The Sussex thread!

[Lelanae]

Hi everyone. We got these 2 today. A light sussex @10wks old & a coronation sussex @14wks old.


Delilah


Chelsea

We had originally got this little cutie as a light sussex also...but @5wks old it clearly isnt

 

[honeyb711]

Thank you

I sure am very much in love with them already. They really are so beautiful to watch...they are not very people friendly right now, but im hoping with time & gentle effort they will come around.

Any ideas on the last little guy? He is believed to maybe be a red sex link rather the light sussex we got him as...He is being rehomed tomorrow, not only can we not keep a rooster, he cannot play nicely with the 2 new ladies

 

[DrumlinPoint]

My daughter is in 4-H and is starting a poultry project this year. I've had chickens since I was a kid (enjoyed them, hatched chicks, sold eggs, culled a bit). We've always bought hatchery quality purebreds, but I thought we'd try to do this a bit differently. So, after doing some research and narrowing it down to a few breeds, my daughter has picked the speckled Sussex as her chicken of choice. We would like to start with hatching eggs, so we can choose the best of our hatch according to the SOP for the breed. Could anyone suggest a knowledgable breeder who is currently raising high quality LF SS,who might have fertile eggs for sale? We would welcome helpful advice as well. Thanks!

 

[3riverschick]

My daughter is in 4-H and is starting a poultry project this year. I've had chickens since I was a kid (enjoyed them, hatched chicks, sold eggs, culled a bit). We've always bought hatchery quality purebreds, but I thought we'd try to do this a bit differently. So, after doing some research and narrowing it down to a few breeds, my daughter has picked the speckled Sussex as her chicken of choice. We would like to start with hatching eggs, so we can choose the best of our hatch according to the SOP for the breed. Could anyone suggest a knowledgable breeder who is currently raising high quality LF SS,who might have fertile eggs for sale? We would welcome helpful advice as well. Thanks!

Are you required to start with eggs for 4H/ ? If not, start with started birds or breeder birds which will lay eggs for you. This is a tricolor variety and the toughest color to breed in the Sussex breed. Because of the 3 colors. they are checked for quality at a later date than other Sussex colors. Usually 8-12 weeks. Lok for someone who is linebreeding Overton Speckled Sussex. Gary Overton, West Alexandris, OH. Find his contact info jn the onlne Judge's Directory at the website of the American Poultry Association. In the fancy, we call Judge Overton, "Mr. Sussex". He's very helpful and can help yu get started with high quality stock.
Best,
Karen

 

[Faraday40]

My daughter is in 4-H and is starting a poultry project this year. I've had chickens since I was a kid (enjoyed them, hatched chicks, sold eggs, culled a bit). We've always bought hatchery quality purebreds, but I thought we'd try to do this a bit differently. So, after doing some research and narrowing it down to a few breeds, my daughter has picked the speckled Sussex as her chicken of choice. We would like to start with hatching eggs, so we can choose the best of our hatch according to the SOP for the breed. Could anyone suggest a knowledgable breeder who is currently raising high quality LF SS,who might have fertile eggs for sale? We would welcome helpful advice as well. Thanks!

Are you required to start with eggs for 4H/ ? If not, start with started birds or breeder birds which will lay eggs for you. This is a tricolor variety and the toughest color to breed in the Sussex breed. Because of the 3 colors. they are checked for quality at a later date than other Sussex colors. Usually 8-12 weeks. Lok for someone who is linebreeding Overton Speckled Sussex. Gary Overton, West Alexandris, OH. Find his contact info jn the onlne Judge's Directory at the website of the American Poultry Association. In the fancy, we call Judge Overton, "Mr. Sussex". He's very helpful and can help yu get started with high quality stock.
Best,
Karen

This advice is what we were told- but selected a diff breed. We were warmly welcomed & many people enjoyed talking with us about their specific breed. I was surprised at how many people generously offered to help get our DD started.

Our goals were a bit different, though. DD likes incubation & the science projects. Every year she comes up with great experiment ideas & then we must rehome all her test results. (We live in a neighborhood, so we cannot keep a big breeding flock. Also, I'm too nervous about exposing our chickens to other flocks, so I do not let her show our birds.) Anyway, purebreds are much easier to sell, so we have a few lav orps & a nice orp roo. When she needs fertile eggs we select the orp eggs & are able to sell them quickly as soon as she's done with the experiment.

BTW- I think your DD chose wisely. S.Sussex sound like a great breed & they're not too big. We love our gentle orps, but they're HUGE. Way to big to attempt holding in one hand! LOL

and just because I'm a proud mama...... Here's DD's 2016 chicken-related 4-H projects.

For Vet Sci she did egg shape vs. gender. The theory did not hold true with only about 38% of the predictions correct. She would have had better accuracy flipping a coin. LOL However, she controlled her variables & honestly reported her findings. She even learned a little genetics & discussed how she used particular hens to make sex-linked chicks. She impressed the judges & will be going on to the state fair.


For poultry sci she trained a few hens to do tricks. She made a video to document the progress. This was very cute & also won Best in Show. Our county has a rule that a child may only bring one project to state, so the alternate will be bringing his project instead.

For heritage arts, she wanted to do a crayon melt on canvas. The idea is nothing new, but she thought it looked like a crying rainbow. That reminded her of the rainbow bridge poem, so her project turned into a memorial for our all time fav hen, Cuddles. I still miss Cuddles & hope to hand this in our hallway. DD earned a class champion for this project.

 

[DrumlinPoint]

Are you required to start with eggs for 4H/ ? If not, start with started birds or breeder birds which will lay eggs for you. This is a tricolor variety and the toughest color to breed in the Sussex breed. Because of the 3 colors. they are checked for quality at a later date than other Sussex colors. Usually 8-12 weeks. Lok for someone who is linebreeding Overton Speckled Sussex. Gary Overton, West Alexandris, OH. Find his contact info jn the onlne Judge's Directory at the website of the American Poultry Association. In the fancy, we call Judge Overton, "Mr. Sussex". He's very helpful and can help yu get started with high quality stock.
 Best,
 Karen

Thank you for the suggestions, Karen. There is no rule about starting with eggs.The only reason I wanted to start with eggs is that my daughter is a bit timid around our big hens, but does alright with little ones. I was hoping handling them as they grow would help her bond with them. But it's definitely worth considering, because I would know for sure what we were starting with. I did a little skimming of this thread before I joined. Thank you for all the great information you have shared! So, I already have "Mr. Sussex's" contact info in my notebook. He is quite a distance away from us, but only about an hour away from where my son goes to college. We'll see what happens with that.

 

[Amelia Egghart]

My Mabel. 16 weeks old, from Cackle Hatchery. She had me worried she was a he until about 8 weeks when she started getting her girly voice. Just raising chickens for fun and health. Cheers!

 

[MeeMa Brown]

Luv my Speckled hens

 

[DrumlinPoint]

This advice is what we were told- but selected a diff breed. We were warmly welcomed & many people enjoyed talking with us about their specific breed. I was surprised at how many people generously offered to help get our DD started. Our goals were a bit different, though. DD likes incubation & the science projects. Every year she comes up with great experiment ideas & then we must rehome all her test results. (We live in a neighborhood, so we cannot keep a big breeding flock. Also, I'm too nervous about exposing our chickens to other flocks, so I do not let her show our birds.) Anyway, purebreds are much easier to sell, so we have a few lav orps & a nice orp roo. When she needs fertile eggs we select the orp eggs & are able to sell them quickly as soon as she's done with the experiment. BTW- I think your DD chose wisely. S.Sussex sound like a great breed & they're not too big. We love our gentle orps, but they're HUGE. Way to big to attempt holding in one hand! LOL and just because I'm a proud mama...... Here's DD's 2016 chicken-related 4-H projects. For Vet Sci she did egg shape vs. gender. The theory did not hold true with only about 38% of the predictions correct. She would have had better accuracy flipping a coin. LOL However, she controlled her variables & honestly reported her findings. She even learned a little genetics & discussed how she used particular hens to make sex-linked chicks. She impressed the judges & will be going on to the state fair. For poultry sci she trained a few hens to do tricks. She made a video to document the progress. This was very cute & also won Best in Show. Our county has a rule that a child may only bring one project to state, so the alternate will be bringing his project instead. For heritage arts, she wanted to do a crayon melt on canvas. The idea is nothing new, but she thought it looked like a crying rainbow. That reminded her of the rainbow bridge poem, so her project turned into a memorial for our all time fav hen, Cuddles. I still miss Cuddles & hope to hand this in our hallway. DD earned a class champion for this project.

Hi, Faraday40. Thank you for sharing what your daughter accomplished in 4-H this year. Loved all 3 projects!! My daughter has watched the video of the chicken training several times. What fun! And I like the scientific approach your DD took with incubating. I'm probably going to try the crayon melt art for our 4-H group this year. It's awesome to take an interest and pursue it in a variety of ways. We homeschool so we are fortunate to be able to do that as much as we can. I thank you again for inspiring my daughter and I! Now, time to find those chickens.....

 

[ksbratton]

This is supposed to be a sexed pullet. She is 11 weeks old now. I am concerned as to if this may be a cockerel. I have 20 other chicks, hatched on the same day but all different breeds. I have two others that have turned out to be cockerels but it is VERY obvious that they are cockerels. Then I have pullets that are quite obviously pullets. This gal seems to be a "tweener". The color in the pics make the waddles look a little more red than they truly are. And the comb is not rounded at all. And no saddle feathers. But the tail is a little curved. I don't know. I give up anymore lol. Thoughts?