The Sussex thread!

[KBG204]

 

[annav410]

I was hoping the experts on this thread might be able to give me some feedback. I bought some chicks at our local ranch and feed store and bought what I thought was a full sized Speckled Sussex 2 weeks ago along with a variety of chicks. Henrietta is a lot smaller then her peers at the same age and I am wondering if she might be a bantam? I know feed stores are not always good at labeling so thought this might be a possibility. She is 1/4 to 1/3 smaller then the other chicks. Do SS grow at a slower rate?

She seems to be holding her own but does get run over at times. Here is a picture that hopefully shows the size difference. Ethel is a Buff Orp and Daisy is a Austra White in the picture.

 

[Pozees]

I was hoping the experts on this thread might be able to give me some feedback. I bought some chicks at our local ranch and feed store and bought what I thought was a full sized Speckled Sussex 2 weeks ago along with a variety of chicks. Henrietta is a lot smaller then her peers at the same age and I am wondering if she might be a bantam? I know feed stores are not always good at labeling so thought this might be a possibility. She is 1/4 to 1/3 smaller then the other chicks. Do SS grow at a slower rate?

She seems to be holding her own but does get run over at times. Here is a picture that hopefully shows the size difference. Ethel is a Buff Orp and Daisy is a Austra White in the picture.

I am no expert on bantams for sure (or much of anything for that matter) but it could be a bantam or just a runt. Are the legs as short as they look in the picture?

 

[Pozees]

Hi,
It is not a Sussex. The breed type is way wrong (unless this is a very imature bird). . It is a bird manifesting the Columbian gene (Co). and Silver gene (S).
It looks like it is built on the eWh locus and not the eb (Brown) locus. The way to tell it is the eWh locus is that eWh with Silver is white to the skin in the white parts. The eb locus has colored hues int he undercolor beneath the white parts.
See my avatar. This is a well bred 7 month old Light Sussex pullet.
Best,
Karen

Almost looks like an Egyptian Fayoumi, but I have no idea what that would produce when crossed with a Silkie.

 

[annav410]

I am no expert on bantams for sure (or much of anything for that matter) but it could be a bantam or just a runt. Are the legs as short as they look in the picture?

Her legs are shorter for sure but seem to fit her size. I think she is super cute but just so much smaller than the rest of the flock.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

annav410, I raised 55 hatchery Speckled Sussex last year from McMurray and Mt. Healthy. There was a huge size difference among the chicks and it is likely you just got one of the smaller chicks. Mt. Healthy chicks were overall larger but there were some tinies even in theirs. I only had 5 from McMurray and they were much smaller than any of the chicks and I had EE's, BO's and Buff Rocks. From the photo, it appears to be a Speckled, IMHO. You might try giving it some protein treats on the side. Yogurt with active cultures would be a great one. It would help the gut with nutrition uptake and add protein.

 

[Pozees]

annav410, I raised 55 hatchery Speckled Sussex last year from McMurray and Mt. Healthy. There was a huge size difference among the chicks and it is likely you just got one of the smaller chicks. Mt. Healthy chicks were overall larger but there were some tinies even in theirs. I only had 5 from McMurray and they were much smaller than any of the chicks and I had EE's, BO's and Buff Rocks. From the photo, it appears to be a Speckled, IMHO. You might try giving it some protein treats on the side. Yogurt with active cultures would be a great one. It would help the gut with nutrition uptake and add protein.

Good suggestions. The other thing I would watch for is overall vigor as she grows up. I got 5 hatchery SS last year, and one was much smaller than the others and had a wry tail. She seemed perfectly healthy and was as active in chasing treats as all the others. One day I had to pick them all up and put them back in the run because they had walked through snow to get to a tree well that was dry, and then refused to walk back through the snow to get to the coop, and it was getting dark, and when I picked her up I noticed she felt much lighter than I thought she should even for her size, and resolved to spend time that weekend watching her to make sure she was getting her share of food. The next day she was dead in the coop. Not a mark on her, no indication she was eggbound or anything, but I believe she had something wrong internally and was not able to properly utilize her nutrients. The short life she had was almost certainly better than the life her mother had, and that will have to be enough. She had run of acres of land, shared an apple with her sisters every afternoon, got fermented feed, fresh vegetables, yogurt, meal worms, etc.

This spring I'm getting 25 SS chicks from Tony Albritton - I cannot wait to get them I saw pictures of some of his birds from shows, and swooned. They are a world apart. My other four hatchery girls are still doing great, they started laying in late December and have laid through winter, which Sussex are known for, and they are delightful, but once I saw what a quality SS looked like, I had to have some.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

This spring I'm getting 25 SS chicks from Tony Albritton - I cannot wait to get them I saw pictures of some of his birds from shows, and swooned. They are a world apart. My other four hatchery girls are still doing great, they started laying in late December and have laid through winter, which Sussex are known for, and they are delightful, but once I saw what a quality SS looked like, I had to have some.

Me too!!!! I'm getting 10 from Tony also! I just can't wait. I love the Sussex breed. I'm also getting 10 Buff Sussex from Walt'z Ark in Colorado. The Speckled and Buff are birds I don't ever want to do without. I love the look, those round bodies, and I really love their personalities. Sweet, but predator aware. I have 3 hatchery SS right now.

I've just recently discovered Heritage birds (or birds bred to standard) and it's a whole other world.

 

[insanity]

I got 7 speckled sussex eggs last night from a lady in Florida.I'll set them this morning.If all goes well I'll have a few running around by the 4/16.

 

[RachaelS]

Are SS just naturally friendly? The reason I ask is everyone I know that has Hatchery SS are super friendly almost lap chickens, are the heritage the same way? I know every chicken will have it's own personalities but on average are most of the just really sweet?