show quality speckled sussex ??

[Arielle]

As I look at the pics on pg 8 as a the ideal hen, this looks rather a different type than the cut earlier in the book of a cock and hen( listed as the type that the English preferred). THe latter seems to be what I had in mind.

 

[math ace]

As I look at the pics on pg 8 as a the ideal hen, this looks rather a different type than the cut earlier in the book of a cock and hen( listed as the type that the English preferred). THe latter seems to be what I had in mind.

Are you talking about the SOP? If so, which version?

 

[thisnthat]

What a wonderful thread. My son is getting into SS. We have taken them to two shows and they have done well- but they have just turned 6 months. I can't wait to see what kinda size they get on them with a few more months. We are planning on attending Ohio Nationals and see some real SQ SS. I will post pics later of our birds

 

[math ace]

Karen,

Thank you for your post last week. I am just getting around to reading it. To my delight, I found this gold nugget of advice in the midst of the second article..

The hackle and saddle feathers should have a rich greenish black stripe through the end of the feather, tipped with white. The best birds from a breeding standpoint should not have the stripe in the saddle run full length of the feather but should cut off about an inch from under the fluff.

If it wasn't pitch black dark outside, I would run out to my coops and check out my stock!

 

[math ace]

What a simply scrumptious article about color, specifically undercoat coloring.

Males of this kind can be used as safe breeders of both males and females. In other words it is not necessary to resort to the double mating system in breeding Speckled Sussex as is the case in many other varieties. While the standard calls for white tipping in the hackle and saddle feathers we often find this lacking in some of the darker males, especially in their cockerel year, but after they moult out the second year the white tipping becomes more prominent. While we all want males with this white tipping, especially for exhibition purposes, it is not wise to discard males that do not show it for breeding purposes. It is far better to use a rich dark mahogany male without tipped hackle and saddle than a light red male that is tipped. By that I mean that a male bird with an even shade of dark mahogany is far better than one showing orange colored hackle and saddle that is tipped. The day of these lighter colored males is a thing of the past and they should not be used in the breeding pen nor in the show room. By that I do not mean that they should be too dark, running into chocolate, because a Speckled Sussex male must be rich and brilliant and not a dark dull color. The wings of a good male should show the three colors mixed in, but when the wing is folded the wingbow should be a rich mahogany color. Much has been said about the undercolor, but I favor the three colors, slate, salmon and shading to white at the skin. It is quite important that the male heading a breeding pen show a bar of salmon in the undercolor because this strengthens the surface color in the females and helps to bring out that rich ground color, free from peppering and mossiness. In view of the fact that the Speckled Sussex is a tri-colored breed the three colors may be laid on a trifle heavier in some sections than in others. For instance it is quite common to find males that have almost pure white undercolor in the hackle and on the back, while others are a dark slate. Of the two extremes I prefer the one with a little too much white' than one that is too dark, because we must bear in mind that white must appear in all sections and must be properly distributed. For that reason I believe that too much stress has been laid to undercolor and probably many a good breeding bird has been killed simply because of this fact. Females invariably run darker in undercolor than the males and most of them will be found to have a dark slate undercolor, with occasionally a little salmon.

 

[math ace]

Karen, AGAIN I must say THANK YOU for finding and sharing this information. So little is spoke about breeding the SS, that I feel very fortunate to be able to read the information.

Great care must be taken in selecting the females in the breeding pen. Like with all other breeds she should be fully matured, of standard size, broad deep breast and all the qualifications that go toward making up a good layer. In color she should be one even shade of dark reddish bay in all sections. The same shade of color should prevail in the breast as on the back as the latter usually runs lighter. A good rule to follow is to have the breast of the male correspond in color with that of the breast and back of the female, that is to say that the ground color should be the same shade and each feather tipped with white and divided from the main ground color by a narrow bar of black. All females used for breeding should have a rich ground color free from peppering and the tips should be white and not grey.
Another important point in the selection of the females is to avoid those that show a heavy black cape around the neck. The standard specifically states that the hackle should be the same color as the rest of the sections and that is "reddish bay each feather tipped With white, the white divided from the balance of the feather by a narrow bar of black." One of the principal defects in Speckled Sussex females is the black hackles and that is a section that We must improve and get It in keeping with the other sections, the description of which is the same.

 

[math ace]

I will second the warning that it is ALARMING when the chicks hatch in the various colors and you are not expecting them. I hatched some buff leghorns and speckled Sussex together. I thought I had 4 speckled Sussex, but just discovered that I have 6 speckled Sussex. The "Surprise" additions were the result of those chicks having a solid buff colored face at hatch. They were very slow to develop the speckled coloring...

I don't know if I agree with the last statement yet. I was advised by a current breeder of the SS that the chicks with the solid buff coloring end up with the best coloring as adults.
I failed to track that on this hatch. Oh well, I guess I will just have to hatch some more chicks and then do some careful record keeping . . . .

It might be well to call attention to the color of the chicks when they are hatched. In view of the fact that they are tri-colored variety the chicks are not alike when hatched. Some are pure white, some yellow, some reddish yellow with striped backs while others arc brown similar to the partridge varieties. Many who have never had experience with the breed become alarmed over the variety of color among the chicks, believing that they are crossed with other breeds. No matter what color the chicks may be when hatched they all look alike when feathered out and matured.

 

[math ace]

That's it for me tonight! I need to head to be and contemplate everything I have read thus far. Tomorrow, hopefully, I will get a chance to finish the read provided by Karen.
I am up to the ....

American Poultry Journal - Volume 52 - Page 785, 1921
Color of Speckled Sussex.

 

[Arielle]

Quote:
Sorry Lisa, I realized after I posted I din't in clude the point of reference: one of the books Karen listed, I think it was Hoffmans writing.

I have been looking at my current pullets. THose with knock knees seem to be better now.

I'm having a very hard time deciding which need to go. Putting the speckling aside, I"m seeing a vareity of white in the tail and primaries of the males. Tail feathers that are half white v. all white. Need to read the SOP again. One has a large floppy comb. Single combs don't hold up well here-- old rooster already suffered frost bite prior to purchase.


I think what I am struggling with is judging what points are more important than others. Wish one of you lived close enough to go over each bird with me.

 

[Arielle]

I will second the warning that it is ALARMING when the chicks hatch in the various colors and you are not expecting them. I hatched some buff leghorns and speckled Sussex together. I thought I had 4 speckled Sussex, but just discovered that I have 6 speckled Sussex. The "Surprise" additions were the result of those chicks having a solid buff colored face at hatch. They were very slow to develop the speckled coloring...

I don't know if I agree with the last statement yet. I was advised by a current breeder of the SS that the chicks with the solid buff coloring end up with the best coloring as adults.
I failed to track that on this hatch. Oh well, I guess I will just have to hatch some more chicks and then do some careful record keeping . . . .

It might be well to call attention to the color of the chicks when they are hatched. In view of the fact that they are tri-colored variety the chicks are not alike when hatched. Some are pure white, some yellow, some reddish yellow with striped backs while others arc brown similar to the partridge varieties. Many who have never had experience with the breed become alarmed over the variety of color among the chicks, believing that they are crossed with other breeds. No matter what color the chicks may be when hatched they all look alike when feathered out and matured.

Which reading was this in???

I do wonder if these colors are less often found as the years of selection may have eliminated some of these options. Just a thought.