The Aloha Chicken Project

[alohachickens]

I'm excited about the Buff Sussex influence, if it works out. I have a kind BYC'er who is also going to (try) and help me out! She has one single Buff Sussex hen, with "flawed" YELLOW legs! Whooot! And the hen is going to be running with a pure Swedish roo! So, yeah . . . I sure won't be getting a lot of eggs from just one hen, and the odds of ANY hatching eggs are so dim, especially shipped across country like this. However, I'm still going to try. All I need is that one rooster . . . who will "for sure" have a single upright comb and yellow legs from that cross.

The idea in sing the Buff Sussex, is obviously the Buff Rock is giving us issues with the "spot fade". I introduced Buff Rock to increase size, add yellow legs, and mostly to lighten up the body color. But I'm reading more and more, that even the chicken experts don't understand exactly what genes make the final traces of black on the tail go away in the solid Buff breds like Buff Rock and Buff Orpington. I am guessing those "unknown" genes are interfering with the Mottling genes?

My theory is that the solid Buff genes in Buff Orps and Buff Rocks somehow work as "spot blockers". They don't want to play with the Mottling genes, obviously.

However, there is another Buff color - Buff Columbian, that is the yellow color with the ring of black around the neck and on the tail, and that color "for sure" plays nice with Mottling, as Buff Columbian chickens are used all the time in making bantam Mottled Cochins. (If you've been over to the Calico Cochins thread, they are having NO problems getting tons of white spotting on top of a Columbian "base coat" so that's a proven fact that Columbian works great with Mottling!)

So, that's the direction I'll be heading next. I did try the red + mottled gene using a NHR roo, and got red-mottled, so it looks like (so far) only the solid Buff color is having issues getting spots laid on top. We're back to using NHR, or possibly Partridge Rock (as I don't think brown colors have issues picking up spots?) to add size and yellow legs. But the Buff Columbian color will be critical in getting the color to lighten up. I really want to draw out the oranges and reds and golds in this breed.

Another breed that carries this color is Buff Brahma, but they have different combs, feathery legs, and short stubby tails. So, they could be used for the size and color (and yellow legs) but would require breeding out a ton of other traits. The Buff Sussex is much closer to our final goal, as they only need spots and yellow legs to work as Alohas.

I hope when she starts sending me eggs that I can get just a single roo to hatch! Gahhh . . .

FYI - Swedish do have a "Mille" color, but it's a darker, more orange-red color. Not "ugly" by any means, but I also want Alohas to have some that are the lighter buttery-yellow Mille color you see on Mille Cochins.

 

[15littlem]

Aren't you worried about the columbian pattern showing up?

 

[smarsh]

quoted:

My theory is that the solid Buff genes in Buff Orps and Buff Rocks somehow work as "spot blockers".

i will try a few feathers in my next load of wash, hoping to remove some spots.

 

[tazcat70]

The problem that I see with using blue eggs is that most of the Alohas lay a brown egg, and so you would end up with green eggs. The barring is easy, if you only use the barred pullets then the first generation only males would be barred, and you wouldn't keep any of them. Barring gone.

Btw, there is someone close who has them.

 

[tazcat70]

I may be wrong but I think you need the columbian gene for mottled. At least it seems that way on the genetic calculator.

Sommer, I heard a breeder say, pick one, and only one thing you want to work on this year.

 

[alohachickens]

I may be wrong but I think you need the columbian gene for mottled. At least it seems that way on the genetic calculator.

Sommer, I heard a breeder say, pick one, and only one thing you want to work on this year.

Yep, Taz, I think I'm starting to figure that out now. About needing Columbian to get Mottled.

Wow, that would be really TOUGH to work on just one thing. Great idea! But how? There are so many things I need to fix! LOL!

Although, that kind of makes sense . . . last couple of years, we tried really hard to eliminate the "funky comb" issues, and it looked like that worked out great. Of this group of 30+ chicks, only one has a trace of a funky comb. Everyone else has single upright combs.

Last year, I was trying to work on improving size, but looks like I may have bungled it by trying to go about it using solid Buff chickens from the Buff Rock lines, as those have ended up messing with my spots!

 

[draye]

Yep, Taz, I think I'm starting to figure that out now. About needing Columbian to get Mottled.

Wow, that would be really TOUGH to work on just one thing. Great idea! But how? There are so many things I need to fix! LOL!

Although, that kind of makes sense . . . last couple of years, we tried really hard to eliminate the "funky comb" issues, and it looked like that worked out great. Of this group of 30+ chicks, only one has a trace of a funky comb. Everyone else has single upright combs.

Last year, I was trying to work on improving size, but looks like I may have bungled it by trying to go about it using solid Buff chickens from the Buff Rock lines, as those have ended up messing with my spots!

I'm with you on the TOUGH part of working on one thing at a time, I'm trying to do it all with my project that I have going on.
" Crested Easter Egger" trying to get a bigger crest on the roosters, and a peacomb on the roosters. The hens seem to be fine to me with the crests and comb. The one hen that I have now that is laying age is laying the green egg ( I really want blue, but with working with EE's I'm happy with green.) and that is what I'm shooting for in the hens. The bad thing is that I want it all right now.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Forgot to mention that karenS is now Deerfield Acres. I named my place! I'm working on the business side of things.

I'm on target for improving size this year, I think. I am going to be focusing on three things this year. Size, type and color. I have less color right now with all the crossbreeds but should be producing better size this spring with good color popping up along the way. The main "type" issue I'm looking for this year is a broad back and depth in the keel. With the Aloha/German New Hamp/Swedish Flower combinations I'll soon be hatching, I should have some interesting stuff to work with this fall and great fun watching the size and color happening.

I'm losing spots on some of my grow out birds.

 

[alohachickens]

Forgot to mention that karenS is now Deerfield Acres. I named my place! I'm working on the business side of things.

I'm on target for improving size this year, I think. I am going to be focusing on three things this year. Size, type and color. I have less color right now with all the crossbreeds but should be producing better size this spring with good color popping up along the way. The main "type" issue I'm looking for this year is a broad back and depth in the keel. With the Aloha/German New Hamp/Swedish Flower combinations I'll soon be hatching, I should have some interesting stuff to work with this fall and great fun watching the size and color happening.

I'm losing spots on some of my grow out birds.

I think you're going to get size and type before anyone else, that's for sure! We can always add in some spots, but your help making a GOOD chicken to put spots on is critical.

 

[alohachickens]

OMG . . . it's like I just can't stop taking photos of my chickens! LOL.

I just went out there and I'm trying to document the various hens that will be in the pens, so we can refer back to these photos later.

This is one of the pens I'm thinking of setting up. It would be THIS pure Swedish Flower rooster:




Penned in with my smallest, most colorful little Aloha hens.

When I say "little" here's a photo of one of the "little" hens next to a Swedish and Swedish/Sussex/Aloha cross hen for size comparison:




This cross on the test mating did result in good size increases on the babies.

Here's photos of most of the hens. It's really a LOT of hens for this roo to handle, but I'm actually short on roosters. (There is a phrase that I never thought I'd be saying.)

Hens:






















It may look like I'm posting photos of the same hen twice on some of these, but look closely at the patterns on the neck/tail/wings and you'll see these are all different hens.

Will have to get photos of the "other" hens later! But this is my collection of small, colorful, "old stock" Aloha hens. (Four are from Stephen's, he raised from chicks I gave him.)