Orange Mottled Chicken!

[Illia]

Okay so I just want to mention, being helpful

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If you want a TRUE orange mottled chicken, no black whatsoever on the bird, the best two routes to go are these -


1) Dominant White spangled. Instead of mottling gene, go with a spangled color like on Hamburgs, and use a gold bird, but also dominant white color. Here's a very nice example of such. These are truly an orange mottled chicken with NO black. If you want less white, go with the spangling found on breeds like Spitzhaubens and Brabanters.

From the Kippen Encyclopedia

2) Introduce the dun gene to a mottled/spangled chicken. The dun gene will dilute any black, and replace it with a more chocolately brown type color. This way, a normal mille fluer type colored chicken, such as Icelandics, Flower Chickens, etc - Will be orange with white mottling and some hints of golden brown in the tail and between the white mottling and normal buff-orange base feather color. Without the mottling they would be considered "Pumpkin" in color. With mottling they're essentially orange mottled

Dun does not breed true though, it breeds like Blue (BBS) and so the splash version will be Khaki, which still works nice, no black showing, but there's also black too, which makes for a normal Mille Fleur type color like with the birds shown in this thread.

 

[Tam'ra of Rainbow Vortex]

Oh, no! A justification to add Spitzhaubens and Brabanters to my flock!!!!
I have wanted some for a while.... but I have soooo many chickens already!

 

[hallerlake]

This is a Chamois Spitzhauben. Unfortunately, they're not available in the USA yet.

 

[hallerlake]

And a Chamois Brabanter. Again, not available in the USA.

Brabanters, markings are more like lacing than spangles.

 

[alohachickens]

Oh, wow, such neat photos! Both the photos of Tam'ra's (now MaBo's) stock, and of those other breeds - NICE!

Well, I'm happy to report that the "orange mottled" thing is really happening here! WHOO-HOO!!! Met the color goals, yay!

Remember I started this thread showing one orangey-mottled hen, "Ginger" who sadly passed last summer. Now I'm happy to report, not one, not two, but THREE near-clones of Ginger. Keep in mind, these photos show THREE different hens, not different pics of the same one. So we have a true-breeding strain for sure. Yay again!

Yep, those are three different birds. Note the type is small, and still kind of "gamey". I am making some progress now in body type. Check out the nice round bodies on these hens, and how it's more round and thick. One hen even has the yellow legs that I'll eventually want in mine. (Though with so many other issues, like body and egg size that need improving, I won't "sweat the small stuff" like leg color at this point.)

I believe the above hens are by a 1/2 Aloha, 1/2 Sussex mom, and a full Aloha roo, which would make them 3/4 Aloha and 1/4 Sussex. They are now in the pen with "Cheeto" the GIANT (not spotted) Buff Rock cross rooster. The chicks by this cross should show incredible size, but will have slim changes of showing color. However, they will CARRY the spotting gene - so maybe in a year we can bring this kind of color back in their grand-chicks.

MORE good news! Starting to get some with NO black at all? Not sure if this is the "Dun" gene, or the "Pumpkin" color? Or is it dark buff? But here is the SECOND rooster that I've hatched out, in this color! Laree has the other one . . . he's of breeding age now. I think she posted a photo of him a while back. This guy is still 4-6 weeks from full maturity, and has filling out to do:

I am also in love with this vibrant red mottled rooster. Nice full comb, terrific size (for an Aloha, I mean) and just gorgeous. Hoping to cross him with the females from Cheeto and from the Sussex cross pen. He is so RED and his mottling so bright! I love it! Not fully mature, but already stunning:

These photos show the best that I kept after culling ruthlessly . . . . I held back maybe 20 at most of about 60 chicks hatched and grown out? But, I have to say, it seems to be working really well! I couldn't be more pleased with the progress. Hopefully, the bloodlines of Cheeto and the pure Sussex roo with get the size up on these chickies by next year. (Crosses fingers.)

I think I may start an official Aloha chicken thread on here . . . . have come full circle with orange mottled birds, since that post back in 2009. I'm so happy with how this project has been moving along in only two years, despite a small property and some serious setbacks. I think with some new partners helping out, this is really going to work out soon.

Getting the SIZE up! That's another issue entirely . . . as MaBo mentioned, yes, it seems the smaller the chicken, the brighter the color. Argh!

I have some Aloha/Buff Orp crosses in with pure Speckled Sussex in another pen. It's hoped that the Aloha background in the BIG yellow hens will come out again in the babies . . . if not, all of these resulting chicks will at least carry color for sure (thanks to the Sussex dad) but should be lighter in base color (thanks to the yellow moms!) Also stuck a couple of spotted small hens in there just for fun, to get some colorful half-Sussex, half-Aloha hens with good size for breeding. Here is a shot of the breeding pen:

Not all the hens are laying yet! The orange girls are too young. But some are laying . . . and I just set eggs yesterday! YAY!!! New Alohas due around 11/21.

Oh . . . and one of the hens snuck off and hatched out four chicks all on her own. So there are already some Cheeto chicks in the pen, LOL.

All hens should be laying by December, at that point I'll be hatching in earnest. Things are going great here!

 

[alohachickens]

More fun photos! A cool group shot of some orangey-gold mottled hens - LOVE them!!!

I'm crazy about the orange and gold colors with mottling. Love the bright oranges, firey reds, etc. Fun!

A group shot of CHEETO's breeding pen. Note the PURE Speckled Sussex hens in there, to compare size/color to the Alohas? It's a great photo to judge the size of the Alohas vs. Sussex. The 100% Sussex hens will be crossed with Cheeto (giant yellow rooster) for some major size improvement next generation:

Here's a pretty hen in Cheeto's pen. You can see how dramatically different her color is from a pure Sussex:

Enjoy the pics!

 

[Kansaseq]

Wow! You've got some absolutely gorgeous mottled birds--love them!!

 

[alohachickens]

MaBo - I love Xerses and the hen on the bottom right of the photos . . . is her name Sprinkles?

And that big red roo of yours will cross GREAT with all those hens - and Xerses with the yellow buff hens - cross those two lines together next year, and according to all the genetics charts, LOL, the colors **should** come back on bigger sized bodies!

You're definately on track, MaBo. Nice hen and roosters, esp loving that one hen in particular, she'll be a great help to the program up there.

 

[LarryPQ]

Wow, that SS roo turned out to be a stunner!

 

[alohachickens]

Quote:
Yes, he did! THANK YOU, Laree!!! (She "donated" this big guy to the project.)