The Sussex thread!

[Amelia Egghart]

Nope. No linkage. And because they have white skin and thick legs your girls will scare you into thinking you have boys for a long time! I don't think I was comfortable my pullets were pullets until about 8 weeks

 

[matilda19]

Ok good to know! We already have one rooster to rehome so I really hope he's the only one!

 

[arnault]

Hi, I'm new to backyard chickens. I moved to the country a year ago and decided to raise chickens for the eggs and to give my boys something productive to do. I have 3 speckled Sussex that are around 9 or 10 months. I got them when they just started laying well and they did lay about 2-3 eggs every other day. However, about 2 weeks ago, they have not laid one egg. I noticed they started slowing down not long after I got them and put them in their new home. I feed them 22% layer feed and I give them some meal worms from time to time and even given the oyster shells. I've bought fake eggs and placed in their nest about 3 days ago. They all look very good, high energy and very healthy. I let them out during the day to forage. They've never ran out of water. Please help, I'm not sure what to do

 

[Lelanae]

My girls are fussy. They lay better for me if I give them bowls of water as well as the nipple waterers and always lay better after getting leftovers from our table! (Oatmeal, and spaghetti are favorites.)

 

[Amelia Egghart]

Mine straight up stopped laying for a couple months at about eight months. Didn't seem to align with winter or a major molt but I did notice a few feathers so it could have been a mini molt.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Our first ever coronation sussex hatch.

 

[Amelia Egghart]

Our first ever coronation sussex hatch.

Congrats!!

 

[Faraday40]

After seeing all those beautiful SS pics on this thread, we decided to add one to our flock. We ordered the min of 5 and planned to keep only one.

Here are our 5 chicks (in 2 pics)





On closer inspection, we noticed one was slightly different. The chick below on the left did not have the same neck color pattern. I kept it out of curiosity & I was correct. It was not a SS. (The other 3 SS pullets were sold.)



So here we are at 5 weeks

I think the mystery chick is a Welsummer pullet. I suppose it could be a brown leghorn, but the comb looks small.


and here's the SS (pullet, I hope)
Is it common for a female to have this much white? I thought they were more brown when young & then added more white as the aged & molted.

 

[Amelia Egghart]

After seeing all those beautiful SS pics on this thread, we decided to add one to our flock. We ordered the min of 5 and planned to keep only one. Here are our 5 chicks (in 2 pics) On closer inspection, we noticed one was slightly different. The chick below on the left did not have the same neck color pattern. I kept it out of curiosity & I was correct. It was not a SS. (The other 3 SS pullets were sold.) [COLOR=B42000] [/COLOR] So here we are at 5 weeks I think the mystery chick is a Welsummer pullet. I suppose it could be a brown leghorn, but the comb looks small. and here's the SS (pullet, I hope) Is it common for a female to have this much white? I thought they were more brown when young & then added more white as the aged & molted. [COLOR=B42000] [/COLOR]

I thought the white on my SS was a possible flaw but after the first molt it went away. They develop more white as they age but they start out with big flashy patches in the chick stage. As a chick this hen started out with a few solid white primaries and a bold white chest like yours. Here she is now:

And I love Welsummers! Red ears = Welsummer, white ears = Leghorn. And obviously egg color will give it away eventually

 

[Faraday40]

I thought the white on my SS was a possible flaw but after the first molt it went away. They develop more white as they age but they start out with big flashy patches in the chick stage. As a chick this hen started out with a few solid white primaries and a bold white chest like yours. Here she is now:



And I love Welsummers! Red ears = Welsummer, white ears = Leghorn. And obviously egg color will give it away eventually

I hope my SS will look as pretty as yours someday. Mine are hatchery stock & I'm happy to finally have one. The store put all their special order chicks in one big bin on the sales floor.

Then when I arrived to pick up my prepaid chicks, a young girl was given a Cackle catalog in order to "find" my chicks among the 200+ in the giant trough. Poor gal had no idea. She kept handing me EEs. I knew enough to decline those puffy cheeks & slate legs. I also tried to avoid any without strong eyeliner & lighter stripes b/c I had paid extra for pullets. Thankfully many people had also ordered SS, so there were plenty running about. The store really messed up my Spitzhaubens, though. I had ordered 6 but only 3 could be found. I'm guessing they gave away my rare birds to someone else. Considering all the mix ups, I'm lucky to actually have a SS. Out of 11 chicks, I was only given 7 of what I had ordered. (That's a 64%.) I think if I ever order again, I'll stick to the older store that's an extra 15 min away.