NEW Sussex Color (Cuckoo)

[becky3086]

Have to agree with Illia. Although the hens legs may look white when the picture is taken in the sun, the one in the shade of her body looks slate and the roosters definitely look slate.

 

[onthespot]

I see a bunch of small feathers on the shank which may be making it look slate. Feathered shanks to pop up in Sussex, and should be selected against. I realize it is a new color and you have to go with what you have, but try to clean up the shanks as you go. When you take pics, try to get someone to hold the rooster for you and get his legs in bright, indirect light, like the shadow just inside a barn door, or under a shade tree in the bright part of the day. Thanks for sharing. They look to have fantastic potential. I would LOVE to help you work on them... but I am about to move and downsizing right now. Maybe I can star in about six months. Thanks for sharing and keep the photos coming! How are their personalities? Have you test crossed the original rooster on anything with yellow legs to see if he carries yellow leg genes? I sure would. What color eggs do they lay? This is so interesting!

 

[Chris09]

Does anyone else find it funny that a Black chick with a White spot on its head got passed of as one of the Greenfire Sussex?

Chris

 

[becky3086]

Expensive mistake.

 

[onthespot]

Quote:
My barred olive eggers don't always have a spot on their heads, or if it is it is one fluff of down or something. Usually those have terrible barring, not like these sussex. I would think strong barring, strong head spot correlation, but that is not science, just opinioin. Still, I'd like to see the project go. I would also like to see what color egg the original hen laid, and what she produces crossed on yellow legged roo.

 

[Chris09]

Quote:
My barred olive eggers don't always have a spot on their heads, or if it is it is one fluff of down or something. Usually those have terrible barring, not like these sussex. I would think strong barring, strong head spot correlation, but that is not science, just opinioin. Still, I'd like to see the project go. I would also like to see what color egg the original hen laid, and what she produces crossed on yellow legged roo.

I would like to know what variety was ordered.
I have a felling that it was either "Light" or "Silver" .


Chris

 

[onthespot]

I would also like to know what the original bird was mated with to get the F1's

 

[Goose and Fig]

Not sure if they still do, but Greenfire did have cuckoo marans. I find thier website too slow and the prices heartbreaking, so I am not about to check.

 

[riverrockfamilyfarm]

Thanks for all of the input!

I don't know how to do the quotes work so I will do it this way for now.

Quote Does anyone else find it funny that a Black chick with a White spot on its head got passed of as one of the Greenfire Sussex?

Chris

The original rooster chick that started this project, was one of 6 Silver/Light splits chicks ordered directly from Greenfire farm. It looked like a regular Silver Sussex Chick, but kind of splotchy, yellow head it did not have a white spot on its head. He looked like the other chicks that were Silver/Light splits. When he started to feather out he was loaded with barring, so Janice started their and used very dark Silver sussex hens. It is interesting to note that some of the chicks in the 1st hatch stayed all black with no white. They were all female.

Quote Bechy3086 Have to agree with Illia. Although the hens legs may look white when the picture is taken in the sun, the one in the shade of her body looks slate and the roosters definitely look slate.

As for the slate legs. I would have to agree. The legs are mainly pink with a small amount of slate, BUT they are no different from many Silver Sussex legs that I have seen. The rooster legs almost have a cuckoo kind of marking on them.

I just put 16 more eggs in the incubator this morning.

 

[onthespot]

Thanks for the info. Someone I know suddenly started hatching male barred cochins out of an all black SQ LF cochin pen once, so I know it can happen.

What generally speaking, is the egg color that the pullets are laying? Can you show pics of the eggs? I'm really interested in this project.