show quality speckled sussex ??

[A roo or two]

This is my first time owning Speckled Sussex and I have to say I LOVE THEM! Calm, quiet, friendly, not flighty like some breeds and just absolutely GORGEOUS to look at. I know I don't have top notch SS but I love them.

This is one of my roos I am holding back. I'm not overly crazy about is his size as he isn't as large as I would like but he still has growing time and currently seems to be having a growth spurt and I wish he was wider in the rear, giving him a pinched tail that is also placed high. He has a descent comb out of what I had to choose from and the least amount of white (started with 6 roos). He has 1 white flight feather on each wing that I am hoping will molt out. I know he has a lot of white in his tail but NONE of the feathers are solid white, so is that okay? He also has the least white in his ear tufts. I'm hoping it is just his age that his ear lobes are pale, as his comb hasn't really reddened up yet either. He is currently approximately 17 weeks old. He had loads of white as a chick so I am happy to see that he is losing most of that. His back isn't rounded, now that I look at these pics it appears to but I guess that's what happens when you don't catch both feet flat on the ground :/

I'm open to hearing what others see, like I said I am new to this breed, but we all have to start somewhere.

Edited for weight: 4 lbs 3 oz.

Dax is approximately 6 weeks in this first photo.

Approximately 7 weeks in this picture

These photos were taken today, approximately 17 weeks old.

 

[A roo or two]

These aren't the best pics but here are my 3 pullets that I purchased about a month ago. I was told these girls are hatch date March/April, so approximately 6 months old.

Cordelia

Gwendolyn

Delilah

 

[A roo or two]

This is my other roo I am currently holding on to. I managed to get a few pictures of him (he's called roo #2). He is approximately 17 weeks old. Weighs 4 lbs 12 oz.

He is larger than Dax but he has lots of white and about 5-6 white flight feathers on each side (happy to announce those have fallen out, now to see if they all grow back or not) His wings aren't low set, he just has his juvenile molt funk going on so they aren't sitting correctly ATM.

I love his over-all body, broad, definitely larger than Dax just by looking at them. His comb is pretty comparable to Dax. He does have more red to his ear lobes, so kind of concerned for Dax that he just has pale ones. These aren't the greatest pics but just wanted to give an idea on what I have to work with. He has a little more white in his tufts than Dax does. His legs are slightly closer together than Dax, I think, hard to tell on a bird that rarely stands still for a good look much less a good picture..

Approximately 6 weeks.

Approximately 7 weeks.

Current:

It was a windy day so his tail blew out.

 

[A roo or two]

I'm gonna bump this "reactived" thread up to see if someone out there will give me some input. I am ready to learn! I have read all through this thread but to be honest I think we view our own birds differently because we love them all. I culled the other 4 SS that I had completely weeded out of the running (they were super yummy too!).

As of right now I am leaning towards Roo #2 as my keeper with my untrained eye. At 18 weeks I reweighed them: Dax was 4lbs 4oz, Roo #2 was 4lbs 13oz.

Dax:
Pros:
his coloring
nice width between legs

cons:
smaller frame
narrows towards back (more triangular shape)
pinched tail
high tail
pale ear lobes
head appears to look small (especially in these pics)
thumbprint comb?


Roo #2:
pros:
broad chest
rectangular body
lower set tail
tail does not appear to be pinched
red ear lobs

cons:
a lot of white
thumbprint comb?
legs appear closer together

#2 just seems to be put together better to me.

 

[A roo or two]

For size comparison. #2 left, Dax right.

 

[xlboergoats]

Is anyone taking Speckled Sussex to the show in Knoxville, TN in December? We have a nice set of young Speckled Sussex chicks that are about two months old. We will be looking for a few good males from another line to use with them this spring. I am sure that there are nice males in the set of chicks that we are raising, but really don't want to breed brothers and sisters.

Thanks,
E Haire
Arp, Texas

 

[3riverschick]

I'm gonna bump this "reactived" thread up to see if someone out there will give me some input. I am ready to learn! I have read all through this thread but to be honest I think we view our own birds differently because we love them all. I culled the other 4 SS that I had completely weeded out of the running (they were super yummy too!).

As of right now I am leaning towards Roo #2 as my keeper with my untrained eye. At 18 weeks I reweighed them: Dax was 4lbs 4oz, Roo #2 was 4lbs 13oz.

Dax:
Pros:
his coloring
nice width between legs

cons:
smaller frame
narrows towards back (more triangular shape)
pinched tail
high tail
pale ear lobes
head appears to look small (especially in these pics)
thumbprint comb?


Roo #2:
pros:
broad chest
rectangular body
lower set tail
tail does not appear to be pinched
red ear lobs

cons:
a lot of white
thumbprint comb?
legs appear closer together

#2 just seems to be put together better to me.

Ok read this and then pick. I think you have already answered your question. The Major hallmarks are hard to get right and keep right.
The Essence of the Sussex Defined by Clem Watson
Great sage advice by one of the legendary experts in the breed.
The Feathered World Year Book and Poultry Keepers' ... 1921.
http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b2979304;view=1up;seq=202
Pages 202 thru 209
The Sussex
By Clem Watson.
Pages 208 and 209.
The actual breeding of Sussex should not present any difficulty
to the man who follows the work among any other variety. It is
essential to observe certain points, and the Standard sets the points
forth very clearly so that all who run may read. Without shape
you do not get a Sussex. Make this a very important feature,
then you can work on colour and marking without fear. There
must be length and depth of body, otherwise you lose the table
points, then with the width of back and a good head you can
maintain the laying properties. Many of the Sussex today are
carrying an ugly comb which is not very attractive, although I
Page 209
know that this does not alter the body shape. But a coarse comb
denotes coarseness of body, and you will find the skin and flesh coarser
than one with a fine-grained comb.
Another advantage in the Sussex is that it is very active and can be kept on the farm with a free range---then the chickens prove very hardy and can be easily reared.
It makes an interesting variety for the novice because of the change in colour and its good all-round qualities. Everyone should join the Sussex Club and thus help on the good work of getting new members when once they are enrolled.

Who was Clem Watson? He was a legendary Sussex breeder and judge. One of the three great Secretaries of the british Sussex Poultry Club in the 1st half of the last century. The others were Leo Outram and Mr. Sharpe, (both of whose writings are also excellent) He was Sussex Judge for the Sussex Poultry Club. Extremely knowledgeable on the breed, his writings are sought after even now. Unfortunately for us, Clem Watson did not write a book and it is for us to gather his wisdom from articles scattered in mags in libraries and on the Net. With one exception. Country Books in New Zealand has republished Outram's 1934 book on Sussex. In the back they have included the ultra rare Clem Watson letters discussing noted Sussex breeders of his day. These letters are only housed in 1 or 2 libraries' world wide , all on European soil ( I spent hours looking for them in catalogs on the Net) until now and make for very interesting reading. That repub is on excellent paper, oversize and illustrated with the stunning Feathered World series of Sussex prints. A real treasure. Country Books is online. Sharpe's book is online at archive.org in a bunch of readable formats.
=======================
A while back we had a thread ( now finished and locked but still browseable ) called Chicken State University. It was a wonderful educational thread which took at least a week to discuss one breed at a time. Sussex had a full three weeks. Here is an interesting post from that discussion : post #1097 of 2184 . https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/732985/csu-chicken-state-university-large-fowl-sop/1090
It's an annotated discussion of the standard. Dragonlady has relied to my queries and it made a very educational post.
Dragonlady has been breeding poultry for over 50 years. Her Buff Orpingtons are known nationwide for their excellence. She is also a very small breeder, hatching small numbers and maintaining a very high standard of excellence. A great successful example for those of us striving to succeed with small numbers.
Best,
Karen

A while back we had a thread ( now finished and locked but still browseable ) called Chicken State University. It was a wonderful educational thread which took at least a week to discuss one breed at a time. Sussex had a full three weeks. Here is an interesting post from that discussion : post #1097 of 2184 . https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/732985/csu-chicken-state-university-large-fowl-sop/1090
It's an annotated discussion of the standard. Dragonlady has relied to my queries and it made a very educational post.
Dragonlady has been breeding poultry for over 50 years. Her Buff Orpingtons are known nationwide for their excellence. She is also a very small breeder, hatching small numbers and maintaining a very high standard of excellence. A great successful example for those of us striving to succeed with small numbers.
Best,
Karen
P.S. The higher the tail set, the shorter the back. Sussex need a longer back. Amount of white is a matter of color balancing your matings. If one bird is overly while, mate to another who is lacking the white.

 

[A roo or two]

 Best,
 Karen
P.S. The higher the tail set,  the shorter the back. Sussex need a longer back.  Amount of white is a matter of color balancing your matings. If one bird is overly while, mate to another who is lacking the white.

Thank you for your reply. I can't get that first link to open ATM so I'll have to try again later.

Yep, I have answered my own question. After reevaluating them both today, Dax will be headed to freezer camp. He seems to have just stopped growing and looks to thin and long with a pinched rear. Even though his coloring is beautiful and darker that's pretty much all he has going for him.

#2, the one I have decided to keep, seems to be decent in back length, his tail might be slightly high but I have definitely seen worse (on Dax it's horrible and pointy almost standing straight up). I took note of his leg spacing, thankfully it doesn't look as close together as in the previous pics. Hopefully next year I can get a few more girls and then see what I get from him and them to at least get me started and then go from there on whether I need a new darker roo. Still hoping some of his white molts out but at 20 weeks I'm thinking this is what he is going to look like (?). I will never show, my birds will all be "pets" for eggs but I still want to aim for the standard look as much as I can.

 

[EndemicLiberty]

Hi y'all!.. Totally stoked to start adding to the convo. Been reading and studying up last couple of years and learning tons - from my birds and various wonderful sources like BYC - thanks to you folks for sharing all your wonderful insights and passion.

Above pic: one of my SS cockerels.
6months.

How's he stack up?..
Besides too much white in tail and wing.


My first post.
Haha :b. so forgive me for not analyzing him much more than that myself..

I've got a couple lines I'm workin on.
Will try to post pics of my other cockerels.

 

[EndemicLiberty]

A lad from my other line of SS.
Slightly you get than last guy at posted 5ish months.

Planning on using first roo. Over darker hens.
This lad over any lighter girls.

The thing that gets me is the difference in shapes.. I don't really know who I find more appealing or more conformative to the Standards.

First roo seems nicer, but I wider if he will get any bigger/ taller.. He kinda reminds me of a basketball.

The second roo. (Pic this post).
Is smaller, don't like the comb as much...
But seems taller and seems likely to fill in more to me...