show quality speckled sussex ??

[snowbird]

Quote:
#2 would be considered Squirrel tail.

 

[snowbird]

I put the light up and it appears #1 hen has a sprig on the rear part of the comb.

 

[snowbird]

Jeff, Will try and get you started on the right track with breeding your SS. As we go along anyone see something I miss be sure to comment as sometimes I leave things out.

#1 Buy you a note book for the house
#2 Buy you a note pad to keep in your pocket
#3 Buy set of scales, old hardware scales work great.
#4 Buy aluminuim wing and leg bands
#5 Buy a good wormer, I use Valbazen
#6 Buy a good mite product
#7 Buy a good nail cutter and file


When you start posting pictures put the # in your large note book with the weight and list weight with picture. When posting show overhead view, side view of both sides. front and rear view, closeup as you can of the head.

Now a lot of what will be said you will not want to hear but it will be for your future breeding program. Will comment toward breeding to the SOp and that only as I have no interest in just barnyard fowl.

 

[Orange Ribbon]

Hey Jim and Don,

Thanks for your replies. I've been laid up most of the day and I'm just getting back on here since I posted the pictures. Spinal stenosis is a booger, man. I could barely stand to sit up most of the day, much less walk. But I have a name for one of my hens now. "Squirrelly."

I will get a close up of that comb on hen #1 tomorrow. I know there is something on her comb there. Don't know if it is a spur or not, but don't think it was a twist. More like what Jim said, a mass. I'm going to start a round up the materials you stated tomorrow. Might take me a few days to find some of that stuff, especially the scales. Where can I find aluminum wing and leg bands for a decent price? I looked at TSC and Southern States, but they don't have anything, so I reckon I'll have to get it online.

Don, give me everything you got, friend. I have a huge "barnyard" flock of various breeds which I like and enjoy for what they are, but these SS are my project birds. When I first saw Speckled Sussex I knew I was looking at the most beautiful chicken I'd ever seen, and my goal was to find some that I could work toward the SOP with. They are too rare and beautiful not to make the best out of them and keep them that way. Yeah, I got a few from a hatchery just to have some, but I never had any illusions that they could be made into anything great. Don't get me wrong, I like them a lot, but I know they are not the same. I almost gave up on SS to decide on something else since to work with since they are so hard to find. Still, nothing compares in my book. Thankfully, my relentless search paid off as far as getting some that can be worked with. I know they are not perfect and it will take some work, but I'm looking forward to it. There is no way I'll be upset hearing anything concerning their faults, when getting rid of the faults is the goal. If by chance I am unable to learn what to do, or I am not getting results like there should be, I will sell the whole flock to someone who can do it. I will not see them get all messed up. Don't get your hopes up too much though folks, I'm not planning to fail.

Thanks again, and looking forward to more critiques from everyone.

 

[Orange Ribbon]

I want to say something to everyone out there who wants to get a flock of quality Speckled Sussex. No, I'm not an expert on the breed, but this isn't about that. This about how you can find some.

Listen, I know I'm excited and yap alot on this thread lately, but this isn't just for me. It is for all of us. Math Ace did a wonderful thing getting this thread going. If it wasn't for her doing that along with Don, Walt and others chiming in, we'd all be as lost as a golf ball in high weeds trying to figure out what to do. As we see my flock progress I hope it will help all of you too. I got lucky. You know that old saying about a blind hog finding an acorn once in awhile? Well, that's me. But if I can run into something like this you can too. Keep looking, they are hard to find, but there are some out there. I guarantee you there are people out there with some old flocks they got from momma and daddy or grandma and grandma, and are keeping them bred pretty good even though they may not even realize what they got. Here are some suggestions from the experience I got from my search:

#1. You are probably not going to find anyone with quality SS that will mail them to you. Not even their eggs. I'm not saying it is impossible, but anyone who is breeding for standard isn't going to let their eggs go without raising them up first to see what they got. A few dollars for an egg vs. $100 or more for a show quality bird is why. Even if you find a breeder who is going out of business (like I did) they will most likely not mail them. I'm not saying it isn't worth trying to get them to, I'm just saying it is doubtful.

#2. I hate to break it to you, but you are not going to find the kind of quality birds being talked about on this thread from anyone on this site or any other chicken site. They are too rare. It isn't like Silkies where everybody and their brother has show quality stuff running out their noses and can throw them up for sale to get rid of some. I'm not putting anyone down. Not everyone even cares about SOP, and that is okay. But think for a minute. If SS eggs were available from SOP birds on this site, don't you think everyone here would have some? I think I hear crickets chirping.

#3. If you do find breeders of good quality birds, some of them will not sell to you. Well, if you are a prominent poultry judge or happen to be famous, then yeah, you might get some. Now, I'm not saying that is true of all breeders, no not at all. And none of them are going to say they won't sell to you. No, they will have excuses why they can't sell to you. Now most people who say their flocks got wiped out by predators or chicken fever, or what ever are probably telling the truth, but some people will use that as an excuse not to sell to you. Listen, I've got over 100 hatchery birds and even though they aren't "quality breeds" I still make sure nothing can get them, and nothing has. I find it to be a little weird when people with quality stuff don't have their coops and chicken houses made predator proof. There are exceptions, but after calling a hundred farms claiming to have quality SS and several of them tell me a raccoon or flying rattlesnake got all their stuff, I am just a wee bit skeptical. You got to realize that just as we are bad about buying the best so we can brag about getting it from the best, some people only sell to those who they can brag about who they sold them to. You have to admit, being able to say you sold birds to Jennifer Lopez would be a lot better coming out of your mouth than saying you sold them to some old fart named Orange Ribbon who doesn't know his Preparation H from Ben Gay.

#4. Regardless how doubtful anything seems, regardless what someone tells you, (even me) try it anyway! Keep your eyes open on this site and any other. Hey, it could happen.

#5. People will lie to you about the quality of their birds. If I posted every picture I was sent of what people sent me by email of what they considered quality SS, I'd be uploading for a month. Now, to give them the benefit of doubt, perhaps some don't know they aren't quality birds. Either way, be sure to watch out. And you never know when someone will send you a picture of a quality bird that belongs to someone else either.

#6. This is the bad part. I'm sorry to bring this up, but it is the only way it is going to happen for you. You need to WORK at it. No, that doesn't mean you make a post on BYC or some other chicken site saying, "Looking for good quality SS. PM me." I'm not saying you don't do that (I did a bunch!) but if that is all you are depending on to find your birds then you are better off looking for chicken noodle soup recipes or something. Now, I'm pretty lazy sometimes, I admit. But when I say I worked to find this flock, I'm not stretching the truth a bit. I did everything I could think of to find some birds, and I have been at it EVERYDAY since March. I have googled, gaggled, and yahoo'd till I'm blue in the face. I looked at every farm, chicken, poultry and bird ad I could find online and in the local papers. I checked out every poultry farm website and blog I could find. If they even mentioned Speckled Sussex on their sites I emailed them. If they listed a phone number I called them. I have called and emailed so many people I might actually be famous enough for some of those picky sellers to let me buy a bird. That is what it is going to take. Yeah. Work.

#7. Decide how far you are willing to travel to pick up quality Speckled Sussex if you find them. After months of fruitless searching I realized that if I did find some they only way they'd get here was if I went and got them. I decided I would be willing to go 8 hours to get them. Of course that was after having a chat with my wife and getting her to figure out if we would have enough funds for such a trip. (We didn't, but my wife is wonderful and she said we'd make do if I found some.) Living in the southwest part of Virginia that opened up the possibility of going to North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky or West Virginia. So late one night, about to give up for the day, I clicked on some little town I'd never heard of on Craigslist, scrolled down a few ads and there they were. Six hours away right on the coast. As soon as I got out of the hospital from the heart attack, I called them.

#8. Last but not least. Be prepared to make a down payment on the birds as soon as you know they are what you want, or be prepared to be really ticked off when you get there. I don't care if they did say they will hold them for you. A dollar in the hand is worth more than a promise to pay to some sellers. If I hadn't paid 50% down, my birds would have been gone. The breeder had others wanting to buy them, but my money down through PayPal held them there. One guy even asked them to get my phone number so he could try to buy them off of me. When you are dealing with the rare and beautiful, you better not dilly dally around. You know how it is. You see something you want like M&M's on sale at half price and when you get there it is all sold out. Hey, to me M&M's on sale at half price IS a rare and beautiful thing.

 

[fowlman01]

Quote:
Great post! I can tell you really walked the walk...in defense of some breeders....they really are out of stock sometimes.

Most breeders have had times when they have held birds to never ever hear from that person again. So...your advice about paying something up front is good advice. I don't ship birds, so the people who are really interested in my birds always find a way to get them. They either drive to Calif to pick them up or have a friend here that can pick them up. I want anyone getting a bird from me to pick it out themselves, cuz people can say some really bad things about you if they don't like what send them.



Walt

 

[lauralou]

That was a good post, Orange Ribbon. I certainly appreciate everything you went through. And I'm very interested in seeing all the photos of these birds as you are able to get them. I also appreciate the difficulty of that. I take dozens of photos of my birds for every one excellent photo I get. And I've raised every single bird I have from a baby.

 

[math ace]

Quote:

Dang that was funny

I spilt my coffee on me.

Next time WARN ME - Orange Ribbon

Orange Ribbon, you did a really nice job of setting the record right. I will second that he is preaching the truth

about the work it will take to get some decent SS. For Sure, be prepared to travel.

MANY, MANY, WAY TOO MANY of these ole timers with nice stock have NO INTERNET, not even email.
If you mail letters, they will get ignored. Only phone calls will be acknowledged.

This was a HARD HARD learning curve for me. I like to respect people's privacy and not be obnoxious about things. However, passive means of communication will not get you leads or birds.

 

[fowlman01]

Quote:

Dang that was funny

I spilt my coffee on me.

Next time WARN ME - Orange Ribbon

Orange Ribbon, you did a really nice job of setting the record right. I will second that he is preaching the truth

about the work it will take to get some decent SS. For Sure, be prepared to travel.

MANY, MANY, WAY TOO MANY of these ole timers with nice stock have NO INTERNET, not even email.
If you mail letters, they will get ignored. Only phone calls will be acknowledged.

This was a HARD HARD learning curve for me. I like to respect people's privacy and not be obnoxious about things. However, passive means of communication will not get you leads or birds.

So true! I forgot that a lot of us old guys don't have a computer...but I'm on the cutting edge...lol There are very limited supplies from a lot of good breeders as they are not hatcheries and only hatch so many. It is also very true that Jennifer Lopez and me would have an easier time getting birds from these old time breeders. That part is more because some of them don't want to send good birds to someone they don't know who might not do a good job with their stock. Some don't sell birds to anyone. There are a lot of people raising really good birds that don't show and are kind of under the radar unless you happen to live next door to therm and notice they have chickens.

On another note...I judged two really nice bantam SS's on Tues. One was Champion bantam of the show. I have no idea where they came from, but they were very nice birds.

Walt

 

[Orange Ribbon]

Hey guys,
Thanks for the replies. I was a little nervous about saying some of that stuff, but be assured, I meant no disrespect toward anyone. The things Walt mentioned is true, and most farmers/breeders are the nicest people in the world. I met some really great people online and on the phone trying to find some birds, and some of them even went out of their way to try and help me too. So, although I want everyone to be prepared for some hardships, I don't want you to think the whole experience of searching is all negative.

And that is a very good point, Walt, about some breeders wanting to be careful about who gets their stock. I know that I wouldn't sell these birds to just anyone either. I hope I wouldn't have to say a fox got them all to get out of it though! HA! But even those who do that have their reasons, and my post was just an observation, not meaning to even put those people down. I just want to convey that good SS are not going to fall into your lap, although some may argue that is what happened to me. In a way that is true due to the fact I'm a newbie and found some, but I did work very hard at it.

Well, I'm going to try and get some more pictures today if I can get this hitch out of my get-along. I'm moving a little better today. I still need to get a few things done so I can move my younger birds and get them squared away to take pictures. But for now I'll just focus on the 6 older SS. It takes up a bit of time taking pictures, downloading them onto the computer, resizing them, uploading them to this site and transferring the pictures to a post. Having slow dial up doesn't help any. It is taking me forever to get sites to come up with leg and wing bands.

Hey, I sort of need some help knowing what I'm supposed to get as far as numbering and colors are concerned with leg and wing bands. If someone can help just send me a PM, but it might help others out if you post it here. Math Ace can tell us if that is a good idea or not.

I just remembered, I have some aluminum tags in the shop that are used to put on hides for taxidermy work which I may be able to use. You can write on them with a pen and it stays permanent. The pen doesn't actually "write", it just indents into the metal very easy. Best I can recall you can get them cheaper from a taxidermy supply than the poultry bands I've seen and no tools are required to put them on. McKenzie Taxidermy has a website where you can order them. They are not colored though. But let me check to see if they will fit and stay on the bird first. I'll also look in my catalog for the price. I'll let you know. I have a lot on my plate right now, so it might take me a bit to get all this done.

Catch you all later, and I hope you all have a great day.
Jeff