Sussex Chickens
Sussex Chickens – A Useful And Beautiful Breed
Sussex chickens are a favorite old English breed. They are a heavy bird, with hens weighing 7 to 8 pounds and the cocks weighing 9 pounds. The Sussex is a dual purpose bird. They were once the standard table bird in England, but have been supplanted by the Cornish hen. They remain very popular in England and in Canada as well, though they not as well known in the United States. A Sussex hen will lay eggs the year round, typically at a rate of 4 eggs per week. Their eggs are large, with a light brown shell.
Sussex chickens are as a rule quite docile, tend to be very curious, and easily become used to the presence of humans. It is said that they are quite mellow in temperament and, being easy to handle, make good pets. They are so named as they originated in the English county of Sussex a little over one hundred years ago. There are three major varieties, the Speckled, the Red and the Light. The English recognize several different varieties including Brown, White, Buff, and a variety known as the Coronation Sussex. There are two sizes of the Sussex, the standard size, and the smaller, Bantam Sussex, introduced around 1920. Of the Bantams, the Light Bantam seems to be the most popular, at least it is the variety moist often exhibited at shows.
The Speckled Sussex is the oldest of the three major varieties dating back to the early 1800s. The variety is believed to be derived from the Old English Game bird. The Speckled Sussex has a dark mahogany as its base color, with white speckles, separated from the mahogany with a black bar, covering the whole body. The variety tends to get more speckles, hence more beautiful with age. While the Red Sussex goes back nearly as far in time as the Speckled, it has become the rarest of the varieties with only a single bloodline. The Red can be quite spectacular in appearance and attempts are being made to establish new bloodlines for this variety. Equally attractive is the Light Sussex, having white head and neck hackles with black stripes, white wings, and black tails. The body is pure white.
The White Sussex has become a very popular variety. While this snow white bird is not quite as spectacular in appearance as its Light cousin, it nevertheless is a popular show bird, with the White Bantam variety being particularly striking n appearance. The numbers of White Sussex are not large but more and more breeders have shown an interest in the variety so the future bodes well. Many breeders will tell you that the Brown Sussex is the most beautiful variety of all. The male and female plumages tend to be rather different with the male somewhat darker overall. Both sexes have very attractive striped neck hackles. Both standard and bantam Browns are quite rare, however efforts underway to preserve the variety appear to be meeting with success. The male and female Buff Sussex chickens are colored an even golden buff, with the head and neck hackle buff, sharply striped with green-black. The Coronation Sussex, introduced in England in the 1940's for the coronation of King George V, did not become particularly popular and this variety soon died out. The variety has since been resurrected and seems to be enjoying a measure of popularity. The pigeon blue head and neck hackles of the otherwise mostly white Coronation Bantams are particularly attractive.
Being a rather calm breed, Sussex chickens are easy to keep and care for. They will do fine in a large fenced enclosure and require a good sized coop as they are large birds. The main problem you will likely encounter, if you live in the United States, is to find an outlet where chicks are sold. The Speckled Sussex will probably be the easiest variety to come by. If you are successful you will be rewarded by being the owner of a very fine breed.