Is my pekin bantam male or female?

[House MD 221B]

Hi there, I was wondering what anyone might be able to tell me about the Sasso breed of chicken, I've done lots of googling and wikipedia-ing, but I'd love to hear some experiences from people who've actually kept them.

 

We're potentially buying two, to add to our current flock of two, and I'd love to know more about their personalities and temperaments, especially whilst introductions take place.

 

At present, we have a 2 year old Sussex (white), and a 2 year old Crested (Bare bum on the right, feathers are back now though) Sadly we lost Poach (Black) and Angua (the bantam) this year due to natural causes.

 

 

One of the Sassos is a 1 year old, the other is 15 weeks. Now we could take 2 that are 15 weeks, as the people we might be buying from have 3 15 week hens, and 1 1 year old. But we thought that people might not want a 1 year old chicken, whereas we're not too picky so long as it's happy, healthy, strong, and lively.

 

But I'd love some advice, and I'd be very greatful to anyone who can help us.

 

Thank you kindly.

[Redwing]

A Sasso is a type of meat chicken

 

They are hybrids and reach 'table' weight very quickly - less than 20 weeks

 

If you want to keep them as pets you have to keep them moving as they are very inclined to laziness (if you have ever seen footage of meat chickens in a barn you'll see they just sit around or eat as thats what they have been designed to do)

 

They do lay quite well but they just get too heavy for their legs, I had one that reached two years old but she eventually just got too heavy and couldnt cope at all

 

They arent ideal backyard laying hens and not really suited to a laying life full stop but you are more likely to be sucessful if they have extensive free ranging. They are docile though and easy to handle (if unwieldy!) they are easy going and get on well with other birds in general

 

On a practical note, they eat LOADS and poo LOADS and its smelly, far worse than your average laying bird

 

If I have midunderstood and you actually want them for meat then they are a great choice

 

The pic below shows a Sasso (back, left) in this pic she is at least 8 months younger than the others and was already more than twice their bodyweight

 

[House MD 221B]

I am so glad I asked, thank you so much, we now strongly believe that these are not the chickens for us. It's a shame as breeders are few and far between here on the Isle of Wight.

 

Thank you, even though our girls pretty much get full free-range privileges all the time, I don't think the Sasso is for us as we want layers rather than meat, I couldn't possibly eat one of our girls.

 

Back to breeder searching!

[Cheeky Chooky]

Such a gorgeous photo

[Redwing]

If you are a member of the Practical Poultry forum try contacting Stevenmarie who is in the IOW, also try the IOW Poultry Club, they will know of breeders on the island, they are a very active and friendly club

 

CC - they didnt like the snow, they all ran to the door and then slammed the brakes on, the two behind actually cannoned in to the ones in front

[House MD 221B]

Thank you, I've found two for the IOW Poultry clubs, both don't have any info on breeders sadly, so maybe I've found two incorrect sites, however I shall try contacting them.

 

Also I've signed up to Practical Poultry Forum and am awaiting admin's approval, so I shall endeavour to make contact with Stevenmarie asap.

 

Worst case, we'll just have to rent a hire car, and book a ferry ticket and look at some mainland breeders.

 

The Isle of Wight rates the worst place in the country for animal cruelty, so I must confess I'm not overly keen to buy on the Island. (I know not everyone should be tarnished with the same brush) But I am very picky about breeders, we want to make sure we get happy, healthy chickens with all the vaccinations they require. But there does seem to be a genuine shortage of island based suppliers.

 

But again, thank you so much for the help and information, hopefully something fruitful will come from it.

[Redwing]

If you can find a contact number for the IOW POultry Club try to get hold of Jed Dwight who is very helpful

 

Bear in mind though that nearly all pure breeds arent vaccinated full stop whether that be on the mainland or IOW, there is generally no need to vaccinate if you have a healthy robust flock

 

Its usually only hybrids that are vaccinated as they are hatched on an industrial scale for an intensive lifestyle

[House MD 221B]

Okay thank you, I shall bare that in mind. And I'll ask for Jed must admit I am slightly gutted, I was so excited to be potentially getting two new chooks tomorrow providing they were healthy and the breeders seemed capable. (Which thus far they've been lovely to speak to about them, very helpful) It's a shame they just aren't the breed for us. But it needs to be right, not just for us, but for the girls we already have, and the girls we intend to get later as well.

 

Thank you so very much, the isle of wight is still very much a black spot in terms of internet, very few local businesses here bother with web pages, it's still all phone-book and ads in the post office, which is nice and quaint in it's own way, but in times like these can be very time consuming and frustrating.

[Cheeky Chooky]

CC - they didnt like the snow, they all ran to the door and then slammed the brakes on, the two behind actually cannoned in to the ones in front