General Information
- Breed Purpose
- Dual Purpose
- Comb
- Single
- Broodiness
- Average
- Climate Tolerance
- Heat
- Egg Productivity
- High
- Egg Size
- Small
- Egg Color
- Tinted
- Breed Temperament
- Alert, feisty, curious
- Breed Colors/Varieties
- Mottled
- Breed Size
- Large Fowl
Aloha Chickens are a project bird being bred primarily in Arizona and more recently the Midwest, Texas, and Northwest. This is a mixed strain, in progress, and not an actual finished breed yet. However, there is a unique bloodline to Aloha Chickens that came from some Mexican game-type Mottled stock discovered in the southern area of Phoenix, AZ.
This unique line is not found in any other existing commercial breed. The original Foundation Aloha strain of small gamey spotted chickens bred 100% true to type and color. They were/are small, colorful, and tough as nails. As efforts have been made to improve body type, by introducing new larger breeds, they now do not breed true like the smaller original type did. The goal is to keep the striking color and tough disease resistance of the small chickens while adding size and Heritage body type.
These colorful Mexican chickens that founded the Aloha line were good fliers, great layers, and extremely durable. Roos were culled against any sign of aggression very early on, and now Aloha roos are very mild mannered. Multiple Aloha roos can be housed in the same coop with each other with no fighting at all. The smaller foundation type Aloha roosters are often "pals" when raised together.
Pros: Alohas are tough, hearty, heat tolerant, curious, very smart, robust, predator savvy, good fliers, and reliable layers, and come in a rainbow of mottled colors. (More colors than seen in a Swedish Flower.) If I were to compare the original smaller Alohas to an existing breed, they were most like Icelandic Chickens in body size and type, and temperament. However, they are not related to Icelandics at all. (Although many older type Alohas look just like Icelandics!)
As of 2019, about 10 years into the project, the average Aloha is about the same size as a Welsummer, with largest hens being Sussex sized and smallest Leghorn size. (About 3 1/2 to 5 pound range in hens.) The largest well colored rooster was recently measured at 26 inches tall and over 9 pounds, so work in recent years to improve size has been successful. However, to keep the gene pool varied, there is a wide mix of bloodlines, so there is still much variance between individuals.
Improved strains have been mixed with Heritage breeds such as Buff Sussex, New Hampshire Red, Speckled Sussex, and even Turken. As a result Alohas are now bigger and more uniform than they were even a few years ago as they move further away from the small, more gamey Mexican stock they started from.
Cons: Aloha can run small in size, with the smallest ones about the same size as a Leghorn. Larger, "improved" strains do not breed true if they are mixed heavily with other breeds. Good fliers also means they can be difficult to contain. Alohas lay medium tinted eggs, not the "extra large" or "jumbo" size eggs. You must breed a lot of them to pick out the best examples at this stage, as amount of spotting is different from one bird to another. Most will show spots but the quality of the pattern varies wildly.
Currently, Alohas are being crossed with other larger Heritage type breeds to improve the size of both the chickens and their eggs. It is very much a breed in progress. Strongest emphasis will be on golden and red colors with mottling, however, because the reddish mottled colors are rarely seen. (Buff Mottled, Mille Fleur, Red Mottled, for example, are a strong focus, because these colors are less common on large fowl
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The future generations will contain some trace of Swedish bloodlines, but efforts are being made not to introduce too much of any one "outside" breed and to make a new breed that is uniquely American in origin.
The goal is to create something very much like a Speckled Sussex with yellow legs and a greater variety of color, that shows colors NOT seen in any other breed. Basically, an American Swedish Flower type of chicken, without a crest.
When finished, it is hoped that this strain will be faster to mature than Swedish and come in even more colors. Early efforts look promising but there is still a lot of work to be done.
If you like Speckled Sussex, Exchechquer Leghorns, Mille Leghorns, Anconas, or Swedish Flower Hens, you would probably enjoy these.
This unique line is not found in any other existing commercial breed. The original Foundation Aloha strain of small gamey spotted chickens bred 100% true to type and color. They were/are small, colorful, and tough as nails. As efforts have been made to improve body type, by introducing new larger breeds, they now do not breed true like the smaller original type did. The goal is to keep the striking color and tough disease resistance of the small chickens while adding size and Heritage body type.
These colorful Mexican chickens that founded the Aloha line were good fliers, great layers, and extremely durable. Roos were culled against any sign of aggression very early on, and now Aloha roos are very mild mannered. Multiple Aloha roos can be housed in the same coop with each other with no fighting at all. The smaller foundation type Aloha roosters are often "pals" when raised together.
Pros: Alohas are tough, hearty, heat tolerant, curious, very smart, robust, predator savvy, good fliers, and reliable layers, and come in a rainbow of mottled colors. (More colors than seen in a Swedish Flower.) If I were to compare the original smaller Alohas to an existing breed, they were most like Icelandic Chickens in body size and type, and temperament. However, they are not related to Icelandics at all. (Although many older type Alohas look just like Icelandics!)
As of 2019, about 10 years into the project, the average Aloha is about the same size as a Welsummer, with largest hens being Sussex sized and smallest Leghorn size. (About 3 1/2 to 5 pound range in hens.) The largest well colored rooster was recently measured at 26 inches tall and over 9 pounds, so work in recent years to improve size has been successful. However, to keep the gene pool varied, there is a wide mix of bloodlines, so there is still much variance between individuals.
Improved strains have been mixed with Heritage breeds such as Buff Sussex, New Hampshire Red, Speckled Sussex, and even Turken. As a result Alohas are now bigger and more uniform than they were even a few years ago as they move further away from the small, more gamey Mexican stock they started from.
Cons: Aloha can run small in size, with the smallest ones about the same size as a Leghorn. Larger, "improved" strains do not breed true if they are mixed heavily with other breeds. Good fliers also means they can be difficult to contain. Alohas lay medium tinted eggs, not the "extra large" or "jumbo" size eggs. You must breed a lot of them to pick out the best examples at this stage, as amount of spotting is different from one bird to another. Most will show spots but the quality of the pattern varies wildly.
Currently, Alohas are being crossed with other larger Heritage type breeds to improve the size of both the chickens and their eggs. It is very much a breed in progress. Strongest emphasis will be on golden and red colors with mottling, however, because the reddish mottled colors are rarely seen. (Buff Mottled, Mille Fleur, Red Mottled, for example, are a strong focus, because these colors are less common on large fowl
View attachment 547735
The future generations will contain some trace of Swedish bloodlines, but efforts are being made not to introduce too much of any one "outside" breed and to make a new breed that is uniquely American in origin.
The goal is to create something very much like a Speckled Sussex with yellow legs and a greater variety of color, that shows colors NOT seen in any other breed. Basically, an American Swedish Flower type of chicken, without a crest.
When finished, it is hoped that this strain will be faster to mature than Swedish and come in even more colors. Early efforts look promising but there is still a lot of work to be done.
If you like Speckled Sussex, Exchechquer Leghorns, Mille Leghorns, Anconas, or Swedish Flower Hens, you would probably enjoy these.
