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Hi Chinchilla2,
I used to have an extensive Sussex library but sold it just before I decided to come stay with Sussex for good. Isn't that always the way,
. Historically, each of the colors was bred for a different purpose within the breed. The Light were bred as dual purpose. The Red for meat (probably because they stemmed so much from the dark Dorking). The Speckled for usefulness and beauty. The Brown for eggs and as broody hens. I can't remember reading anything about the Coronation and The Silver which would purpose them any differently than the Light Sussex.
In the last analysis, in Sussex , breed type is everything.
It if doesn't look like a Sussex in physical, structural breed type , it isn't a Sussex regardless of whatever colors or attributes it has. I think this is because the structure of the bird has so much to do with it's abilities.
The broad back ( a hallmark of a meat bird),
long keel ( for the breast meat on a meat bird)
, strong legs ( to support the meat bird body),
head without coarseness( see the booklet "Breeding and Culling By Head Points" as the structure of the head is connected with the hen's laying ability)
, pelvic structure(again associated with laying ability),
close feathering( defining the Sussex as free from the Orpington influence).
And so it goes. If one doesn't breed Sussex wisely, they revert to a Langshan profile which is the "V" body silhouette. Instead, we should see the bottle shaped Sussex body with the long keel, .....and in the females, the classic "Sussex crouch".
As an aside, the afore-going history is why we should not crossbreed the colors in Sussex. Each color has it's own uitilitarian purpose within the breed and when we cross the color varieties, we are homogenizing breed qualities which breeders spent decades creating for that particular color. ( Being a purist, I am still undecided on the wisdom of crossing Light and Coronation Sussex. Unlike the Silver Sussex which is built on E or ER,... the Coronation amd the Light are both built on eWh, I believe....which leaves the lone distinction between them being the color other than white....both colors having the same utilitarian purposes. Well, time will tell if it is of concern or not, we will see.
Best Regards,
Karen in western PA