Speckled Sussex not speckled

[The Moonshiner]

I f a red Corvette isn't red is it a red Corvette?

Well if it isn't red why would you ask about a red corvette in the first place?

 

[Solanacae]

I f a red Corvette isn't red is it a red Corvette?

I’m new to this whole chicken thing, so forgive me for buying a chicken thinking I knew what the paint job should be when it was finished. My question wasn’t is this a speckled Sussex, it was what are the chances she will acquire speckles when she molts?

 

[CSAchook]

I got her last May, so a bit shy of a year old. My cousin got a SS from the same feed store (therefore same hatchery) a few months after me, and that girl is gorgeously speckled already. Oh well, I think she’s pretty even without the speckles and she lays well, which is the more important thing. She has an odd habit of laying her eggs on the floor of the run if I go out to check for eggs before she’s laid for the day, so I have to restrain myself from checking for eggs before 2-3 pm. Apparently the nesting box isn’t ‘safe’ enough so she has to lay her egg right out in the open where it gets stepped on.

My dad’s SS from Privett were much more speckled than mine.
It is hard to tell from the photo, but does she have any patterning at all? Amelia had subtle patterning with very little white.

(Sorry this is the only photo of her I have on my phone).

 

[the_peanut_coop]

When I had speckled sussex they were ultra speckled from right after they grew real feathers. on the other hand, My d'uccle got more white spots after her molt. So who knows. Nature is often unpredictable.

 

[CSAchook]

I’m new to this whole chicken thing, so forgive me for buying a chicken thinking I knew what the paint job should be when it was finished. My question wasn’t is this a speckled Sussex, it was what are the chances she will acquire speckles when she molts?

Based on my admittedly limited experience, she will probably get a wee bit more speckled with each adult molt, but the difference will be subtle.

 

[Solanacae]

My dad’s SS from Privett were much more speckled than mine.
It is hard to tell from the photo, but does she have any patterning at all? Amelia had subtle patterning with very little white.

View attachment 2575558
(Sorry this is the only photo of her I have on my phone).

She does have patterning on her wings (mostly on the primary flight feathers) and on her tail. There’s also some subtle patterning on her lower back.

 

[Solanacae]

Based on my admittedly limited experience, she will probably get a wee bit more speckled with each adult molt, but the difference will be subtle.

Thanks for your input. Everything I’ve read says they get more with each molt, so I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

 

[Solanacae]

It’s good to know that mine’s not just a dud, that others have not-so-speckled Sussex’s too.

 

[CSAchook]

She does have patterning on her wings (mostly on the primary flight feathers) and on her tail. There’s also some subtle patterning on her lower back.

Then these are the area I would expect to see get more white with age. But I would not expect a dramatic transformation.

 

[MissE]

My SS didn't have a lot of speckling until 20 weeks or so. They had a pretty late juvenile molt compared to the other pullets I got at the same time, but now they are beautiful.

Body type and egg size/color look right. The SS eggs are always the smallest in my cartons. Mine never had that orange on them though. Either there's something else hiding in the woodpile, or she's a different variety of Sussex.