Chicken breed
Sussex (Speckled)
Also called Speckled Sussex, Light Sussex, Red Sussex
The Sussex is an old English dual-purpose breed; the Speckled variety is the most common in US hatcheries. Hens are calm, curious and good layers of light brown eggs. They do well in winter but are not fond of heat.
At a glance
200–300eggs a year
4–6eggs a week
16–20weeks to first egg
7 lbhen weight
9 lbrooster weight
Largeegg size
Traits
- Cold hardyhigh
- Heat tolerantmedium
- Goes broodyhigh
- Fine in a small runhigh
- Egg colour
- light brown to tan
- Temperament
- calm, curious, friendly
- Good with kids
- Usually, yes
- Origin
- England (Sussex)
- Comb
- single
- Bantam size
- Available
- APA standard
- Recognized
- Conservation
- Recovering
- Purpose
- dual
Good for
- beginners
- families with children
- cold climates
- small runs
Watch out for
- not fond of hot weather
- lays best if not allowed to get overweight
- broodiness pauses laying
Looks and feathers
Speckled variety has mahogany feathers tipped white; APA varieties Light, Red, Speckled.
Our drawing shows the most common US variety; colours vary.
Similar breeds
All breedsSources
- 1Accepted Breeds & VarietiesAmerican Poultry Association
- 2Speckled Sussex Day Old Chicks (product/breed profile)Meyer Hatchery
- 3Sussex Chicken (breed facts)The Livestock Conservancy
- 4Sussex (breed page)My Pet Chicken
- 5Speckled Sussex (product/breed profile)Cackle Hatchery
- 6Managing Chickens From Chicks to Peak Egg ProductionUtah State University Extension (J. Okoh, E. Perry; October 2025)
- 7Chicken Breeds & Varieties (A2880), incl. APA standard weightsUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension
Hatcheries often disagree on eggs a year; ranges span every source we read. How we check the facts.