THE REALITIES ABOUT POULTRY The Modern Farm - The Realities About Poultry_Seco | Page 12

Eggs
The Sussex was bred to be a dual purpose bird and is one of the most productive breeds of
poultry. They lay large eggs that are cream to light brown in colour. A person owning a hen of
this breed should expect approximately 240 to 260 eggs a year (from 180 to 320 eggs), although
the light and white varieties are the best choice for layers. Recently there has been an olive green
coloured egg introduced to some Light Sussex breeds, although these green egg layers are very
rare. In some cases, exhibition lines that have been selected for exhibition qualities rather than
egg laying over many generations may produce lower eggs numbers, although there are plenty of
good laying lines still available.
Meat
It is a good producer of meat and all of the varieties are a good choice to have for this purpose.
The chicks mature quickly for heavy breed but the speckled is slowest to mature. The carcass is a
larger leggier shape than the commercial broiler chicken, but is closer to the heritage meat
produced in the past. Cockerels that are harvested at around six months of age will be meaty
with a firmer flesh than the younger broiler chicken of today.
 New Hampshire Chicken: The New Hampshire breed of chicken originated in the state
of New Hampshire in the United States. The mature birds are a rich chestnut red, of a somewhat
lighter and more even shade than the Rhode Island Reds. The chicks are also a lighter red. A
dual purpose chicken, selected more for meat production than egg production. Medium heavy in
weight, it dresses plump carcass used as either a broiler or a roaster.
They possess a deep, broad body, grow feathers very rapidly, are prone to go broody and make
good mothers. Most pin feathers are reddish, brownish buff in color and, therefore, do not
detract from the carcass appearance very much. The color is a medium to light red and often
fades in the sunshine. The comb is single and medium to large in size; in the females it often
lops over a bit. While mainly raised for meat, they are also modest producers of brown eggs.
Some strains lay eggs of a dark brown shell color. New Hampshire chickens are competitive and
aggressive, with other chickens.
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