Speckled Sussex
Also known as: Sussex
A friendly old English dual-purpose breed whose speckled mahogany plumage gets more flecked with white at each molt: curious, people-oriented, and often called one of the most personable backyard chickens. Speckled Sussex lay about 200-250 light brown eggs a year and forage enthusiastically, so they thrive with room to roam, though that same curiosity can lead them to wander.
Figures verified against 3 sources. Ranges reflect variation by strain and individual bird.
At a glance
- Eggs / year
- 200–250
- Egg size
- large
- Purpose
- dual-purpose
- Class
- Large fowl
- Hen weight
- 6.5–7 lb
- Rooster weight
- 8.5–9 lb
- Starts laying
- 18–20 weeks
- Lifespan
- 6–8 years
- Comb
- single
- Noise
- moderate
- Origin
- England
- Conservation
- Recovering
Egg color: Tinted Brown
Temperament & suitability
Appearance
Rich mahogany plumage flecked with white speckles that increase with each molt. One of several Sussex color varieties.
Varieties
This page represents the Speckled, one of the two original Sussex varieties recognized in 1914. The APA recognizes only Speckled, Red, and Light; UK standards add more colors that are not APA-recognized.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Friendly, curious, follows you around the yard
- Good dual-purpose layer
- Excellent free-range forager
Cons
- Curiosity can mean wandering
- Only moderate heat tolerance
- Can go broody
Common questions
What color eggs does a Speckled Sussex lay?
Light brown to tinted eggs, about 200-250 per year.
Are Speckled Sussex friendly?
Very. They're known as one of the most people-oriented backyard breeds.
When will your Speckled Sussex start laying?
Just got chicks? Enter their hatch date and we’ll estimate the first-egg window for a Speckled Sussex, based on its point of lay of 18–20 weeks. Hens rarely read the calendar, so treat it as a range.
Similar breeds
Sources
Verified 2026-07-06. Weights (hen ~7 lb, rooster ~9 lb), tinted-to-brown eggs (200-250/yr) and English class confirmed by Wikipedia and the Livestock Conservancy, which lists Sussex as Recovering. Speckled is the oldest Sussex color variety.