Speckled Sussex Question

[lukkyseven]

Yup, I already have numbered ones. They are all currently leg banded, but as I start to cull down I will move over to numbered bands instead of colors. Broody is a very important aspect I am trying to breed in.

 

[FancyPantsChick]

All,

So my long term goal is a dual purpose bird. Speckled Sussex is what I ended up going with, but the more I start reading the less happy I am about my choice. I'm 30 chickens deep at this point so I need to move forward. My wife would kill me if I started over.

What I wanted was a bird that could get big fast as well as produce a decent amount of eggs that was pretty docile in nature.

From this point I wanted to work towards the SOP for fun. The problem I'm running into is that I cannot find birds of good size. I'm so hamstrung by this issue that I kind of cannot move forward with the SOP. Most of my birds that are above the rest of their class in size have a ton of faults from what I can gather based on my very limited knowledge of the SOP.

I want to move towards the dual purpose nature that these birds used to have, but I feel like if I do with my current stock I will start breeding faults into my line.

So with what I will call the wife factor (not going to let me get any more genetics until probably summer when I can wear on her), how would you select down to 8 hens and a rooster?

Newbie here. What is SOP

 

[Folly's place]

SOP is the official breed standard of perfection, developed by each breed club. It should incorporate size, absolute disqualifications for showing, and conformation, all geared towards the bird's purpose and appearance.
Having birds that look like their breed is a good thing, if it also includes those birds performing as they should.
Breeding for looks only will reduce egg production, for example, and selection only for egg production will reduce body size, and high egg production selects against broodiness.
It's complicated! Part of what makes it interesting...
Mary