Speckled Sussex

The Speckled Sussex is a beautiful chicken that becomes more decorative with age. They are ideal for backyard chicken owners who need to impress neighbors, yet they still produce a fair number of eggs, and are good for eating when the time comes. However, they are not commonly used in the meat industry, because they develop slowly, but they a good choice for those who are not burdened by time.

• Appearance:
• Male: These birds are extremely beautiful and ornamental, they have a mahogany base with many feathers having a black bar, and ending in a white tip. The reason I say that these chickens become more beautiful with age is because with each molt the amount of white on the tip is a little more. So, eventually you have these fancy, white-speckled chickens. For males in particular they have very impressive sickles and the white and mahogany make a beautiful contrast on their hackle.
• Female: A hen is what is shown above, at an older age, and is equally beautiful, however, and will camouflage easily as will the male. If well-tended these can become very proper, and regal looking birds.
• Face: Red 
• Comb: Single-Medium
• Earlobes: Red
  
• Skin color: Pinkish white
• Beak color: Horn
  
• Eyes: Red-Orange
  
• Legs: Pinkish white
• Weight: Rooster-9 Hen-7 Cockerel-8 Pullet-6*
• Purpose: Dual-purpose
• Origin: Sussex, England
• Common: Yes
• Egg color: Light Brown
• Egg size: Medium to Large
  
• Eggs a week/year: 4 or so a week/200 a year
• Broody: Yes*
• Confinement: Great, but they are good free-range, as they are well camouflaged from predators.
• Compatibility: Good, they are more mellow, and will be closer to the bottom of the pecking order.
• Hardy: Yes, they are actually quite good winter layers, but as with almost any chicken, you want a small source of heat for them.
  
• Bantam:Yes *
  
• Personality: Mellow, and easily tamable, they are a good starter breed for new chicken owners. They are also commonly quite smart for a chicken.
• Available from:*
• eFowl.com
• Day Old: (Min. 5 in total) SR: $2.25, F: $2.60, M: $1.42
• Welp Hatchery
• Day Old: (Min. 1) SR: $2.30, F: $2.76 , M:$1.90
• McMurray Hatchery
• Day Old: (Min. 1) SR: $2.25, F: $2.72, M: $1.53

In general, a good jack-of-all-trades. They are a amazing breed, but one that is still easy to have and handle.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user: terrabytefarms
Information courtesy of: http://www.efowl.com/Speckled_Sussex_Chickens_p/1091.htm
http://www.poulacapplepoultry.com/html/sussex.html#speckled_sussex