Your Guide to the Speckled Sussex Hen Breedfeatured

If you’re looking for a hardy, reliable breed of chicken that can withstand a variety of temperatures and weather conditions, look no further!  The Speckled Sussex hen has an easy-going temperament and a natural curiosity for the world.  They are beautiful birds with a coat of brown feathers with white spots.  Their markings are very distinct, and no two birds look the same.   They are normally very quiet but are prone to noise when they have laid an egg or when their owner is present (Yes, they love to talk to us.)  They free range most of the day and are exceptional foragers.  The Speckled Sussex is a dual porpoise breed, which means you can use them for both egg and meat production.

Personality Goes a Long Way

For those of you that want to fill your freezer with whole young hens, let me warn you that it will be harder than you think with the Speckled Sussex hen.  These birds have quite a personality, and quoting Jules Winnfield from Pulp Fiction, “Personality goes a long way”.  Their nature makes taking an axe to their head for tonight’s supper a real impossibility for me (even though they would fill a roaster quite nicely.) 

Speckled Sussex hens have very acute hearing just like any other animal.  In the mornings, someone generally goes down to spread some mixed grains for their breakfast.  As soon as the door to the house opens up and someone starts walking down towards the chicken yard, they are already screaming and running towards the gate.  Our Speckled Sussex hens are genuinely happy to see us!  Many of you are probably thinking that the bird is just excited about the food.  I will tell you that they walk away from the food after I spread it and follow me back to the gate when I try to leave.  Normally their shouting is just as loud when I am leaving, as if they are saying “Please, come spend time with us!”

Petra generally goes down and reads with them when the days are nice.  The hens gather around her and enjoy her company.  When we are in the chicken yard, all the birds follow us around.  Owners can pick up the Speckled Sussex and the hens normally do not mind. The hens are friendly, curious, and docile birds.  Speckled Sussex are intelligent (to the extent that barnyard foul can be) and can solve simple problems. 

Egg Production and Feed

The Speckled Sussex is a great egg producer, with each bird giving us between 180 and 200 eggs per year.  Last summer, we could generally depend on finding 5 – 6 eggs per day in the laying boxes.  Their eggs are medium to large pale brown eggs with a deep yellow yoke and a great flavor.  Expect their egg production to drop off in the winter, although we are still able to get 4 – 5 eggs per day with a good organic feed and ensuring they get enough protein.

In the mornings, we spread about 3 – 4 cups of scratch grains that we purchase from Rural King.  During the winter when the bug population is very low, we augment their scratch grains with a few handfuls of meal worms.  If not worms, we can also augment their protein with wet cat food (they love it!).  Our ladies are very fond of bacon and beef as well.

We have been giving them a treat of broccoli ever since they were chicks and they still love it!  During the summer, half a watermelon or cantaloupe is a favorite snack.  Leftover green beans, corn, and cooked carrots are more favorites for our hens.  Getting to know their likes and dislikes is half the fun.  Our hens has surprised us with the foods they love (cat food) and the foods they will not touch (kale).

Tough Enough for a Tennessee Winter

The Speckled Sussex is a hardy breed that can tolerate temperatures from -20F to 100F!  The breed is centuries old with their roots in England around the time of the Roman conquest. If these hens can take the wet cold of England, they are well-equipped to handle my farm in the high country of Tennessee.

But please don’t think our girls are roughing it.  We appreciate that our hens are hearty, but we don’t take any chances with the hens! Heat is as dangerous to Speckled Sussex hen as the cold and wet. Here’s a few things we have done to keep our hens comfortable:

• Our run enclosure uses metal mesh on all sides to separate the run from the outside.  We equip our chicken with plexiglass covers that screw in over the metal mesh.  The plexiglass protects our birds from the frigid winter wind. The hens still have to deal with the cold temperatures, but the frostbite that can be caused by extremely cold wind chills is prevented.
  
• This last winter had some very cold days of below 0F temperatures.  When we expect very cold nights of 20F or below, we place an electric radiator below the hen house inside the run.  The radiator keeps the hen house 12 – 15 degree higher than the outside temperature and gives our ladies a bit of relief.
  
• Our old hen house was a small shed with two small windows and no ridge vent. The hens stayed in this old shed last summer while we built their new hen house. The chicken run offered very little shade and temperatures last summer were very hot. We found a mobile A/C unit that made the hen house much more comfortable. The A/C reduced the temperature in the hen house by 10 – 20 degrees and greatly reduced the humidity. Insane? Perhaps, but our farm lost 0 hens to heat in a summer where chickens were dying left and right from the heat in surrounding farms.

Our Most Insane Weather Story

In December 2022, our region was hit by a winter storm that brought historic cold to our area.  We watched the temperature drop from 50F to -3F in a matter of hours during the storm!  Fortunately the weather forecast gave us plenty of warning and the hens were already situated with their radiator.  

The front came through early in the night. I looked at the web camera and noticed there was snow on the hens.  The wind was so strong that snow was entering the ridge vent above them.  We were confronted with having wet birds on a night when the temperature was dropping below 0F.  

We could have taken the chickens into the old hen house with the radiator and probably maintained 40F or 50F.  In a haste, we took them into our house instead.  We covered our furniture with tarps and gave them free reign over our sun room. The hens stayed for two days until the temperature finally rose above 10F.  The ladies were very conscientious about our furnishings, choosing an old cat tree as their perching location.  We routinely policed the room for chicken dropping every 4 – 6 hours.  Although it wasn’t an ideal situation for the chickens or for us, the cleanup wasn’t very difficult and the birds were probably spared frostbite or worse.

Speckled Sussex Love to Free Range

We have found that Speckled Sussex will tolerate living in a run, but they are happiest when they free range.  On our farm, we are fortunate enough to give them about an eighth of a acre where they can free range.  Their area happens to be under several trees.  During the fall and all winter, their favorite pastime is scratching at leaves to look for bugs.

Free ranging them will also greatly reduce the amount of money you are spending on feed.  I find that Speckled Sussex will forage almost all day long as long as the temperature isn’t too hot.  They are constantly looking for worms, bugs, seeds, and grass.  In the summer when all of these are plentiful, your feed bills will be greatly reduced and your hens will be very happy.

Don’t forget about the hens as a natural insecticide!  Unleashing them in your garden for a day is a great way to get rid of pests without having to use chemicals!  The hens will be happy to rid your gardens of mites and insects.  Be warned! They will begin to eye your fruits and vegetables if allowed to stay for extended periods of time unsupervised.

In Conclusion …

If you are a first time chicken owner, the Speckled Sussex might be the perfect breed for you!  They are robust, healthy birds that do not succumb easily to sickness or harsh conditions.  You will fall in love with their easy-going nature and love for their owners. You might find that your biggest problem is finding a home for all the eggs they produce.  Good luck!  Please reach out to us if you have questions about this classic chicken breed!