Among all breeds of chickens there are special, elegant, well-fed and excellent laying hens. This is Sussex - a breed bred in England. The name of the hens speaks of the county where they were bred. The breed has various subspecies, but each of them occupies a worthy place in poultry farming. If you choose a breed of chickens for home breeding, then the birds of this breed will definitely not disappoint their owners.
Color
Fleshy, silver-white sussex is a breed of chickens with a black mane and tail braids, large fly wings, strong legs of a pinkish tint and red earlobes. The breed has spread quite widely from England. She is bred both in poultry farms and in small private farms.
Silver color is transmitted through the maternal line, but her boys have it. Therefore, already day-old chicks can be divided by gender, taking into account the color of the fluff. Sussexes are often used for crossbreeding. As a rule, the purpose of crossbreeding is to obtain hybrid breeds - broilers.
Breeding
Sussex poultry is a breed of chickens that quickly adapts to any climatic conditions. It tolerates temperature drops quite well. This bird is unpretentious, so it is easy enough to grow. The colors are Colombian, silver, white, motley, lilac, lavender, wild brown, mottled, yellow-Colombian, porcelain sussex. The breed of chickens from the eponymous English county is very ancient. Back in the forties from R.H. this bird could be found in the Roman Empire. She gained very great popularity and all this thanks to her qualities.
These hens were bred initially exclusively for meat. After a while, people involved in poultry breeding realized that Sussex is a breed of egg-meat chickens, and with very high rates in both areas of poultry farming. In the territory of the former USSR, these hens appeared in 1961, thanks to which domestic producers in the field of poultry farming got crosses of Pervomayskaya and Adler silver breeds by crossing.
The Sussex Club in England was formed in 1903. Dwarfs appeared in 1924. English dwarf sussexes were Colombian (white-black) in color, and German ones were porcelain (brownish).
Sussex species characteristics (breed of chickens)
Description of the bird should begin with the skin. She is white. The chicken's head is small but wide. Sussex has a slightly curved and strong beak. The base of the beak is dark, and the tip is light. Scallop bright red color, leaf-shaped and straight. Scallops have teeth from 4 to 6. They are not high and have the correct shape. Chicken eyes are round and reddish, may be orange. The earlobes are also red and round. A small neck tapers towards the head, which has an excellent feather cover.
The body of the bird has a rectangular shape, a broad back, narrowed slightly to the tail. The abdomen is large in size. Chicken breasts are powerful and broad in shape. The wings are high and very tightly pressed to the body. They are short in size.
Distinctive qualities
Calm, contactable, knowing perfectly their owner - these are the qualities of the representatives of Sussex. The breed of chickens, reviews about which you can only hear positive ones, can please their owners with an excellent litter and a high-quality product. Poultry meat has a delicate structure with a high protein content. By weight, birds in adulthood reach 3 kg (chicken) and 4 kg (roosters). Already in half a year, hens successfully lay eggs. The indicators of egg production in the breed of sussex are 160–250 pieces. By weight, eggs reach 60 grams. Their color is from light beige to yellow-brown. Birds have a high survival rate of 90–98%. By seventy days old, the mass of chickens reaches 1.5 kg.
Advantages
Of course, this breed of domestic chickens has its own advantages in breeding:
- she rarely gets sick;
- loving;
- it is easy to feed - it is not picky;
- the bird does not require special conditions.
Keep chickens sussex preferably floor-standing. At the same time, a deep non-replaceable bedding and the possibility of walking in the winter are needed. It is important to monitor humidity and temperature. For winter, it is advisable to insulate the chicken coop, despite the fact that the breed is unpretentious and tolerates cold. Moms in this breed are caring. They have a highly developed instinct of incubation. The owners do not have problems with the expectation of offspring.
Species: porcelain, colombian and dominant sussex
The breed of chickens that it is recommended to breed in large poultry farms is the dominant brown and white. In the household - dominant gray-mottled, black, silver and blue. Hens of this species have practically no drawbacks. This is a universal egg breed. Dominant hens are able to lay up to 300 eggs in the first year. The breed has a high immunity and is able to live up to 10 years. A thick plumage keeps the bird in the cold.
The chestnut-colored Sussex porcelain is a breed of chickens with a black tail, which happens with black feathers in a small amount and around the neck. She lays eggs light brown. It is distinguished by endurance, calm disposition and is great for free content.
Most of all in Russia and on the territory of countries, in the past of the republics of the USSR, Columbian sussex is widespread. The breed of chickens of this type is very cute. Its distinguishing feature is the color, which we know more for such breeds as Adler silver and May Day. Initially, the ancestors of Colombian coloring were chintz sussexes. And today they can be found at exhibitions in England. Calico breeding sussexes are light species.
Light Sussex are carriers of the silvery gene, which, as mentioned above, is linked to the floor. This allows, when crossing with breeds that carry the golden gene, to get chicks that are distinguished by sex in a day. Purebreds have a light yellow color, and hybrids are dark yellow.
Chicken Feeding
As mentioned above, this is an unpretentious species of poultry. Even when fed with low-grade forage, the kriza will receive everything necessary for full development. With free content, they get their own food, especially dominants. Therefore, food can be given in small portions. Beginning poultry farmers can easily get this breed, since there will not be much trouble with it. The only requirement for food is a sufficient amount of calcium and protein. It is advisable to use feeders, drinking bowls, which significantly reduce feed consumption.
Despite the fact that the chickens are unpretentious, it is still best to pay some attention to the quality of the feed, especially wet. Ready-made factory feed is an excellent solution for an adult bird. This is a balanced product with everything you need. In the absence of such feed, the chicken is fed with grain mixtures, mineral additives are added. Chicks are given starter feed or chopped millet, cottage cheese, boiled egg, gradually adding chopped greens and mineral additives. In the morning, the chicks are given fish oil - 0.1 grams per individual.