show quality speckled sussex ??

[cracrzy4chicks]

I have spent many days on the web looking for someone who has an improved flock of Speckled Sussex and is willing to part with either chicks or fertile eggs. The hatcheries have them but they are not selectively bred to the standard. There are 146 pages in this thread...has anyone found a good source?

Hi Kim,
Go to the hatching egg/ pay pal/ chick swap thread. There are several people on there that ahve SS large fowl. Maybe you could pm them about buying eggs or doing a side swap.

Papa brooder, Gablebabble, crfarms all have SS. I have eggs from Gable babble in the bator now and more on the way. crfarms are just starting to lay, so mine will be coming later in the spring.


Happy hunting

 

[cracrzy4chicks]

I have spent many days on the web looking for someone who has an improved flock of Speckled Sussex and is willing to part with either chicks or fertile eggs. The hatcheries have them but they are not selectively bred to the standard. There are 146 pages in this thread...has anyone found a good source?

try Jamie @ [email protected] I have also been corresponding with her too

 

[math ace]

Kim,

I am happy with the stock I culled down to from Walt Reichert. Not every chick was SQ... I did have to cull hard. I can tell you that I like what I kept so well that I am ordering more eggs from him this Spring. Walt's SS are large fowl, not bantams.

FYI, I am the original starter of this thread. I have ordered SS from more sources than I care to remember. I have ordered from hatcheries, from BYC members, and from folks advertising "Show Quality". I have been raising the SS from various sources for over 3 years. So far, the best I have raised are from Walt Reichert in Kentucky. When I checked a few weeks ago, he had not set up his breeding pens yet. He only sets up his breeding pens in the Spring. He does not sell eggs year around.

Good Luck with your search for the SS. Who ever you decide to get SS from, keep us in the loop. Post pics and let us know what they look like.

 

[3riverschick]

Hi,
If you are seeking bantam Speckled Sussex, you might try Allen Estep in KY. He has been doing a wonderful job of collecting superior strains of bantam Speckled Sussex. Just top lines. Perhaps he may have some extras this Spring. Email me if you want his contact info. I do not have permission to post it publically on the Net.
Speckled Sussex is the most difficult to breed of all the colors of Sussex fowl.
Best,
Karen in western PA, USA

 

[Kim Gates]

I am looking for full sized Speckled Sussex. I have some eggs on order from Walt R.....thanks for the tip. I have read the SS standard and the feather description is pretty daunting! Every spring I pick a few things to work on...this year it is to find the best dual purpose heritage breed chicken, and mushroom cultivation! I am also getting some Partridge Chantecler eggs.

 

[Folly's place]

I've loved my Speckled Sussex hens since the first one from MMc hatchery. She's small but very personable. The cockrel I kept that year turned into a jerk, so he moved on. Next cockrel kept, very nice but way too small, so he moved on. The 2012 group from a different hatchery, now young adults, are good sized, the pullets are friendly, BUT the cockrel will sometimes attack me. DARN!!! I'm not interested in showing, but would like birds that resemble the standard as to size and production qualities, truly dual purpose fowl, and roosters that aren't manfighters. Is this doable? Will show lines still produce reasonable egg numbers? Will SQ roosters have good temperments? Thanks, Mary

 

[Pozees]

Kim,

I am happy with the stock I culled down to from Walt Reichert. Not every chick was SQ... I did have to cull hard. I can tell you that I like what I kept so well that I am ordering more eggs from him this Spring. Walt's SS are large fowl, not bantams.

FYI, I am the original starter of this thread. I have ordered SS from more sources than I care to remember. I have ordered from hatcheries, from BYC members, and from folks advertising "Show Quality". I have been raising the SS from various sources for over 3 years. So far, the best I have raised are from Walt Reichert in Kentucky. When I checked a few weeks ago, he had not set up his breeding pens yet. He only sets up his breeding pens in the Spring. He does not sell eggs year around.

Good Luck with your search for the SS. Who ever you decide to get SS from, keep us in the loop. Post pics and let us know what they look like.

Have you had chicks from Tony Albritton?

 

[jockeyeba]

My 22 month old SS pullet that we hatched from eggs we got from a breeder in the San Antonio area. How does she look?

 

[heritagehabitatfarms]

looks good... are any of her tail feathers pure white???

My 22 month old SS pullet that we hatched from eggs we got from a breeder in the San Antonio area. How does she look?

 

[3riverschick]

I've loved my Speckled Sussex hens since the first one from MMc hatchery. She's small but very personable. The cockerel I kept that year turned into a jerk, so he moved on. Next cockerel kept, very nice but way too small, so he moved on. The 2012 group from a different hatchery, now young adults, are good sized, the pullets are friendly, BUT the cockerel will sometimes attack me. DARN!!! I'm not interested in showing, but would like birds that resemble the standard as to size and production qualities, truly dual purpose fowl, and roosters that aren't manfighters. Is this doable? Will show lines still produce reasonable egg numbers? Will SQ roosters have good temperaments? Thanks, Mary

Hi Mary,
Probably not doable. You will get SS which resemble the breed and which should be good layers. However, in the Sussex breed , silhouette is critical because the structure of the bird is so closely related to it productivity in all areas. In other words, the less it looks like a Sussex, the less it is a Sussex. A tricolor bird takes decades of breeding to get the plumage right. dedicated breeding systems intertwined according to the flocks needs in order to balance the color scheme. This is why, in this color variety , especially,...if you want it to look like a SS, you buy from one single vintage strain. Do not cross strains to found a flock of SS. It will take years to get the color balancing right again. Pick one vintage strain which wins repeatedly in quality competition. . Have the breeder select a trio (1 male, 2 females) for you which can be bred together. Then inbreed to develop 2 lines, one descending from your original male and one descending from your original female. Then you can line-breed between the two lines to color balance your birds. The roosters from such a vintage line should have temperaments typical for the breed. Sussex are considered a docile breed.
Best,
Karen