for 2 reasons. 1. Viability. 2. I know the chicks have been culled at least once for quality. Speckled Sussex need to be older when you finally decide which to keep. 12-16 weeks old, because they are a tricolor breed. Started birds are best to start in this variety. But all that aside, if all you have access to are eggs, go for it! Can you get them from anywhere? Or just in Costa Rica? If you have access to them from the US Mainland, then see if you an explain this to the veteran breeders who usually don't ship eggs and see if you can get them to make an exception for you. Ask if they will help you cull the chicks for quality by internet and photos. That way they the breeder has input to make sure the birds you are starting off with from his/her strain are quality examples.  If it is in your budget, buy a couple of dozen more eggs that you planned on hatching because of the low hatch rates sometimes seen in shipped eggs.
Best,
 Karen in western PA, USA

. Thanks for the reply Karen,, I would never consider shipping eggs as my geographical location forbids it there is little to any type of postal system and a DHL overnight from the U.S is normally 3-4 days so with all the bumps and bangs plus the age of the eggs on arrival it would cut hatch rates to nil I'm sure so I would be sourcing them in the states and flying them back in my specially designed egg carrying back pack that I use for flying hatching eggs back down to central america I am not interested in the speckeled strain and am trying to source coronation I flew light Sussex down in April and unfotunetly out of 18 eggs 17 were clear on day 9 and had fertility issues I sourced them from a sq breeder in Ohio I have little to no expirience with Sussex of any variety and would have to ask are they as a breed prone to fertility issues ? I have very good hatch rate with other breeds I fly down and have none of the issues associated with shipping I will be flying more lights down in July and hope to find a good line of coronation by then I can't seem to find more than one strain in the us apparently they are even difficult to find in England any opinions would be appreciated tnx

 

[3riverschick]

Quote: Hi,
Have you tried the breeders directory at the American Sussex Assoc. website? Many of those breeders also hang out on BYC. Coronations in the US have also been crossed with Lights. Do you care if they are pure Light Sussex or pure Coronation Sussex? Or if they throw both colors and hetero mixes? I have not seen any fertility issues in my Light Sussex, quite the contrary. They lay well and hatch well, are good mothers. I think you are seeing travel stress in the clear eggs. I had such awful failures with shipped eggs in Marans, Finally had to stop buying them and went to chicks instead. I don't have Marans any more, but I only buy started birds in Sussex. Do you have a way to get chicks down to Costa Rica? Maybe in a small carry-on dog carrier?
Best,
Karen

 

[el pollo rey]

Hi,
 Have you tried the breeders directory  at the American Sussex Assoc. website? Many of those breeders also hang out on BYC.  Coronations in the US have also been crossed with Lights. Do you care if they are pure Light Sussex or pure Coronation Sussex? Or if they throw both colors and hetero mixes? I have not seen any fertility issues in my Light Sussex, quite the contrary. They lay well and hatch well, are good mothers. I think you are seeing travel stress in the clear eggs.  I had such awful failures with shipped eggs in Marans, Finally had to stop buying them and went to chicks instead. I don't have Marans any more, but I only buy started birds in Sussex.  Do you have a way to get chicks down to Costa Rica? Maybe in a small carry-on dog carrier?
 Best,
 Karen

I have not looked into live birds with the airline or the ministry of agriculture getting permission for the eggs is hard enough it takes my wife a full day in the Capitol to get the paperwork for them and I also need npip and avian flu free certs when I enter the country so I think I really dont want to open another can of worms with birds and just stick to eggs and building my stock from that point I have done this with hamps wyandottes and bronze Turkey and have those breeding flocks established here thanks for the info on the association I will look into their breeder listings for a source of my eggs moving forward tnx

 

[Tuhmu]

Subscribed! Light Sussex are one of the breeds I'm going to keep and I currently have 10 in the brooder. A quick question about them though, should their wings be solid white or is that one black strip that looks like one feather the norm?

 

[suebgbr]

as chicks their wings develop a zebra crossing effect down the feather. the feather shaft is white, then a band of black, then white again.

 

[stevodod]

Looking for hatching eggs for the Australian line...!! Anyone have a line on those? Harder to procure than anything I've found so far........I want BIG birds that are friendly and lay tons of eggs!

Found some nice American ones locally....but when I heard of the Aussies.....chicken lust has set in!

 

[suebgbr]

It

Looking for hatching eggs for the Australian line...!!  Anyone have a line on those?  Harder to procure than anything I've found so far........I want BIG birds that are friendly and lay tons of eggs!

Found some nice American ones locally....but when I heard of the Aussies.....chicken lust has set in!

It's a pity I can't send you some of mine from the UK.
Mine are big, soft, friendly and lay loads of eggs!

 

[suebgbr]

 

[stevodod]

Oh, killing me there! Do they get along well with other chicken breeds? I'm doing Australorps and Buff Orps!

 

[suebgbr]

In my back garden I have 8 Silkies, a choc wyandotte cockerel, a warren hen (you call them isa red or something), 4 pekin and 8 various chicks. They all get along but the light sussex follow me around like mummy duck. they are always round my legs asking for treats or a cuddles. Their feathers are the softest of all my breeds. They are like velvet