HomeCountry of OriginUK → Light Sussex
This robust dual-purpose breed is one of the first Greenfire Farms imported. To this day, it remains a favorite. If you're looking for a gentle, productive breed, the light Sussex will outperform. Our Sussex flock has been certified by the American Poultry Association.
Item1+Quantity
Light Sussex Day-Old Chick Unsexed29.00
Light Sussex Eggs
In stock: 5
8.00
The light Sussex is a large dual-purpose bird that is grown for meat and kept for the extra large cream-colored eggs that the hens lay. In 2013, Greenfire Farms bolstered the Sussex gene pool in America by importing a new line of European light Sussex; the classic black and white Sussex variety most often associated with the breed. Our breeding stock are the offspring of light Sussex that took top honors in a national poultry show in Europe, and you can see from the conformation and coloring of their progeny how the parents won these awards.

Our recent import of these light Sussex is but another chapter in a Sussex-driven story that began years ago. Greenfire Farms imported chickens for the first time in 2007, and the first birds we imported were Sussex from Australia. In a very real sense the Sussex chicken launched Greenfire Farms. Included in this inaugural shipment of Sussex were two varieties previously unseen in America: coronations and silvers. Not only were these varieties new to America, but the Australian birds were unusually large and beautiful examples of the breed. The newly imported birds caused a stir in the poultry world at the time, and their effect continues unabated today.

Of course, the story of the Sussex begins many years before we first imported these birds. In fact, to study this breed is to understand that these birds are engaged in a slow march around the globe that began thousands of years ago. Descendants of the ancient fowl brought to England by Roman invaders, the Sussex chicken could be identified as a distinct breed in Sussex County, England almost two hundred years ago. The breed became standardized in 1903. Sussex hens lay upwards of 250 large, cream-colored eggs each year. With their pearlescent legs, these huge birds have a striking and regal appearance in the barnyard. Their behavior, too, is remarkable. More than most chicken breeds, Sussex exude a quiet confidence and an open curiosity about humans.

These are the many positive attributes of a breed that have helped ensure its survival for hundreds of years and, with your help, are likely to keep it going for at least a few hundred more. With both beauty and practicality Sussex bridge the past and present like few other chicken breeds, and they deserve a special place in America’s chicken coops.

The American Poultry Association has established a flock certification program for those chicken breeds that are included in the APA Standard of Perfection. Greenfire Farms breeds two chickens that are included in the APA Standard, black copper Marans and Light Sussex. In order for a flock to be certified as compliant with the APA standard the flock must be inspected by an APA judge and at least 98% of the flock has to conform to all major breed traits identified by the Standard. This sets a very high bar for breed conformity which is why you will rarely if ever find a large hatchery that produces chicks from APA certified flocks. However, in 2015 Greenfire Farms applied to have its black copper Marans and Light Sussex flocks inspected under the APA flock certification program, and our farm was visited by a former APA president and current APA judge. Based on this inspection, in 2016 our flocks were awarded APA certification. Because of this certification you can be assured you are receiving chicks produced by a flock meeting the highest APA standards.
Egg Color tan
Egg Size Large
Average number of eggs per year 240 - 260
Gamefowl no
Table Breeds Yes
Country of Origin UK
Cold tolerant no
Year of import(s) 2013