show quality speckled sussex ??

[Hoosierchickens]

Lisa, you had asked about seeing a difference between the coloration of chicks. I didn't see that it was discussed. I've noticed the same thing in the chicks that I have had where some chicks are more "red" and lighter where others have darker "chipmunk" stripes. One thing that I've noticed with the hatchery chicks I've had is that the lighter "red" colored chicks end up being roosters while the darker "chipmunk" patterned ones have been hens. There have been no exceptions in the 30 or so chicks that I've had. It makes me wonder if some sort of sex-linked genes have muddied some of the hatchery lines. Any thoughts?

 

[snowbird]

Just a little something to think about for everyone. Has any one ever considered what effect egg size and quality has on what size the SS will grow to be? What would happen if we weighed all the SS eggs and only put the larger eggs in the incubator. I have done some work with this in years past and was just wondering if anyone else had any thoughts on this.

 

[math ace]

Lisa, you had asked about seeing a difference between the coloration of chicks. I didn't see that it was discussed. I've noticed the same thing in the chicks that I have had where some chicks are more "red" and lighter where others have darker "chipmunk" stripes. One thing that I've noticed with the hatchery chicks I've had is that the lighter "red" colored chicks end up being roosters while the darker "chipmunk" patterned ones have been hens. There have been no exceptions in the 30 or so chicks that I've had. It makes me wonder if some sort of sex-linked genes have muddied some of the hatchery lines. Any thoughts?

No thoughts on that ... I only hatched two pullets in my hatch last year. They were both chipmunk marked.
Of the 5 cockerels in the same hatch, some had the chipmunk, some did not.

I was told from the breeder that I got them from, that the nicer colored ones came from the "non-chipmunk" marked chicks. That breeder did not act like he was only seeing this in the males.

I

 

[Hoosierchickens]

I'll take an uneducated stab at it. I would think that if egg size correlates with the width and size of the hen then it would stand to reason the chicks produced would be larger although more so due to the size of the hen rather than the size of the egg. If my previous statement is true then it seems egg size may increase the probability but wouldn't necessarily be an automatic indicator of bird size especially if you happen to have a smaller hen laying large eggs. Am I close?

 

[math ace]

Just a little something to think about for everyone. Has any one ever considered what effect egg size and quality has on what size the SS will grow to be? What would happen if we weighed all the SS eggs and only put the larger eggs in the incubator. I have done some work with this in years past and was just wondering if anyone else had any thoughts on this.

I can say for a fact that smaller chicks come from smaller eggs.
I set the first 3 dozen eggs that my buff leghorn pullets produced and the chicks were so small that I thought they were bantams.
They NEVER caught up in size.

The eggs I set after the hens had been laying for a couple months produced chicks much bigger then the first eggs.

As far as quality goes, I think you can run into trouble hatching from OLD hens. The eggs would be big, but the genetic material is effected. There have been suggestions on other threads that you should wait until the hens are at least a 1 1/2 yrs old before setting eggs because you want to hatch eggs from hens that are good producers, not those that burn out after the first year.

 

[snowbird]

Lets see if we get anymore comments and will post what I believe to be correct about the eggs.

 

[zinia8]

Lets see if we get anymore comments and will post what I believe to be correct about the eggs.

 

[zinia8]

Rehomed one of the (24 wk old? )cockerals to my sister's farm. So he is available if needed. I think he has nice coloring and carries his wings correctly but has a squirrel tail. but my DBF could not stand his crowing. Which was loud like wake the dead loud.

Kept this one like his body shape he is pretty wide but has white in his tail and hackles and carries his wings low. He also has a twisted comb

I am sure that I am missing alot of other stuff.
I only have four pullets. Would like to get some
more. Trying to get the pictures in some sort of order.

 

[snowbird]

Rehomed one of the (24 wk old? )cockerals to my sister's farm. So he is available if needed. I think he has nice coloring and carries his wings correctly but has a squirrel tail. but my DBF could not stand his crowing. Which was loud like wake the dead loud.


Kept this one like his body shape he is pretty wide but has white in his tail and hackles and carries his wings low. He also has a twisted comb


I am sure that I am missing alot of other stuff.
I only have four pullets. Would like to get some
more. Trying to get the pictures in some sort of order.

What are the weights on these males or did you weigh them ? They look to be fairly large from the picture. Color wise where we are in the game at present I do not think the males have enough white in tail to worry at present. Why not do a couple of single test matings with the male your are keeping.If you try the single matings you will find you will end up raising less chicks on a yearly scale.
Will post about the eggs later today. Keep in mind what I say here is what I have found to be true with my poultry over the years. Others may have had different results, which is the reason for asking for others to comment.

 

[zinia8]

What are the weights on these males or did you weigh them ? They look to be fairly large from the picture. Color wise where we are in the game at present I do not think the males have enough white in tail to worry at present. Why not do a couple of single test matings with the male your are keeping.If you try the single matings you will find you will end up raising less chicks on a yearly scale.
Will post about the eggs later today. Keep in mind what I say here is what I have found to be true with my poultry over the years. Others may have had different results, which is the reason for asking for others to comment.

No weights yet....trying to find a way to weigh them. I will have to take them off the roost at dusk. They all are a bit leary of me. Will eat treats from my hand but scatter when I try to pick them up.
What are your findings on egg size and chicken size. Do bigger eggs make bigger birds? Cause these pullets lay some really small eggs. I am hoping they at least get to medium size.
I guess I am just use to the super jumbo+ size the tetra tints laid.
I will try to post some pics of the pullets.