Speckled sussex chicks

[Spyrling]

Hi everyone,

I recently purchased some Speckled Sussex chicks, however they don't look much like the photos of SS chicks other people have posted on this forum. They don't seem to have the dark colouring on their heads nor the dark stripe/band down the back. I'm now worried that I wasn't sold SS chicks but an entirely different breed. My understanding is that the white wing tips is fairly typical, so didn't question it until I started reading up some threads on this forum.

I specifically wanted friendly SS pet chickens, as I already have other hens that are good layers. To be fair, these chicks are pretty friendly thus far.

So, is this just a matter of SS chicks all looking a bit different depending on the lineage or have I been sold a different breed altogether?

I've attached a few photos here, from week 1 to week 3.

Thanks in advance!

PS. I only let them roam in the outdoor hutch for a few hours when the weather is good; they sleep in a brooder box in the garage at night with a lamp

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[sybonbon]

They look like my red sexlinks when I got them. I don't know anything about SS.

 

[Acre4Me]

We’ve had SS, straight run. Your chicks don’t look to be SS. Let me see if I can find any pics of my SS chicks.

 

[Acre4Me]

Here is a chick pic.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

Whatever they are they look to be mottled

 

[Spyrling]

They definitely don't look anything like yours. They were almost completely yellow when I got them at 3 days old. Only one has markings on its head, but nothing very pronounced.

 

[MysteryChicken]

These guys are of Wheaten Base. The spackling is common in juvenile birds of Wheaten coloration.

They appear to have white skin, like a Sussex. Maybe they're Red Sussex, but I can't find a good picture of what the chicks look like.
Where did you get them?

 

[Spyrling]

I just got them through the local newspaper classifieds (I live in Australia), so I'm not sure if they have an official hatchery name/business. They'll be at the local markets though so I might drop by and clarify. I do note some pics on Google labeled SS chicks that look similar to mine at the same age, but the huge discrepancy is making me uncertain.

 

[Spyrling]

So, I have done some internet sleuthing and found several discussions on this topic in another poultry forum (not sure whether it's ok to link here?) from, some almost a decade old. From what I have gathered, the Australian SS lines do tend towards a wheaten base (possibly due to a lack of SS breeders in the past and not having many options for improving the breed), but still produce good colour/mottling once they are adults. Fingers crossed that mine turn out fine looking SS chooks!

 

[Cynthia12]

They look like Rhode Island Reds to me. I e hatched many. Going to find a photo.