Sussex

I have just loved this breed of chicken. I got my first light Sussex about a decade ago and am currently looking for a breeder to obtain more in the spring. They have been my friendliest birds along with my Delaware and Dorkings. I will always have them in my flock from this point forward.

I have a flock of 11. I was supposed to have 3-speckled Sussex hens, but 2 ended up being roosters. All three are very calm, extremely friendly, and easy to care for. My hen, Lucy, is too nice and ends up being low on the pecking order scale, only above the 3- Silkies. She is a good egg producer and started laying at 20-weeks.

Got her with a few others at Coastal farm store as chicks. Never was friendly. Lays every 2 days or so. Avoids me unless there are treats. Got for the plumage, but just disappointed in the breed, at least the quality from Coastal farm.
Won't be purchasing again unfortunately.

I got one of these beautiful birds as a pet on my birthday a few years ago. Such a lovely bird! She loves attention and loves being pet or hand-fed. She would even fly outside my window, and would always wait for me to open the window to pet her and carry her back into her coop. every time I came home before dark, I would always go to the coop and hand feed her some corn, She is so soft and gentle. The trust and bond I have between me and my light Sussex, Snowball is stronger than titanium. I love her very much. Overall, the light Sussex is an extremely friendly bird, they are normally at the top of the pecking order because of their large size, but they rarely peck other chickens. They are perfect for if you want to raise them as pets.

Warning: I got my light Sussex chickens from a very good breeder, so the prices would most likely be lower in other places.

I love my speckled Sussex. I think the speckled pattern is actually prettier than mille fleur pattern. Their very friendly and easy to keep.
If you can find them, which most feed stores order speckled ones, you really need to buy some. And their easy to sex at an early age. Beautiful!

My speckled Sussex, Vanelope, is so sweet and beautiful. I’d recommend them for any chicken keepers! Mine was pretty small compared to the others when she was a chick, but had grown well. Compared to sapphire gem of same age.
Also, look at the speckled coming in!

Overall, I like them. They were the last to start laying at 30 weeks, but average 6 eggs each per week now. Eggs are half the size of my sex link, calico, sapphire, etc. They don't fight or act flighty, but aren't really friendly either. They come up to me, but prefer a hands off interaction.

Probably the prettiest chickens I've ever seen! We got them from a neighbor as adults so we didn't get to take them much, but they adapted well and quickly got to the point of handfeeding. They are great layers and a breed I would love to get again someday!

In the summer of 2018 the first speckled Sussex chick iv'e ever had arrived from Meyer hatchery.
I had wanted one since 2016 when I saw one on a youtube hencam.
I fell immediately in love with the though of a big speckled girl in my flock.
Anyway, Ethel"thats what I named her arrived in July as a day old chick and the second I popped that box open iv'e had a chicken child.
She's so nosy! Wanting to be everywhere I am and what im doing at all times.
She's clingy, she's on me so much she's a fashion accessory at this point.
She's jealous, yeah im serious Ethel wants all the attention nobody gets in the Ethel zone.
She's smart, she fakes illness and injury to get treats.
Nature gifts these birds physically as well, their coloration blends into a forest floor amazingly.
They seem to forage on nearly anything, Ethel seems to be fond of moss which is something iv'e not seen the other breeds eat.
Ethel lays pretty much every day, her eggs are a light tan and unusually round but im pretty sure that is an individual quirk.
Im extremely happy with her, but I didn't exactly get a big speckled girl.
Ethel is very small even nearing her 2nd birthday, im guessing due to being a hatchery kid.
She's a compact sized speckled Sussex, she's unique.

One of my favorite breeds! They are very friendly towards humans and other chickens, and the Speckled Sussex are beautiful birds. They are good layers and cold hardy. I would highly recommend this breed!

My Sussex chickens are the same 4 I have had for 3 years. They love going out for runs and are very comical sometimes. They will allow you to pet them and get to know you after some time. Mine sometimes fall asleep in my arms. We get eggs everyday for around 3 years so far, excluding moulting season and some of winter time.

A funny incident I experienced that show how fun they are was when Our small dog jumped up at the side of the cage and endedup getting a peck in the nose.

They have little cons, most of which I don’t mind at all. They get very big, so I needed to extend upon the original chicken house. Sometimes they like to announce to the neighbourhood that they have laid an egg or that they want to be let out for a run, and have a passion for singing loudly in the mornings.9

I got my SS as an older pullet and I'm sad that I didn't get to raise her as a baby because I wish she was less skittish. I would love to cuddle her because she's so cute and fluffy. She's a pretty consistent layer (about 5 eggs per week) and she's pretty quiet for the most part. She's sometimes vocal when I come out and she wants treats or grass clippings haha. She's a very docile chicken and is unfortunately the bottom chicken because of it. She got picked on when first introduced and has since been accepted in the flock but still avoids the BR.

Curious, friendly, companionable. Love this breed! Great size for a backyard flock, willing to investigate new things and keep me company when I'm out in the garden.
Bottom of the pecking order and seems just fine with it, silly things.
Can't comment on meat quality, as we keep them as pets and egg birds.

My experience with Sussex is limited to our single Speckled Sussex named Bear. She is by far my 21 month old son's favorite hen within our backyard flock of 7. Bear was named after a character in a favorite cartoon of my son's - we also have a GLW named Goldie. Bear let's my little guy pet her, comes running any time we enter the coop, and is willing to take handfed treats of seeds and leaves. My son likes to grab a long stemmed weed and let Bear eat the leaves -it looks like he is fishing for chickens. Bear is willing to be held, and is always my go to when guests come over and want to see the chickens. I'll pick her up and she'll let anybody pet her. She'll even let my son pick her up - which I have to be careful of since he doesn't really pick her up the safest way. Yet Bear doesn't squawk or peck. She let's him carry her around. Additionally, we can count a 4-5 eggs a week from her so far. She is still young, but the eggs are bigger than our GLW's (same age and started laying about the same time). Additionally, she started laying at 16 weeks old - early layer for sure.

I noted as a con, that the Sussex can and will fly. This is because our Bear has flown over the coop that stand over 5' tall and I've seen her fly at my eye level (I'm 5'10") a distance of over 10' just because she wanted to get around the garden fence to be by us. The chicken run is surrounded in 6' fence though and she (nor any of our other chickens) has not flown over the tall fence

Lastly, I cannot nor will I ever be able to comment on their meat quality. That's because our Sussex, Bear, has won over our hearts and is part of the family. The Sussex is a great breed for any backyard chicken keeper.

This breed is my favorite thus far. We have had Speckled Sussex sine we started raising chickens in 2014. They are very docile towards other chickens unlike our Easter Eggers or Aracanas who are just plain bullies. They lay every day and through all seasons. They tend to be broodier than my other hens and did well raising their little ones. My only complain is they always fly out of the chicken lot when we are wanting them to stay in for whatever reason ( usually because we are gardening or planting grass seed.) However, I will say at least they also fly back in on their own and we never have to catch them.

My Speckled Sussex hens are, by far, the friendliest chickens i’ve ever had. As soon as I walk out the door they come running and they follow me everywhere. Cleaning the coop is a bit challenging because they are always at my feet and want to see what I’m doing. I highly recommend this breed!

I love my little ss hen "noffy" to death. She loves to sit on my shoulders and chat away while I tend to the flower beds. She also tolerates being held by the children in the house. She's the nicest little bugger!

I can only speak for our two SS, but they are my favorite breed out of the several breeds that we own. The two SS are the first hens to run up to us after work and ask for treats. They let our two young boys hold them and even chase the boys around the yard in the afternoon. They are far more friendly than our other hens including the EEs and RIRs.