Hi tws,
I am going to be blunt. None of these males are breeding worthy.
They lack proper body silhouette. You
can't improve your flock with them.
They lack the full, deep, long body which is the
critical hallmark of the breed.
No, age isn't going to help. The basic structure isn't there. You need another roo.
One from a vintage top show strain. This is a good time of year to pick one up. The
breeders are downsizing for overwintering. Pick one from the Overton, Albrittion,
Reichert strains or flocks
very closely related to these strains. Your male is 1/2 your flock.
Here is a classic breeding plan, successful over multiple species for over 100 years.
It is used for setting breed type and concentrating virtue in a pedigree. It can start
with only 2 (preferably unrelated) birds.
Get the very best you can afford. This method concentrates virtues and faults, you
must
have a top quality bird in at least sire
or dam ( preferably both, but at least the
male for this
program to work because you will be going back to him multiple times) . Because this is
Speckled Sussex, you
must get a male from a vintage show strain because it takes many
years to stabilize the color genes enough to get the proper Speckled pattern to reliably reproduce.
You
must have that color stability in your male if you are going to inbreed on it to stabilize the
coloring in your flock. Otherwise you will just be spinning your genetic wheels. Speckled Sussex
is a tri-color variety and the toughest color in the breed to do correctly.
1. Breed him to your females. ( Hold back the 2 best males from this breeding, you will use one of them
in a few generations. The 2nd boy is extra insurance in case you lose one before he is needed).
2. Take the daughters and breed them back to their father.
3. Then take the granddaughters and take them back to your original cock ( their grandfather).
4. Take the females and breed them back to their great grandfather ( your original cock).
By now you will have birds which are about 7/8's the gene pool of the top quality male.
5. Take the females from the #4 breeding and breed them back to the male you held back
from breeding #1. This is actually a
linebreeding, not an inbreeding ...because you are breeding
a female which is 7/8's the the original male to a boy who is only 1/2 the original male.
6. Take the siblings from the #5 breeding and breed them together.
7. Take the best male and female from the #6 breeding and start the program over again at Step #1.
You can keep this up indefinitely.
Best Regards,
Karen in western PA, USA
Further reading and breeder contact information :
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/429217/show-quality-speckled-sussex/1970#post_13960416
Posts 1974 , 1978 and 1980 .
