Sussex Hybrid
Sussex Hybrid Chickens For Sale
Introduction to Hybrid Sussex Chickens
The Hybrid Sussex is a wonderful all-round bird, they are a Hybrid derived from the traditional British breed The Sussex. They mainly come in 3 colours light, silver and buff and have a distinctive contrasting neck feather colouration. The are a hardy breed and great chickens for beginners as they have a lovely docile nature, they like people and are very friendly, they will follow you about and always come running when treats are on offer. Good with children as they are robust and sturdy, they have loads of patience and are not easily spooked or troubled. You can look forward to lovely fresh eggs nearly every day as they lay 280 large cream to light brown eggs a year!
*Please note, hybrid hens are cross bred and as such about 10% may not lay the specified coloured egg, if you want a guaranteed egg colour then opt for a pure breed chicken*
Caution
This indicates that this breed is not aggressive per-se, but not really suited to mix with smaller delicate bantams or to outnumber other breeds, they are better with their own kind or breeds of a similar size and nature.
Aloof But Friendly
This breed will be very inquisitive and friendly; however, they can seem a little aloof as they do not like being handled too much and will be self-sufficient, they prefer to chicken about doing their own thing.
250-300+ Large Cream/Light Brown PA
This breed can lay up to 300 large cream to light brown coloured eggs per year, they are not known for being broody.
More About Sussex Hybrids
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Character
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Suitability
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History
Character
The Hybrid Sussex is a lovely chicken, a great starter hen they are not easily troubled and very chilled out. They love treats and can be hand-tamed with ease, they don’t mind being handled and make fantastic pets for children. They are not overly flighty and are a confident and sturdy back garden laying hen. They are suited in mixed flocks and love to free roam, having a large garden or field would be ideal for the Hybrid Sussex. Not easily stressed the Hybrid Sussex is an easy to manage first-time keeper’s hen.
Suitability
Hybrid Sussex hens are great roaming birds, they love to forage and free range, they would not be suited to a very small back garden set up and would need lots of grass time and enrichment. Nutrition is important for hybrid chickens, they need a good layers’ pellet and extra treats with calcium, vitamin D and B12 to enable them to produce lots of lovely fresh eggs. You will need to ensure your area has feed and water available at all times. They love to forage so the perfect setting would be a large walk-in run for when you’re not around with lots of space to forage outdoors safely. You can use electric fencing to create safe areas for foraging if you have a big space. Hybrids can fly and would like a roosting bar for sleeping at night, they can also manage a house with a ladder or a ramp.
History
Hybrid Chickens come in many varieties and are usually cross-bred from different pure breeds such as the Light Sussex, Rhode Island Red and Leghorn. The Hybrid Sussex has been bred from lines of the traditional British pure breed hen the Sussex, the pretty neck feathers have maintained into the hybrid version making them quite hard to tell apart from the original pure breed. They are not easily stressed and are generally a very confident, friendly bird. Hybrid chicken development is quite new and only started in the 1950’s, before the hybrid chicken was created most farmers and poultry keepers kept pure breeds. Hybrids have been created to lay prolific numbers of eggs, but their egg production is short lived and they tend to slow down after about 3 years of laying, they are capable of laying approximately 280 cream to light brown eggs per year and are not known for being broody.
