- Feb 13, 2013
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Thanks and I've put in some friends with her as she was cheeping awhile ago but has now stopped
The Sussex thread!
- Thread starter americana-chick
- Start date
- Feb 2, 2013
- 74
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These are my two new light girls, Salt & Pepper! Very calm and docile so far, though they got legs - they can run! They get on well with my two tiny Pekins, they pretty much ignore them.
- Feb 2, 2013
- 74
- 1
- 39
--Oops, double post. Can someone delete - Thanks!
These are my two new light girls, Salt & Pepper! Very calm and docile so far, though they got legs - they can run! They get on well with my two tiny Pekins, they pretty much ignore them.
These are my two new light girls, Salt & Pepper! Very calm and docile so far, though they got legs - they can run! They get on well with my two tiny Pekins, they pretty much ignore them.
Last edited:
- May 19, 2009
- 8,453
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Hi!,
Nice girls. Pretty nice breast development in them. If you're going to breed them, pick a male without much black in his hackle. The girls have a bit too much. The chicks should be more correct. Light Sussex is a color balancing breed. Always something you can do each generation to make the color balance a bit more correct, smile.
If you want to lose the cushion of feathers on their back, select for the hens who lay the most eggs for several generations. You'll find they will be more close-feathered as you proceed and the cushions should subside and ,hopefully, disappear. If you can add 25 eggs a year to your gross total per season per hen, you should see that lovely close-feathering for which the breed is noted.
Close-feathering is desired in Sussex because it is associated with a higher rate of lay . Plus it shows off the form of the breed type better. Loose-feathering like you see here is associated with the hens ability to lay down a layer of fat under the skin. Fat isn't elastic. The hens skin needs to stretch a bit when the reproductive organs swell at laying time. When there is that layer of fat under the skin, the skin can't stretch like it should and the hen doesn't have the internal capacity to allow for making as much eggs as she should. So the rate of layer can be lower.
Fine textured skin is elastic. The texture of the skin on the shanks, comb, and wattles is indicative of the texture of the skin on the rest of the body. That's why the Standard says the skin on the comb, wattles, and shanks should be fine and smooth. These are all points of the Standard if you decide to breed your birds. They are also guidelines for a better rate of lay in your egg flock.
There is no such thing as the perfect Bird. Yours are nice looking girls. They have a nice silhouette and their chassis set well upon their legs. Balance is important in a Sussex. It is so closely aligned with their productive capabilities that, literally, if it doesn't look like a Sussex, it's not a Sussex. Your girls look like Sussex. All the other points of order can be adjusted if you decide to breed them, or not, depending on your needs and wants.
Pretty Salt and Pepper
Best Regards,
Karen in western PA, USA
Nice girls. Pretty nice breast development in them. If you're going to breed them, pick a male without much black in his hackle. The girls have a bit too much. The chicks should be more correct. Light Sussex is a color balancing breed. Always something you can do each generation to make the color balance a bit more correct, smile.
If you want to lose the cushion of feathers on their back, select for the hens who lay the most eggs for several generations. You'll find they will be more close-feathered as you proceed and the cushions should subside and ,hopefully, disappear. If you can add 25 eggs a year to your gross total per season per hen, you should see that lovely close-feathering for which the breed is noted.
Close-feathering is desired in Sussex because it is associated with a higher rate of lay . Plus it shows off the form of the breed type better. Loose-feathering like you see here is associated with the hens ability to lay down a layer of fat under the skin. Fat isn't elastic. The hens skin needs to stretch a bit when the reproductive organs swell at laying time. When there is that layer of fat under the skin, the skin can't stretch like it should and the hen doesn't have the internal capacity to allow for making as much eggs as she should. So the rate of layer can be lower.
Fine textured skin is elastic. The texture of the skin on the shanks, comb, and wattles is indicative of the texture of the skin on the rest of the body. That's why the Standard says the skin on the comb, wattles, and shanks should be fine and smooth. These are all points of the Standard if you decide to breed your birds. They are also guidelines for a better rate of lay in your egg flock.
There is no such thing as the perfect Bird. Yours are nice looking girls. They have a nice silhouette and their chassis set well upon their legs. Balance is important in a Sussex. It is so closely aligned with their productive capabilities that, literally, if it doesn't look like a Sussex, it's not a Sussex. Your girls look like Sussex. All the other points of order can be adjusted if you decide to breed them, or not, depending on your needs and wants.
Pretty Salt and Pepper
Best Regards,
Karen in western PA, USA
Last edited:
- Feb 2, 2013
- 74
- 1
- 39
Wow! You have so much knowledge about the Sussex. I just picked them because they were the only other bantams at the farm and needed a smallish chicken to go with my Pekins! I did think that Pepper had alot of black around her neck, she's the larger one with a larger breast area and she seemed a little large for a bantam but she's sweet. I'm hoping they lay fairly well but mostly I'm hoping they stay docile and friendly. Its my first experience owning Sussex hens and I think I may want a few buff ones to join them. I'm really taken with them!
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Thanks, your welcome. I have two roos I have to get rid of out of this bunch.
Congrats! I have one little sussex baby and she is a sweety, too. Still trying to figure out what she,s gonna loook llike,thuogh. I was told light sussex but her coloration is just weird...almost like the opposit of a speckled. mostly white with splotches of brown and grey.
but enjoy your new babies!
but enjoy your new babies!
That's great! We have 4 hens and a rooster and they are the best! Super friendly and inquisitive. I hope you'll enjoy them as much as we do ours!
Dang it...I just figured out why my sussex chick looked so strange. she's a Basque.
the lady who hatched her out got confused. I knew she just wasn't looking like she was supposed to and I was thinking I got the wierdest looking light sussex chick EVER.
LOLOLOLOL.
she IS a sweetie, though. sigh. I guess I will have to wait to be a sussex owner. I just got her on a whim anyway, when I was picking up my Blue Barnie Cockerel. I like sussex but need to focus on breeding just two breeds so she was for my layer flock.
the lady who hatched her out got confused. I knew she just wasn't looking like she was supposed to and I was thinking I got the wierdest looking light sussex chick EVER.
LOLOLOLOL.
she IS a sweetie, though. sigh. I guess I will have to wait to be a sussex owner. I just got her on a whim anyway, when I was picking up my Blue Barnie Cockerel. I like sussex but need to focus on breeding just two breeds so she was for my layer flock.
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