show quality speckled sussex ??

[heritagehabitatfarms]

i have no idea... the lady i got them from got them from a friend after her husband had past away... the lady did not remember where her husband had got them from... she told me that between her and the lady she got them from there where 4 years of breeding... so if they are from a hatchery they are 4 generations removed... they are all correct and look good so I'm just going to breed them and cull hard and see what i end up with...

SO SORRY about your hen....

Very exciting on your hatches though, what SS line are you working with?

 

[3riverschick]

Out of the 10 chicks I purchased I still have 8. Mine are from Tony Albritton. I would like to purchase another 12 from him next year and maybe trade a doz hatching eggs with someone on here with anther line.
----------------
Hi,
Maybe with another simpler color pattern this might be a good idea. Just sayin'. Tony spent years perfecting his Speckled Sussex. Then a couple of years ago he did an outcross. Now he has brought his birds back from the out-cross. You know, this crossing strains for biodiversity to found a flock is a 2 edged sword. Especially with a tricolor bird. I did a 3-way cross to found my collie kennel. Each vintage linebred strain unrelated to the other for at least 4 generations. It took me 2 1/2 years to do the needed research and balancing in the abstract to make it work.
What I am saying is, it is extremely easy to screw up Speckled Sussex wth an outcross. Tony just did one for his flock, which is a boon to you. With proper linebreeding you should be able to linebreed the Albritton birds you have now for many generations before another outcross is needed.
Best Regards,
Karen

 

[Howhardcanitbe]

Hi Don and the rest of ya'll SS people,

I subscribed to this thread a long time ago, and only rarely get the email alerts that you are all busy with this thread. So I am always surprised how much is going on here. In answer to your question though, I've had some awful problems with hatching this year, but the chicks I did get I am very happy with. I think most of my hatch problems were incubator related (I have only an inexpensive styrofoam model.) but also, parasite issues. The lice was horrific during breeding season. Of the 5 cockerels I didn't sell, I will be keeping only this guy. He's about 12 weeks old.






And here are the girls. I haven't picked a favorite yet.






Over all, I am really pleased with tail angles and the length and breadth on the backs. Very consistent among all the hatchlings. Daddy even passed along his brown ear tufts.

Couldn't have done it without all of your input, advice and encouragement. Thank you all so much!

Robin

 

[bchomestead]

I'm sorting through my 4 Speckled Sussex roos about 3 months old to keep 1 or 2. One has black penciling similar to my Partridge Wyandotte hen. My 3 older hens from a different hatchery have the penciling too. The birds in show photos I can find online don't appear to have any penciling, but I cannot find anything on this trait in SS as to a fault. What is the standard? Thanks!

 

[snowbird]

I'm sorting through my 4 Speckled Sussex roos about 3 months old to keep 1 or 2. One has black penciling similar to my Partridge Wyandotte hen. My 3 older hens from a different hatchery have the penciling too. The birds in show photos I can find online don't appear to have any penciling, but I cannot find anything on this trait in SS as to a fault. What is the standard? Thanks!

You will need to post some pictures to get a reply. The standard for SS is listed early on in this thread.

 

[math ace]

Over all, I am really pleased with tail angles and the length and breadth on the backs. Very consistent among all the hatchlings. Daddy even passed along his brown ear tufts.

Couldn't have done it without all of your input, advice and encouragement. Thank you all so much!

Robin

Robin,

I would like to see a picture of the Spread Open wing of the rooster.
Also, I would like to see a better picture the hen on the left in the above picture. She looks like the lightest hen of the four.

I THINK I am seeing some incorrect markings that you might want to watch for.

 

[cherylcohen]

We were looking at wings spread open just today. I think I've got a pretty good looking cockerel coming up, very little white and none of it is on a full feather

My girls are pretty clear from white too

 

[Howhardcanitbe]

Robin,

I would like to see a picture of the Spread Open wing of the rooster.
Also, I would like to see a better picture the hen on the left in the above picture. She looks like the lightest hen of the four.

I THINK I am seeing some incorrect markings that you might want to watch for.

Do you want a pic of the roolet or his daddy? Both have white primaries, as did one of the breeding hens. However, since my starter stock was all over the place with regards to form, I am really more concerned with the barn rather than the paint at this point. Coloring was the absolute last thing I considered when choosing my breeding trio, all from Mt. Healthy. I do have a decently shaped and sized hen from Sandhill that has no white whatsoever, but I'm reluctant to use her to get rid of the white primaries. Sandhill's colors were all over the place and I don't want to waste time or feed on raising a clutch of psychedelic sussex. I will take more pictures when this heat bubble bursts. I am interested in what you THINK you are seeing. I haven't looked at any of them that closely yet - just been looking at the "barns".

 

[math ace]

Do you want a pic of the roolet or his daddy? Both have white primaries, as did one of the breeding hens. However, since my starter stock was all over the place with regards to form, I am really more concerned with the barn rather than the paint at this point. Coloring was the absolute last thing I considered when choosing my breeding trio, all from Mt. Healthy. I do have a decently shaped and sized hen from Sandhill that has no white whatsoever, but I'm reluctant to use her to get rid of the white primaries. Sandhill's colors were all over the place and I don't want to waste time or feed on raising a clutch of psychedelic sussex. I will take more pictures when this heat bubble bursts. I am interested in what you THINK you are seeing. I haven't looked at any of them that closely yet - just been looking at the "barns".

It is not white that I think I am seeing... I hear you on the heat. We had a few weeks of rain every day and now someone turned the oven on. With all the water sitting in ditches, full onds, etc, it is like taking walking through a hot sauna every time we step outside. We would do the chores in the evenings, but with all the rain we got, now the mostquitos are running rampant.

When ever you get a chance to take the pics I would love to see them. I do not get a chance to pop in here too often, so I can appear very patient LOL....

 

[math ace]

We were looking at wings spread open just today. I think I've got a pretty good looking cockerel coming up, very little white and none of it is on a full feather

My girls are pretty clear from white too

Good to hear! Were these shipped birds or chicks you hatched?