Speckled Sussex Hatchery Birds - Where did you get yours?

[Criskin]

I have some 12 week old Speckled Sussex from Ideal. I'm very happy with them so far. They aren't show quality but like you I really prefer lots of white and these didn't disappoint. They are already as big as my 18 week old hatchery Buff Orpington. They are also the most curious, friendly chickens in my flock. They've really won me over to the breed. At the moment they are kind of in a gawky stage. Here are a couple pics I snapped today:

 

[alohachickens]

I wonder if anyone has photos of the Ideal Speckled Sussex stock as adults? I ordered from Ideal years ago and wasn't diasspointed. The Privett Easter Eggers are usually brown, so I ordered from Ideal as I'd seen some other colors in people's flocks when they ordered from them. I asked for Blue Wheaten chicks on the order - and I got a few! Which was really nice of them.

 

[kipper]

We ordered some from Privett via Welp. Split the order and our friends SS had much more white spotting.

Ours are lousy layers, but are so sweet, nice, curious, and friendly. They hang out with our Mille Fluer d'Uccle, a sweet and spotty crowd!

 

[alohachickens]

Bumping this thread!

Who bought Speckled Sussex from a hatchery this spring? If you bought in February or March, your chicks are now about full grown. How did they turn out?

Would you mind sharing a photo of your (now grown) 2012 Sussex, as a favor to anyone thinking of ordering from a hatchery? That way we would all know what we might get. I'm sure the breeder pens change in commercial hatcheries just as they do in private homes, so it would be great to see what the current stock looks like. Please post a photo of your latest grown (or nearly grown) Sussex chicks, and be sure to mention where you got them - what hatchery, or the name of the private breeder, if you bought hatching eggs from another BYC'er.

Can't wait to see the newest Sussex.

 

[Dutch552]

I have 4 hatchery stock hens from Meyer that are my faves of the entire flock. My two new speckled roos are from Ideal and are 12 weeks old. One is definatley more speckled than the other and will get some pics up when I get a chance.

 

[Criskin]

These are pictures of the Ideal Speckled Sussex I posted before...now all grown up. They are docile and great layers. The roosters are very fertile! Their tails look a little ragged right now...one had a run in with the dog and other had a run in with his fellow rooster. I had a 99% hatch rate from them recently! I'm not sure how much they weigh, but those are decent sized Lavender Orps in with them, if that gives any reference.

 

[Fentress]

I got mine from Welp. They are 20 weeks old. They do not have a lot of white on them like you like. Which is fine with me, I think the deep rich brown color is more attractive. I heard they get more white on them with each molt? Is that true? They seem fine, this is my first year with chickens and to be honest I do not know what the standard is suppose to be. They are little better at foraging than the other two breeds I have, which I like. I hope they go broody in the spring and do a good job with chicks. Do you have any comments on that? Thanks.

 

[Criskin]

I haven't noticed more white after each molt...if anything they seem to be getting less of it. I personally prefer lots of white- I think it is flashier and part of the reason I wanted to order from Ideal. However, if you are comparing them to the standard, they are really more spangled than speckled and less white would be preferable. I don't plan on showing them or selling their offspring so I just wanted birds with good personalities that I found aesthetically pleasing. I did have one hen that was closer to the proper markings (you can see her as a 12 week old in my earlier post) but I lost her a couple of months ago. From what I understand the deep mahogany color is preferable and all but one copperish rooster turned out that way. This is a great breed but I don't think a lot of people are working with it so quality stock is hard to find.

This thread would be very helpful if you are really interested in what the breed should look like: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/429217/show-quality-speckled-sussex

 

[Fentress]

thanks alot!

 

[catnipchickens]

I wish I could remember which hatcheries the feedstore I got my SS from said, but 1 "family" was definitely more white than the other. I got mine in March. The feedstore ordered SS from 2 different hatcheries so I was able to get 2 different bloodlines; which worked out great. Here's some pics of one of my "ladies" as I call them. Some started to lay as early as 4 months and more are laying now at 5 months. Trying to keep track of who's laying and who isn't is nearly impossible, but 2 days ago I got 5 eggs from a coop with 6 pullets. I have noticed the whiter ones tend to be more meaty, but I'm going to be increasing their protein slightly this week so hopefully some will "fill out." I will get more info as to which hatcheries they were from within the next 2-3 days....




PS....The breed is known to get more "speckles" or white as they molt every year, but I'm not sure how much more white the pullet above will get with her next few molts.