Sussex chicken

The breed was developed in the county of Sussex, located on the southern coast of England. Today it is distributed worldwide; in our country, the white variety with black Columbian markings is the most commonly kept.

The Sussex is a medium-heavy chicken breed with dual-purpose utility. The hardy chicks grow quickly, feather rapidly, and are well-fleshed. They have a single comb, a rectangular body, white skin, and light-colored legs.

In terms of housing requirements, they need a clean, bright henhouse with the possibility of perching at night, and during the day access to a grassy run or at least a spacious outdoor aviary connected to the coop. The floor area depends on the size of the flock. A group consisting of 1 rooster and 6 hens will be well suited to a covered aviary measuring 3 × 2 m (under small-scale conditions, a maximum of 3 chickens can be kept per 1 m² of covered floor area). The birds stay there during unfavorable weather. If possible, the breeder lets them out into a green run. Sussex chickens are calm and easy to keep.

Feeding is the same as for other chicken breeds. The easiest and most efficient method is to use complete feed mixtures according to the age category of the poultry, with constant access to mineral grit and clean drinking water. In small-scale farming conditions, the most commonly used feeds are grains—wheat, maize, oats whole or ground; barley is used to induce molting. Breeders often make use of household scraps. If the poultry does not have daily access to a green run, bulky green feed should be provided, such as chopped young grass, vegetable tops, cabbage, kale, nettles, dandelion, lettuce leaves, alfalfa, etc.

Sussex chickens grow quickly and mature early. With proper full feeding, roosters reach an adult live weight of 3.5 to 4.0 kg, hens 2.5 to 3.0 kg. Hens lay 170 to 190 brown-shelled eggs per year. The minimum weight of hatching eggs is set at 60 g. Broodiness is suppressed, and chicks are hatched in artificial incubators. The incubation period is 21 days. Ring sizes: roosters 22 mm, hens 20 mm.

In addition to the white variety with black Columbian markings mentioned above, the following color and pattern varieties have been bred: white; yellow with black Columbian markings; red with black Columbian markings; partridge; silver-necked; silver-gray; silver partridge barred; red porcelain (brown porcelain); barred.

As with other breeds, bantam Sussex have also been developed. They were bred independently by German and English breeders. They are kept in the same color and pattern varieties as their large counterparts. The weight of the rooster is 1.0 to 1.4 kg, and the hen 0.8 to 1.2 kg.

In hens, an annual production of about 110 brown-shelled eggs is reported; the minimum weight of hatching eggs is set at 35 g. Roosters are ringed with 15 mm rings, hens with 13 mm rings.