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Class and Type:
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Large/Bantam - Softfeather
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Description
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Characteristics:
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The Sussex chicken is a dual purpose breed that is a popular backyard chicken in many countries. They come in seven colours 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.
The colours found in Sussex chickens are: Brown, Buff, Light, Red, Speckled, Silver and White. 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 7lbs. The Brown and red varieties are rare but the others are more common.
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Origins and History:
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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.
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Behavior:
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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.
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Rarity:
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Egg Colour:
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Egg Productivity: (link to single table)
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Weights:
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Comb Type:
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Varietys:
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Skin Colour:
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Brooding:
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Hardiness:
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Maturing:
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Standard:
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Main Uses:
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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 120 to 180 eggs a year, although the light and white varieties are the best choice for layers.
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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.
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Breed Clubs:
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Further Links:
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References:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sussex_%28chicken%29
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Comments:
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19/04/06 - Initial edit by Jagungal to get things started. Most info taken from Wikipedia
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Photos:
Click photo for
full size.
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No Photos Available = send me some of yours for display !!
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