Sussex (chicken)

The Sussex chicken is a dual purpose breed that is a popular backyard chicken in many countries. They come in eight colours (with a couple more being developed) and have a bantam version at 1/4 size; the bantams may be any of the seven colours. The Sussex breed club was formed in 1903.

Appearance

The colours found in Sussex chickens are: Brown, Buff, Light, Red, Speckled, Silver, White and Coronation. The Sussex chicken, whatever colour, should be graceful with a long, broad, flat back and a rectangular build, the tail should be at a 45 degree angle from the body. The eyes should be red in the darker varieties but orange in the lighter one and they sport a medium sized, single, erect comb. The earlobes are red and the legs and skin white in every variety. Cocks should weigh approx 9lbs, and the hens (females) 7lbs. The Brown and red varieties are rare but the others are more common.

Brown and Red

In the brown variety, the cocks are dark brown with black points and the hens have a slightly paler shade of brown. The Red Sussex is the same only it has a richer, more vibrant colour.

Light, Buff and Silver

The light Sussex has a white body with a black tail and black wing tips, its neck is white striped with black and has a very striking appearance.The buff is ginger where the light is white, if showing the bird, a person must be careful to keep it out of strong sunlight, as the colour will fade.The Silver Sussex has a similar neck to the previous two variants, excepting that the body is black and the majority of the feathers on the body have silver lacing

White

The White is pure white throughout

peckled

The feathers of the Speckled variety all have a mix of mahogany and black with white tips. Sometimes the amount of white increases as the bird moults each year. This is the most common variety in the US. However, the Light is far more common in the UK.

Coronation and Lavender

The Coronation sussex is essentially the same as the light, but the black markings are replaced by pigeon grey/blue. There is a buff coronation, but it is quite rare and not recognised.

It should be mentioned that pure sussex will sometimes throw offspring, with white colombian patterns replacing the black.

The Lavender sussex is the same but a bit lighter and no buff. [http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Sussex/BRKSussex.html] ]

Golden

The Golden sussex can be found in Australia. It is like the light sussex but were the light sussex is white the golden sussex is a light brown colour and has black on the top of its back and the same places as the light sussex. [http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Sussex/BRKSussex.html] ]

Characteristics

The Sussex chicken is an alert, docile breed that can adapt to any surrounding, they are comfortable in both free range or confined spaces. The breed sometimes (but not very often) goes broody, the speckled version is most likely to do so. They are good foragers.

Utility aspects

Eggs

The Sussex was bred to be a dual purpose bird and is one of the most productive breeds of poultry. They lay large eggs that are cream to light brown in colour. A person owning a member of this breed should expect approximately 240 to 260 eggs a year, although the light and white varieties are the best choice for layers. Recently there has been an olive green coloured egg introduced to some Light Sussex breeds, although these green egg layers are very rare.

Meat

It is a good producer of meat and all of the varieties are a good choice to have for this purpose. The chicks mature quickly for heavy breed but the speckled is slowest to mature.

History

The Sussex chicken was created over a century ago in the county of Sussex, England. The original colours were the Brown, Red and Speckled, and the Silver is the latest variety. The breed was prized as table fowl more than one-hundred years ago and, more recently, the Light Sussex was very popular for the laying trials of the 30's. Today they are a popular breed for exhibitions as well as a backyard breed. The breed has made a huge contribution to the poultry industry and is even an ancestor to the modern broiler. Sussex is one of the oldest breeds of chicken that still exists today.

References

* [http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/poultry/chickens/sussex/index.htm Chicken Breed Information]
* [http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/CGP/Sussex/BRKSussex.html Feathersite Poultry Pages]
* [http://www.mypetchicken.com/Speckled_Sussex-B106.aspx Information & pictures of the Speckled Sussex at MyPetChicken.com]
*Roberts, Victoria (2002). [http://www.whittetbooks.com/books.php?level=2&id=1049 Poultry for anyone.] Whittet Books. ISBN 1-873580-38-X