Light Sussex

$8.25

Light Sussex are a land race that evolved over 300 years in the south of England. Our conservation breeding of them is simply the recipe that created the breed in the first place: winter laying, good foraging ability and rapid growth. (Read The Story of Light Sussex in our blog.) We rear hundreds of chicks on pasture with minimal shelter — no pampered pullets here! We have gone to great lengths to bring in birds from distant parts of the genepool, and have been delighted to see the breed restored to the vigour it had prior to the advent of commercial layers and broilers. The result is a bird that is, in our opinion, a perfect balance on the dual-purpose scale between ‘eggy’ and meaty. Our birds are different from most show bred Sussex in having the correct body shape and posture, firm outer feathering with down below, and light bone for their size. The cockerels average 5.5 lbs (live wgt) at 16 weeks, dressing out as tender fryers that are perfect for the barbeque. Spring hatched pullets lay right through the winter when most other breeds take a break. If you are living off grid, or just want to enjoy a genuine old breed fit to the needs of 2 centuries ago, Light Sussex are your best choice.

Light Sussex chickens are active foragers, good mouse catchers and very friendly, tame birds. The Light Sussex roosters are gentlemen, and the hens are curious and busy girls. Many of the hens will go broody in late spring and will delight in raising chicks for you - who needs an incubator? Summer egg production is poor. Although we have not bred with the APA Standard Of Perfection as a top priority, these birds are pure-bred — many of them are show quality, and yes, we DO show them!