SUSSEX CHICKENS

Sussex chickens

My two sussex chickens with an Isa
 Brown and rooster poking their
 heads in

 A good friend of mine works at an animal rescue centre and every now and then she gets stray chickens in. When she gets a chicken in she calls me up to see if I'm interested in giving them a new home. Yesterday i received a call and she told me that she had these huge gorgeous girls in, but she wasn't sure of the breed. I told her i was interested and she brought them to me that night. Before she left a ranger came in and he told her that they were Sussex. I have a light Sussex hen and a speckled Sussex hen. I'm looking forward to receiving my first eggs from them. Previously she has given me 3 Isa browns and one black hen that turned into a rooster, but we knew there was a risk that that would happen as he was young when we got him. He is due for the pot :( as I can't keep a rooster in suburbia. When we used to live in the Dandenongs we used to have a rooster and so did all my neighbours so it was very well accepted. I don't think that will be happening here. 

Light Sussex chicken

Speckled Sussex chicken

If you are after chickens is it well worth a couple of phone calls to animal rescue centres and they usually don't charge anything or not very much for the hens that are brought in. They are usually required to house them for some time so they will be able to tell you weather or not they are laying. But keep in mind that when a chicken is stressed it is more than likely that they will stop laying so this may not be the most accurate determination of weather they are productive or not. All my Isa browns laid in the shelter but these Sussex haven't. So it will be a waiting game, they look to be in fantastic health and to be young in age so i have no doubt that they will lay, they will just need to get used to their new environment. It will also be depend on how urgently you want the hens and their availability is only when one is lost or abandoned. 

all my chooks having a feed

speckled Sussex chook