show quality speckled sussex ??

[math ace]

Did you get the PM wiith the project (for lack of another word) picture that I sent?
This is an F1 from my LS X SS Ignoring color, what do you think of the shape? She is around 4 months old.

I need to see more of the profile with the chest. The other hen is in the way. I do like her long back and full head.
So why are you doing this cross? What is the end goal?

 

[snowbird]

Just wondering if anyone would like to comment on the mealy black feathers that show up on a lot of the Factory bred SS ? If you are working with the Hatchery SS how do you plan on eliminating this from your SS flock ?

I like this thread much better than the class. So look forward with helping out here.

 

[math ace]

Wow, that took forever...So here are the chick photos. . . .
In person these chicks look way different than my previous chicks.
I hope you can see the difference.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Are you offering to help some of us get started?

Any comments on my SS or my analysis of them?

you laugh but I would be happy to share! Depending on how they turn out I may have a pair or so available! Got another 3 or 4 months before I begin to decide.

 

[math ace]

Here are the pictures I took. Some are not the best. I will post one bird per post (or try to) Feather condition is rough right now.

Hen Hatched January 2012 from Hot2Pot (not an exhibition flock) Band Blue 25

5 pounds 1 Ounce






















This girl has some issues. The first thing I notice is her color. She is lighter than I would like and each feather is not tipped in white. She also has stippling. She also has some mealiness. I would like to see her back wider near the tail, This hen also has a pinched tail (I think). Her comb leaves something to be desired.

I do like that she doesn't have any pure white feathers in her tail. She does have one in the wing. Please critique her.

I agree with everything you say on this hen. She has many issues. The SS is a hard bird to work with because they are a tri-color bird. There is no way I would use this hen in a serious breeding program because of all the color issues. Her mealiness and feather striping is major. She is 2 lbs under SOP for weight. The tail is pinch. The tail angle is about 60 degrees and should be around 30 or 35 degrees.

 

[snowbird]

So where do we go forward. This is basically a hatchery SS and there are tons of them out there. Anyone have any ideas as to how to breed these SS forward. We can't cull all of them. Any suggestions as to how to go about improving the SS regardless of where they are from.

 

[math ace]

Hen # 2 Band Green 21 Source Alexandra Douglas Overton line Hatched late April, 2012 5 pounds 13 ounces

This is the hen I showed as a pullet last November. She won Best of Breed but also last place (she was the only Sussex in the show.)



White feather in the wing.
Several white feathers



I like the width of the back

I really can not say much on this hen. Her color looks better than the first prior hen BUT there are not any profile pictures that I can see her shape in.
I, also, can not see enough about her face to comment.

 

[math ace]

So where do we go forward. This is basically a hatchery SS and there are tons of them out there. Anyone have any ideas as to how to breed these SS forward. We can't cull all of them. Any suggestions as to how to go about improving the SS regardless of where they are from.

Is there any hope when you start with birds that lack correct color, type, AND size?
If we were talking about birds that were in the ball park, then I could see working and talking about breeding strategies.

How do you eliminate feather striping?
How do you eliminate mealiness?

I get how to improve size and shape... SLOWLY and consistently pick juviees that display more of what you are looking for than their parents. However, this is a long slow process.

I have been selecting for the best yellow legs on my delawares for 2 years now. At the same time, I was using a very wide male and over sized male over my pinched tail females to produce some nice wide and good sized females. Culling hard... I kept less than 20% of what I hatch.

My marans... I kept NONE of the sons of my original male. The first grandson produced under the original male lacked the white undercoat. I am now growing up the grandson's sons to see if I have eliminated the white undercoat issues.

What I am saying is that it is taking a lot of Freaking time and many chicks to make progress with one or two issues... How do you move ahead when the deck is stacked against you with so many things wrong?

 

[math ace]

How do you eliminate feather striping?
How do you eliminate mealiness?

I don't even know how to approach these two issues because I don't understand how they came about.

I always thought feather striping was indicative of something being mixed in the breed.... And Mealiness.....I never saw that before the SS...
I would suggest we cross our SS with some really good red Sussex, BUT those are just as hard to find as good SS.

 

[math ace]

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. 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.

Walt's SS ended up being the smallest? ? She is just turning a year old, but it is disappointing that she isn't bigger/
Her wings concern me. It looks like the black is just barely black. I see this sometimes in my marans when the white is still turning black.
However, at a year of age, her color should be in by now.

Personally, I ALWAYS choose a wide back and open tail over anything else. NOTHING turns me off more than looking at a pinched tail....

So, when you look at them in person, you think Walt's coloring is better than Alexanders?