show quality speckled sussex ??

[heritagehabitatfarms]

i have not been to happy with the line i acquired last year... the trio that i started with all had a little to much white on them... i hatched over 50 last year and kept the darkest ones but they all have to much white as well... so i am looking around and trying to get some new blood lines in and maybe get a really dark male to use over my hens... so i have just been hatching my eggs and selling the chicks locally to ppl who want pretty layers... i am really wanting to get my flock moved allot closer to the standard this year so that next year i can hatch and raise out 100+ and go into the following year with a SQ flock...

 

[cowchick11]

I'll try to post pics tomorrow or this weekend of my new guy so you can see the good and the bad. I also need to wiegh him before he goes in with the girls. He is still under a year of age but has a good weight and shape to him. I think just getting started is going to be the hardest part for all of us wanting to break into this breed and variety with only a handful of great breeders in the country. I know this cockerel is not the best but he is the best I have right now and he will only be mated to my two very best hens. I'm also really glad that Tony would take his time at the WA Feather Fanciers show to chat with us and give us the low down on this guy.

 

[math ace]

ccur
Anyone up this way, or anyone shipping chicks? So far I don't have Mareks disease, and getting older birds worries me from a disease standpoint. Mary

I am with you on this concern. I take my risks with hatching eggs sent through the mail for the same reason. I culled down to only 2 SS from the chicks I hatched last year. Although, I culled most of the chicks, the two I kept I really like. I am working on getting more eggs from the same breeder this year.

Last year's hatch was rooster heavy. I only hatched 2 females. I am EXTREMELY happy with the male I kept, but wish I had more females to select from. So, this year I am crossing my fingers that the shipped eggs result in a female heavy hatch... LOL... That does occur with my hatches... Good thing the sound roosters crowing does not bother my neighbors

Both of the SS I kept are on the dark side. Here are some photos I took the other day...





I LOVE this guy's head




And the female... she has her faults, but she is a good place to start IMHO. I've just set some eggs from this pair. I am afraid the chicks will be too dark, but I just could not resist seeing what they produce.



The other female from this same breeder had better coloring, lighter coloring. I feel confident that another shippment of eggs will produce a couple of more keepers...

 

[math ace]

So sorry

I meant to say 22 weeks. We bought 6 Speckled Sussex & 4 Silver Sussex eggs to incubate but had a terrible 1st attempt at incubating, only 1 made it out of the 10 eggs & 9 BR's out of 2 doz eggs. If she is good enough quality I would be interested in showing her locally. She is so gentle, I pet her very day,can't say the same for her Welsummer & Bk Orpington buddies. This picture is them at 25 weeks old

The really white tail feather could be a problem for showing. If you show locally at fairs, it probably won't be a problem. However, at an APA sanctioned event, I believe that white tail feather could be a DQ.

 

[snowbird]

Lisa, I believe the color on your pair should work out real well. Except for the Comb I like both of them. Have any chicks out yet ?

 

[mrheinz77]

I weighed my SS today.

The oldest is a January 2012 hatch from Hot2Pot's flock. This hen was 5.0 pounds.

The next was hatched from Orange Ribbon's eggs in April 2012. This hen was 5 pounds 7 ounces although she looks the largest.

My Florida SS hen (hatched May 2012) was 5 pounds 13 ounces.

My three Kentucky hens were 4 pounds 9 ounces, 5 pounds 3 ounces, and the tailless hen was 5 pounds 15 ounces. They hatched the beginning of June 2012. The tailless one is in the layer coop.

Now, for comparison, my Light Sussex cock (April 2012 hatch) is 8 pounds 9 ounces. The hen is 6.0 pounds (she doesn't look the big but she is solid.)

I just set more eggs today from Kentucky.

 

[math ace]

Lisa, I believe the color on your pair should work out real well. Except for the Comb I like both of them. Have any chicks out yet ?

I literally just set the eggs the other day. I am keeping my fingers crossed. Since it is only the pair, I only had 7 eggs to set.
I agree, the comb on the hen is particularly ugly.

 

[math ace]

I just set more eggs today from Kentucky.

LOL... Walt told me he had to ship some eggs out last week before he could ship me eggs.... I THINK I know where those eggs went now!

It will be so cool watching our chicks grow up together. This is where in a few years of breeding, our stock becomes our own. Even though we are starting with eggs from the same breeder (I think anyways), you and I will select for different characteristics. The standard will guide us, but each breeder brings their own eye to the selection process. We each will concentrate on different faults because they bother us more than other things. This will be good in so many ways. Our stock will have the same blood lines, but if we need new blood in a few years, we can outsource to each other without losing the trueiness of the blood lines.

 

[cowchick11]

You have all reminded me to weigh my, now hens, today as I'm getting so close to putting them in with the new rooster. And the cockerel too. My girls were hatched last year about April 1. I still have to finish that darn pen to get everyone moved around! Then the even harder choice of put the best in the breeding pen or hold out the best two for the upcoming show???

Arrrrgggghhhh, I hate these kind of decisions. Hold onto your hats when you see the comb on this guy, it is way too big. The white feather in his tail is not solid. I really like the minimal white on his chest and his stance is very wide.

 

[Folly's place]

Hello everyone, I'm sorry to report that last week a fox killed 10 hens, all nice birds, leaving me with only one SS hen. We have yet to trap the fox, who is here during the day, not just overnight. It's been a very sad time; never had daytime losses like this, and my overnight coop is Ft. Knox. My nasty rooster met his end a few weeks ago, so I'll be starting over with SS. Darn!!! Any advice on catching Mrs. Fox??? Any SS chicks near southern Michigan? Mary