“At 10 weeks, our pair of hens are bright, friendly, confident and curious. They are funky-looking girls, and I'm looking forward to seeing them as adults.”
“Our speckled sussex has always been the most bold and curious bird out of our 10, day old, mixed breed chicks we got from MPC. Unfortunately she was extremely slow to feather, and by 12 weeks her flock mates (which were all feathered) started plucking her to the point of bleeding. She was separated for 2 weeks while her feathers grew back, but then she came down, extremely suddenly, with wryneck/stargazing. After $500 in vet visits, it was determined she had a deficiency in gut biota and vitamins (B, E) and the vet said since the other birds didn't have this issue it was probably genetically related. (They may have been affected by medicated chick feed, but only this bird had such a severe issue and was immuno-compromised- low white blood cell count and immunoglobulins). I hadn't seen anyone comment about issues like this on the reviews, but I have seen issues like this on the backyard chicken forums. She's only 3.5 months old, and the vet isn't sure if she will have life-long immune issues. For now, she's an indoor chicken after recovering from her vitamin deficiency (it was ROUGH and we didn't know if she'd make it) and is getting extra probiotics and vitamins daily. WONDERFUL breed but I would probably be afraid to get another in the future because of this experience. She's very chatty and likes to sit with us. She didn't at first- she was a very independent chicken when she was out in the run, but indoors, we've become her "flock" and she likes to be around us.”
“I ordered 4 Speckled Sussex pullets in October 2017. Purchase and receipt were very easy--just be ready to pick up from the central city post office during opening hours the day they arrive. They make a great flock, tolerate being petted and picked up, and are super curious, follow people around the yard, and come running for treats. They can fly up to perches about 3.5 feet high, and will fly down from much greater heights (which is unnerving). They can be a bit noisy, clucking at predators and calling for a few minutes to announce they've laid an egg, and they lay about 5 eggs/week each in their second year. They first started laying at age 22 weeks. In each of their two winters so far, they have molted, taking about 6-8 weeks off from laying. The description on mypetchicken is spot on for this breed. They've been awesome pets.”
“We received a speckled sussex through an assortment and let me tell you, next time we need chicks I will definitely be adding one of these ladies to the order. She is my sweetest, most outgoing hen. Our educational flock has a lot of visitors and she is always one of the first to let kids love on her. Everyone always comments on how pretty she is. A good layer, great in the flock (not a bully or pushover), and curious about everything I do - the perfect chicken.”
“I have owned many breeds over the years. This is my go to bird. They are fantastic egg layers and extremely friendly. They are easy keepers and never minded being "pets" to my kids. They readily adjusted to being held and petted. Awesome birds!”
“9 years ago we started keeping chickens and ‚ÄòSpeckled Sussex‚Äô (original name I know!) was in our very first shipment! In her 9 years she has welcomed many new chicks into the yard without issues, and has been a ‚Äòfriend‚Äô to my now 11 year old son. I love looking at the pictures of them together over the years. Although she still lays occasionally, she is mostly retired from laying now. She is still in good health and a beautiful bird!”
“I ordered one with my April batch this year. My daughter and I named her Moonpie; but she quickly became my husband‚Äôs favorite and called her Snickers, and my husband became her favorite person. She would follow my husband around the yard, and he would happily dig around the garden looking for grubs for her. She had beautiful plumage, a wonderful personality and was very chatty. She started laying. Unfortunately, we lost her to a hawk yesterday, while they were free-ranging. We‚Äôve restricted free range drastically now. We‚Äôre heartbroken, and will be ordering another this Spring. We highly recommend this breed, it is hard not to spoil and bond with these sweethearts. Our flock is not the same without our Sussex.”
