How is your flock today?

[CheerioTheBuffRooster]

My chickens are doing pretty well today.
It's around 25° F today where I live, so they like standing in their run and doing what I call the flamingo pose, standing on one leg and tucking the other in their feathers. I shoveled the snow and made patch for them to get to the grass (what little of it there is left) outside and they loved it!

 

[416bigbore]

My chickens are doing pretty well today.
It's around 25° F today where I live, so they like standing in their run and doing what I call the flamingo pose, standing on one leg and tucking the other in their feathers. I shoveled the snow and made patch for them to get to the grass (what little of it there is left) outside and they loved it!

Welcome to our little group. Glad to hear your chickens are doing well, is this there first winter?

I think the snow and cold can be depressing for animals just like humans. Our young small mixed flock has yet to experience snow and or any temps below 18F at night. They all sure do enjoy it when the sun decides to stay out for more then five minutes at a time.

Since we have no grass just mud, I been busy sprouting wheat for them along with giving them extra kale and they seem to enjoy that. Hopefully we have an early spring this year.

 

[416bigbore]

@416bigbore I have already been working with the Naked Neck's for about 3 year's, and found that they handle our hot summer's here better than some of the other breed's. I played around with the egg color genetics in them, and even have a NN/CCLB cross hen that lay's green egg's. I liked the Aloha's because they are so colorful and big, and they were developed right here in Arizona. I thought that it would be cool to help in the breeding of more of those Aloha's, plus cross some into my NN's also to make some NN-Aloha's. The Aloha rooster's are supposed to average 10-pound's as weight, so I was told.

I got my rooster that's in my Avatar that I named Manoa from @wolfwalker . Then I went and picked up the 10 newly hatched chick's from Sommer who is the one that developed these. I'm still waiting for the chick's to mature. The pullet's will be for Manoa, and I'm planning to keep one cockerel to breed with the only NN that I have that has the yellow leg's. I've been looking for more NN's like her, but have been unsuccessful so far. My other NN's all have the darker colored leg's.

I have been incubating egg's for a few year's now. I like the idea of replenishing my own flock. I first decided to even start having a flock a few year's ago when the price of egg's went up so high. Now with what I have, I can have meat and egg's if need be.

No, I won't be getting any duck's as I don't want to have to deal with all the water and mud.

If I understand you correctly, you bought Manoa and not incubated him yourself? When full grown, how tall will he stand? I am guessing he is a purebred Aloha Rooster?

Sorry, is Sommer a person or hatchery? Can you please explain to me about leg color, I guess yellow is better for a reason?

I like your self-sufficiency of being able to replenish your own stock and fresh eggs and meat is an added bonus. I have seen where a lot of people can't understand the concept of any poultry being anything more then just pets. I hope I said that correctly.

I agree ducks aren't for everyone and hands down can be very messy, how they love their water and mud cocktails!

 

[BlueBaby]

If I understand you correctly, you bought Manoa and not incubated him yourself? When full grown, how tall will he stand? I am guessing he is a purebred Aloha Rooster?

Sorry, is Sommer a person or hatchery? Can you please explain to me about leg color, I guess yellow is better for a reason?

I like your self-sufficiency of being able to replenish your own stock and fresh eggs and meat is an added bonus. I have seen where a lot of people can't understand the concept of any poultry being anything more then just pets. I hope I said that correctly.

I agree ducks aren't for everyone and hands down can be very messy, how they love their water and mud cocktails!

I didn't buy Manoa, I was given him. @wolfwalker had an extra Aloha cockerel, so he let me have it. I'm not sure how tall he will stand when full grown, but I was told that the rooster's average weight is 10-pound's.

Sommer is a person. She's the one that developed these Aloha's here in AZ. She want's the yellow leg's to be the accepted color for these, and someday have enough line's of these going to be accepted by the APA. Sommer is a member here at BYC, and she goes by @alohachickens . Here's one of her thread's:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/show-quality-naked-neck-turken-body-type.1154336/

 

[416bigbore]

@BlueBaby Ok, I think I understand a little better now after look at the link and a few others on the Aloha breed and your little project you are starting. Sounds very interesting over just having a common chicken breed.

So I am guessing this Aloha breed will be a limited number of chickens in existence?

 

[BlueBaby]

@BlueBaby Ok, I think I understand a little better now after look at the link and a few others on the Aloha breed and your little project you are starting. Sounds very interesting over just having a common chicken breed.

So I am guessing this Aloha breed will be a limited number of chickens in existence?

Right now they are basically going to people that want to work with them to help build them up.

 

[BlueBaby]

I found a new pullet egg out there today, and didn't catch who layed it. I'm thinking that it was one of the Silver Grey Dorking pullet's that layed it though. They are about due to start.

 

[416bigbore]

@BlueBaby A new egg that is awesome Congrats. So when you do decide to start incubating eggs, is there a criteria to which eggs you pick? Meaning the eggs are from an adult hen and not a pullet, if that makes a difference?

Do you have any goal objectives in working with this new Aloha Breed?

How is Manoa's temperament as a rooster, are you able to hold him without any issues ?

Sorry for all the questions, I find your new project interesting.

 

[BlueBaby]

@416bigbore I wait until the egg's are about the right size. I don't like trying to hatch the smaller egg's. Sometimes I just pick the egg's from certain hen's. The hatch that I did back in June was from only 3 of the hen's, and all 3 hen's egg's were a different color.

I don't run around holding my chicken's. I don't make lap pet's out of them. As long as a rooster moves out of my way when I'm in there, then he can stay. If he doesn't, then he will get into more trouble than he can handle. Although I try to rehome any extra rooster's that I have for free to people that need one for a flock, I never re-home a rooster that is mean. Any mean one's would get culled.

My goal with the Aloha's is to try to follow whatever Sommer said that they need to be as per shape and that. I will be breeding for the regular Aloha's, plus helping to develop the Naked Neck version of them also.

 

[BlueBaby]

Hey, @416bigbore are you going to be in on doing this for the 2012 Easter Hatch-A-Long? There's plenty of time for you to prepare and get ready for it!

Set Chicken eggs on Saturday, March 13th at Noon (whatever time zone you are in).

Other poultry breed setting dates listed in the table below:

Type of Egg	Days to Hatch	Set Dates
Emu	49 - 55	February 7 to February 13
Muscovy duck	35	February 27
Goose	28 - 32	March 2 to March 6
Pheasant	22 - 29	March 5 to March 12
Mallard (derived) duck, goose,	28	March 6
Turkey, Guinea, Peafowl	28	March 6
Call duck and other bantam ducks	26	March 8
Bobwhite quail	23	March 11
Seramas other small bantams	19 - 21	March 13 to March 15
Chickens	21	March 13
Pigeons	17 - 19	March 15 to March 17
Coturnix quail	18	March 16
Doves	14 - 16	March 18 to March 20
Button quail	16	March 18