Sussex

My mother in law to be acquired five Speckled Sussex hens and one Speckled Sussex rooster. This is the first time of owning this breed and I have to say that I am very impressed with how friendly and docile they are - including the rooster! They did come from a family who did handle them often and kept them free range so not every hen and rooster is going to behave like mine do. The rooster you can just pick up and carry around and he won't have a care in the world. They are also very beautiful birds - I love the colors of the hen and the plumage of the rooster is absolutely GORGEOUS!! The way his feathers shine and the coloring just keeps your attention. He's a beautiful guy! They haven't laid for me just yet but I heard that their eggs are very good and they mostly just hang out and roost and don't really bother with anyone or anything. They do come up to you when they first see you so they are very social and friendly!

The cons... All roosters crow, but for some reason I think mine crows a lot more than usual and also loud! If you live in a small town and have a backyard homestead - I recommend holding off on getting a rooster of any kind especially this one because he crows occasionally during the day. (Usually starts in the early morning but sometimes he'll wait until the sun is up higher.) Most of the time he will be quiet. The females can also be vocal too if they want to - it's surprising how vocal they are that it's actually funny! Them being vocal also adds on to them being stubborn, especially the roo. But overall - these are very good birds and I am having a great experience with them!

I love this breed, everybody was jelious of my trio at the fair and my rooster will cuddle with a chick at night and is calm when I try to hold him. My hen is sweet and has been chosen over my bantams as the showmanship bird for the National Western Stock Show, I would recomend the breed to anybody as the next breed to add to the flock!

I have one speckled sussex name Rosie. This is my first time raising this breed and I'm loving every minute of it! She is as curious as a chicken can get. She takes big risks, wanders off on her own, chases wild birds and rabbits, jumps around, runs everywhere, falls down a lot on account of her bolting and jumping, loves to sit on my shoulder and likes to try everything! Her eggs are very small. She also is very vocal. This breed is a great one! She was super affectionate as a chick and now still loves to cuddle. Crazy, cute and curious basically sums up Rosie! I would defiantly recommend this breed!

My speckled sussex, Cinnamon is very docile and sweet. She always says hi to me when I come out.

These are very smart birds, love treats and are very vocal with appreciation.

I want more of these gorgeous birds. The hatchery even sent me a rooster (their mistake) but now I'm considering breeding the Speckleds now so I can get more!! Love them. I have wanted them for so long but are very hard to come by.

We've had two speckled Sussex as part of our flock and they've been great fun to have as backyard chickens. They are mellow but inquisitive and always underfoot. Ours have been decent layers: 4-5 a week during the warm months, and lay a little less in winter. They did take a long time to reach point of lay - almost 8 months. My only complaint is I was expecting a large egg and most of their eggs are medium with an occasional large. Their personality is so nice though that I won't be without a few Sussex from now on.

I have only had my hens a few months now but I Love them. I am a Silkie "guy" but I will tell you now, the SS are awesome. I never imagined that they were this much fun. They are friendly, curious and extremely beautiful. You really don't know how beautiful they are until you see them in person. They will come to you and just hang out with you. Mine are still pretty young but I know one of the three is contemplating hopping up on my lap when I hang out in the coop with them. As they get older I can see them being like lap dogs. I like to joke that people don't really tell you how great SS are so they can keep a good thing to themselves. I will always be a silkie guy but now I am a Speckled Sussex "guy" also. If you are looking for a beautiful, confident and fun chicken this is the bird for you. My girls haven't even started laying yet and I am so happy with them. Once they start laying I may get some more or I may try to raise some baby SS. They are an all around great bird and should be on everyone's short list. Get some now !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have one SS roo who loves his girls, but does not like people. He will go out of his way to flog, bite or scratch anyone. Much meaner than our other roos. He is very patient with the girls at mealtime and will cluck the whole time while waiting for the girls to get done eating. Then he will eat after they are all done. My girls are young, but sweeties so far. Very curious and alert. We get many comments from people on how beautiful they are. We think so too!

I love my girls the personalities are very diverse and their pattern is absolutely beautiful. They are also very smart and know that when I call out their name and their doing something wrong that I mean them and will stop whatever their doing most of the time. The only thing I find that is wrong with them is that they will stand on top of each other to get to whatever I have whether it be a treat or not.

We got 6 of these, and they were amazing birds! They were super friendly and fun to watch around, though they did like to pick on our Cochins and fight with some of the other ones. One of them ended up hiding away from us and brooding a batch of chicks, she had about 12 that hatched when we had found her, and we went ahead and moved her indoors and put her with some that were hatching the same day in our incubator (the luck!) and she raised all of them! We kept them all inside until the babies were about 4 weeks old, then built a little tractor outside for them, and mommy went outside with them and showed them to go into the coop at night, then one day just flew back over the fence to go hang out with the big hens, after her babies knew what to do at night and where to go whenever anybody sounded the alarm for predators! She was an awesome mom!

My chicken Otisette is one of the most sweetest chickens you will meet! She'll follow you around the yard and let you pick her up and she just started laying eggs and we're hatching some and I told my friend who actually somewhat named her "The Otisette population is growing! They will take over the world!" But my rooster Polo is really mean, he pecks Otisette and tries to attack me! But oh well over all they're a great breed!

Lovely birds, good egg layers, great looking feathers. I have about 6 SS in my flock of 40 and they are the most friendly, always run up to me when I walk through the gate. They tend to not move though when I'm trying to get through the flock and get stepped on which can cause injury. Their feathers can be beautiful, I have one that has an almost all white head but her speckles begin to sprinkle down through her body.

They all have very unique personalities! They love to explore, and come right up to the door whenever anyone comes outside. They are soo beautiful, and love to be held! They are great foragers, and they love love love destroying all my flowers in search of worms and other treats. They make the cutest little begging noises when they are inside their run and want to come out and poop on the patio though. Overall they are just the sweetest chickens! Their favorite treat is applesauce, they will literally smell when you are pouring some for them, and they go NUTS!
They do try to steal food from my dog, but she really doesn't care because she tries to eat their snacks too. They blend in very well so they can free range all day with my dog.

Love this bread and would recommend them to anyone!

My rooster isn't quite as friendly as my hens, but he is a handsome fella!

I have two that are now six months old and they are two of the sweetest birds.

One, our girl Hennifer, had a sour crop and we had to keep her inside for a week. This girl talked to us all the time with gentle little clucks, wanted to be held and cuddled, and absolutely loved being pampered. Our other, Freckles, is quite attached to our RIR and doesn't care to be held, but still will engage with an inquisitive glance. Freckles is the one that we can't keep on the ground! She constantly finds ways to get on top of things and if you bring something new into the yard that has any vertical height... Freckles will be on it!

I highly recommend them and can honestly say this may be the breed we stick with from here on out. Quiet, friendly, and sweet, they're one of my favorites. Not to mention they're so beautiful!

One of my Speckled Sussex hens, Acorn, was snagged by a raccoon. The coop door had not been shut properly, and a mother raccoon and her babies were having a feast. They took three chickens, including Acorn. The next day, she returned with a huge gash on her neck. She made an excellent recovery, and though she was timid for a month afterward, she is now the nicest chicken in my flock. She will come to your feet and look at you longingly, and if you pick her up, she will lay in your arms and make sweet clucking noises. Though not as nice as acorn, my other Sussex, Walnut, is also very sweet.

I have 7 Speckled Sussex chickens, a mixture of roosters and pullets. I purchased these birds as day old chicks and raised them indoors until they were big enough to go into their outdoor pen. I deliberately picked this breed out as I had seen that they were good duel purpose breeds and they were quite cold hardy (very important in a Manitoban winter!)
These birds have no issues with the cold and quite often go outside in the snow on milder days and by mild I mean usually down to -10'C.
They are great little foragers and are quite happy to scratch around outside all day if you will let them.
My Speckled Sussex roosters are the only ones to follow me around the yard while I do my chores, and it is not an uncommon sight to see them running after you with their wings frantically flapping in hopes that you have food.
They are very friendly birds and were the first to feel comfortable with human attention.
My only concern is that a few of the hens can be a bit mean to my smaller hen and the if any of the roosters are going to be fighting, it is a guarantee that it will be the Speckled Sussex. that being said, all the bullying and fighting is usually over in a few seconds and is never really too aggressive.
I would recommend this breed to any first time chicken handlers!

I have two of these pretty birds that I received from Cackle Hatchery this year. They aren't on top of the pecking order and they aren't last either which is surprising because I thought their speckles would make them more of a target for bullying but that doesn't seem to be the case. Riker (Number One) and Moe are often the first to come running when the treat bag comes out and have no shame about hopping into my lap or perching on my shoes while begging to get more treats than everyone else. They can be a little "grabby" when taking treats from the hand, sometimes catching a finger or your palm in the rush for food, but never viciously or deliberately pecking. And they're bold enough to come strolling into the house if the door is left open, even with two cats inside! So that is something to be aware of if you don't like your hens being overly personal, lol.

I love them for their funny, friendly personalities and docile nature, as well as their pretty speckles! If given half a chance, I'd always keep one or two of these well rounded birds in my backyard flock.