The Sussex thread!

[Outpost JWB]

That is cute

 

[3riverschick]

The Essence of the Sussex Defined by Clem Watson
Great sage advice by one of the legendary experts in the breed.
The Feathered World Year Book and Poultry Keepers' ... 1921.
http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b2979304;view=1up;seq=202
Pages 202 thru 209
The Sussex
By Clem Watson.
Pages 208 and 209.
The actual breeding of Sussex should not present any difficulty
to the man who follows the work among any other variety. It is
essential to observe certain points, and the Standard sets the points
forth very clearly so that all who run may read. Without shape
you do not get a Sussex. Make this a very important feature,
then you can work on colour and marking without fear. There
must be length and depth of body, otherwise you lose the table
points, then with the width of back and a good head you can
maintain the laying properties. Many of the Sussex today are
carrying an ugly comb which is not very attractive, although I
Page 209
know that this does not alter the body shape. But a coarse comb
denotes coarseness of body, and you will find the skin and flesh coarser
than one with a fine-grained comb.
Another advantage in the Sussex is that it is very active and can be kept on the farm with a free range---then the chickens prove very hardy and can be easily reared.
It makes an interesting variety for the novice because of the change in colour and its good all-round qualities. Everyone should join the Sussex Club and thus help on the good work of getting new members when once they are enrolled.

Who was Clem Watson? He was a legendary Sussex breeder and judge. One of the three great Secretaries of the british Sussex Poultry Club in the 1st half of the last century. The others were Leo Outram and Mr. Sharpe, (both of whose writings are also excellent) He was Sussex Judge for the Sussex Poultry Club. Extremely knowledgeable on the breed, his writings are sought after even now. Unfortunately for us, Clem Watson did not write a book and it is for us to gather his wisdom from articles scattered in mags in libraries and on the Net. With one exception. Country Books in New Zealand has republished Outram's 1934 book on Sussex. In the back they have included the ultra rare Clam Watson letters discussing noted Sussex breeders of his day. These letters are only housed in 1 or 2 libraries' world wide , all on European soil ( I spent hours looking for them in catalogs on the Net) until now and make for very interesting reading. That repub is on excellent paper, oversize and illustrated with the stunning Feathered World series of Sussex prints. A real treasure. Country Books is online. Sharpe's book is online at archive.org in a bunch of readable formats.

 

[Anuthatch]

We are due for some action on the Sussex Thread. I love my Sussex.

Whitey and Chicken. They are enjoying pecking the beds I cleaned out for winter.
Chicken is my only one of 3 SS laying. They are all 27 weeks. I really thought I'd have more eggs by now. I hope someone isn't hiding her eggs.

Interesting to see the difference in development rates. Chicken has been laying for 7 weeks.

All my chickens are named Chicken except for Whitey.

 

[campingshaws]

All my flock has awful fowl pox right now, so no pics here. Trust me.

William Wallace is through the worst of it and back to himself again! I just adore him.

Does anyone familiar with the standard know how he sizes up? I've read through it, but with my zero experience I have no idea.

 

[3riverschick]

Anyone have results for the Sussex judging at the Ohio National?
Thanks,
Karen

 

[3riverschick]

Hi

,
A while back we had a thread ( now finished and locked but still browseable ) called Chicken State University. It was a wonderful educational thread which took at least a week to discuss one breed at a time. Sussex had a full three weeks. Here is an interesting post from that discussion : post #1097 of 2184 . https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/732985/csu-chicken-state-university-large-fowl-sop/1090
It's an annotated discussion of the standard. Dragonlady has relied to my queries and it made a very educational post.
Dragonlady has been breeding poultry for over 50 years. Her Buff Orpingtons are known nationwide for their excellence. She is also a very small breeder, hatching small numbers and maintaining a very high standard of excellence. A great successful example for those of us striving to succeed with small numbers.
Best,
Karen

 

[Johnn]

Dorothy

 

[Outpost JWB]

This is a pic of my Black Australorp hen mix with Speckled Sussex rooster. She looks like a silver Sussex

. We ended up with 2 hens like this.



Here is a pic of my SS mix with RIR. We have 2 of these also. Looks like RIR with white legs. Pics are not that good....sorry. (Cheap phone.)

 

[Johnn]

Dorothy

 

[Outpost JWB]

Last night at feed time, I seen my SS roo (Sue)'s comb has flopped over. He is around 2 years old. He was not out of water & seems healthy otherwise. Any thoughts as to what may have caused this? Is there anyway to correct it?