The Aloha Chicken Project

[5moore]

My favorite hen. She has such a neat personality and great size. I hope this hen isnt the one that the possum got Saturday night.

 

[aviddamy]

I love this breed of chicken. Its fun to see the progress that has been made over time.Since I live in AZ and we travel to the Phx area quite often, maybe someday when I have room I'll see if I can acquire a few ladies.

 

[5moore]

Sommer do you still have Pumpkin Roo?

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9nooa4nsQ...AABXo/wkXxopjgUpo/s320/aloha+chickens+137.JPG

If you are going to put him with anyone I would want some eggs. You know I love Pumpkin Roo!

 

[alohachickens]

I bought some nice Speckled Sussex from a different breeder last year but they all died of some mysterious ailment that didn't effect any of my other birds. The other half of the group was raised by a friend and she had the same result.

Karen

Did you read about what happened with those Sussex that I got from Ideal? They also died from some mysterious ailment. It looked kind of like a "failure to thrive" at first, as they were not as bright and alert as the home-grown chicks, but also they would gasp and kind of collapse, and suddenly just drop dead, which I have NEVER seen happen with my chicks here. Every now and then I hatch one, that I suspect has some internal defect, because it will slowly fade over the course of several days, but it's usually about 1 in 200 or so that is hatched. Not a whole box full of them. And not at once. None of my other chicks had it here, and it did also did not seem to affect any of the other chickens that were raised at the other place who fostered the Sussex. It was all very strange.

What is even stranger, is that I shipped some chicks to a new home, and also kept some of the *same batch* here. I later heard that the chicks that were shipped had issues, and many died. However, the full siblings - from the exact same hatch, mind you - that were raised here, had no issues. (They were "leftovers" that I could not fit in the shipping box.) Same eggs, same incubator. I wonder, was something floating around in planes, that was transmittable DURING the shipping process? Like maybe some sick birds had been shipped in the same cargo areas? And some kind of virus or bacteria was - or has been - floating around in the planes? Or could it be as simple as stress from shipping that affected all of these chicks?

It was very odd, all of it. The only thing I do know is the home-raised chicks here, did fine, as did many raised by friends and such. And while I had issues with that Ideal shipment, a shipment a few years before was great, and other people in my area have also ordered from Ideal and got terrific chicks in.

Oh my gosh! I just remembered this - I had forgotten!

One of the local feed stores orders some of their chicks from Ideal, and some of their chicks from another hatchery. I had called them at one point and asked if they were going to do an Ideal order, could they get me some Buff Rocks? They had a minimum number, so I said OK, and paid the "extra" price. I think it was something like $5 per chick, five chicks.

ANYHOO - I just remembered that most of the chicks *died*. I think only one lived, maybe two? Just remember grumbling about my very expensive chicks! LOL. The box arrived a day later than they expected so I just attributed it to stress during travel, but it was kind of odd, having THIS MUCH bad luck with shipped chicks during this time frame. That was either 2012 or 2013. I didn't think that much of it at the time.

The "picking up an illness during shipping" theory is just that - a theory. No proof. Also might just be travel stress? Either way, it's discouraging!

 

[alohachickens]

Sommer do you still have Pumpkin Roo?

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9nooa4nsQ...AABXo/wkXxopjgUpo/s320/aloha+chickens+137.JPG

If you are going to put him with anyone I would want some eggs. You know I love Pumpkin Roo!

Pumpkin Roo is at a friend's house, but I think I may have a new Pumpkin Roo!


He's a bit more red-and-white and less pumkin-y, but he also does not have a bit of black ANYWHERE on him - not on the tail tip like a regular red rooster? Nada.

This photo was taken last month, and he has filled out much more since then.

Pumpkin's chicks were super colorful, but they were extremely small. Like, almost Banty small. He was cute as hell, but not big!

Right now this guy is looking a bit bigger - and still has some more growing to do. The people who bought chicks yesterday wanted to buy him, which is always a good sign. I'll have to get better pics of him. I will probably pair him with some of the big Sussex-bred hens to give their chicks both the Mottled plus the yellow leg gene.

His best feature his his spotting, but he also has a much more impressive and flamboyant long, long tail that the Sussex lack! Will get updated pics of him soon.


Actually, here he is standing next to a Turken Aloha. I took this photo yesterday.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Did you read about what happened with those Sussex that I got from Ideal? They also died from some mysterious ailment. It looked kind of like a "failure to thrive" at first, as they were not as bright and alert as the home-grown chicks, but also they would gasp and kind of collapse, and suddenly just drop dead, which I have NEVER seen happen with my chicks here. Every now and then I hatch one, that I suspect has some internal defect, because it will slowly fade over the course of several days, but it's usually about 1 in 200 or so that is hatched. Not a whole box full of them. And not at once. None of my other chicks had it here, and it did also did not seem to affect any of the other chickens that were raised at the other place who fostered the Sussex. It was all very strange.

I didn't read what happened with your Ideals -- what a huge bummer. It is very discouraging! It is also a real mystery and your theory sounds very possible. I hope I have better luck with the batch coming this year from Walt'z Ark. The Buff Sussex from there are the healthiest, most beautifully structured birds I've ever owned. They are very substantial birds and I so hope the Speckleds from them will be comparable healthwise.

The Speckleds seem to have such a struggle making it to maturity. It's shocking to me that Albritton's birds had the same struggle as hatchery birds. It does seem to be some genetic issue because it didn't effect any of my other birds, namely the Buff chicks who grew up with the Speckleds. They grew up side by side and yet, the Speckleds just failed to thrive, just as you described. So weird!

All of that aside, I have a special fondness for the Speckleds, well, for the Sussex in general since I started with those birds. If I can just get a few quality Speckleds that will stay on their feet, I will be thrilled. I really can't see being without some Speckleds around here!

Anyway, I hope that perhaps next year I will have something to truly contribute to the cause! In the meantime I am loving the Buff Sussex. They are a mellow bird and are so round and have such big butts they make me laugh! I keep imagining a big, sound, and round Aloha.

 

[5moore]

Sommer did you get a chance to look at the pics I posted of what alohas I currently have? Let me know what you think. The NEW pumpkin roo looks good. A little darker in color than pumpkin roo. I dont want any turkens.

 

[alohachickens]

I didn't read what happened with your Ideals -- what a huge bummer. It is very discouraging! It is also a real mystery and your theory sounds very possible. I hope I have better luck with the batch coming this year from Walt'z Ark. The Buff Sussex from there are the healthiest, most beautifully structured birds I've ever owned. They are very substantial birds and I so hope the Speckleds from them will be comparable healthwise.

The Speckleds seem to have such a struggle making it to maturity. It's shocking to me that Albritton's birds had the same struggle as hatchery birds. It does seem to be some genetic issue because it didn't effect any of my other birds, namely the Buff chicks who grew up with the Speckleds. They grew up side by side and yet, the Speckleds just failed to thrive, just as you described. So weird!

All of that aside, I have a special fondness for the Speckleds, well, for the Sussex in general since I started with those birds. If I can just get a few quality Speckleds that will stay on their feet, I will be thrilled. I really can't see being without some Speckleds around here!

Anyway, I hope that perhaps next year I will have something to truly contribute to the cause! In the meantime I am loving the Buff Sussex. They are a mellow bird and are so round and have such big butts they make me laugh! I keep imagining a big, sound, and round Aloha.

I finally got some offspring from the Walt's Art Sussex as well, and I crossed them with the Cinnamon Sussex and got some CRAZY stuff! Cinnamon Sussex are a project bird, where a fellow on here took the black neck of a light sussex, and introduced the Dun gene. Read up on that, if you want, but it's a dominant gene that makes a brownish gray with one parent, or a pale almost white color if a bird gets the gene from two parents.

So, here's the first result, which is Buff Sussex - with the BLACK neck "ring" and tail turned to DUN:


See that weird silvery-brownish-grayish color? That's Dun. It turns whatever is black on a chicken, into this silvery brown-gray. It's still a Buff Sussex - but Dun "fades out" the black on her neck and tail. I have three hens like this.

If it gets the gene from BOTH sides of the family, it turns to Platinum. The neck feathers where you see silvery brown? Those would turn to an off white color.

I don't have any Platinum in mine because it's too early, and I don't have both a hen and a rooster with Dun to cross with each other.

Hard to find pics of this online, but I guess here is a Platinum Sussex:

http://www.greenlightls.com/platinum-sussex

It's a silvery super pale gray, and both Dun and Platinum look a lot like Lavender or Blue.

So why did I breed out Blue, ignore Lavender, and look so hard to find Dun?

Lavender is a recessive. It "hides" and you can't tell what chickens carry it. That's OK if you are breeding for consistency. Recessive genes when bred together, make all the same, which is awesome if you want, say, to breed Lavender Orps. You breed Lavender Orps and you will always get more Lavender Orps. But you can't track it if only one parent carries it. Sort of like Mottling. When I breed a colorful Aloha to a solid red chicken the babies usually look like solid red chickens. Sometimes, you will see one little tiny white spot on the tail but it's hardly noticeable. Mottling hides, like Lavender, only Lavender you don't even get a "hint" like a spot on the tail. So Lavender is tricky!

Blue is easy, because it is a Dominant gene, but it also is tough to work with, when you team it with Mottling. That's because Splash chickens look a heckuvalot like Mottled! Example, here is a Splash chicken who got two genes for Blue:

http://rockin-g-ranch.com/sitebuilder/images/AmerHens1-577x417.jpg

That "mottled" looking chicken is a Splash. It will make blue chickens, not spotted chickens. So that makes it tough, because how would we know if we have a blue Mottled chicken, or a Splash chicken? I don't need that kind of confusion. LOL.

So that's why I picked Dun. It will be easy to breed in or out, easy to control, and will never make a chicken that "looks" mottled but is actually Splash.

That way we can enjoy the "look" of the Blue Mottled Swedish Flowers, in our Alohas, without bumping into Splash chicks all the time.

The funny thing is, though, is I don't even really know what it's going to look like on Alohas? Because I've only found a photo of one Dun Mottled bird, a Serama. And now I can't find it on the internet! LOL. So it will be a mystery!

Here is a photo of a Dun Sussex rooster crossed with a colorful Aloha hen. This "pastel" hen carries Mottling and Dun both, but we won't know what it will look like until I cross her back to a rooster with Mottling and plenty of black. That was supposed to be my big Sussex rooster. You know - the one that just died? ARRRGH.


Hen in background - the big white one - is a Light Sussex with Dun on neck and tail. Hen in front of her that is that weird faded peachy shade? Dad was like that hen in color, but crossed to teeny tiny Alohas with good spots. I think I have a photo:


Yep, here we go! Dad plus possible Moms. And here is 1 of 2 daughters I kept from that pen:

Funky, huh? Huge Dad, tiny Moms. Carries spots, doesn't show them yet, because the Mottling went into hiding.
Pretty hen - but have to wait and see what the babies look like?

I wanted to breed her to the big Speckled Sussex boy, but now he's gone. ARGH.

Now I have to wait until the son (Naked Neck boy) matures, or try to hope an extra Speckled Sussex rooster pops up for sale. Thought I had one locally but he got away from me. I also bought some super-spotty Sussex eggs on Ebay from a seller down south, and I'm hoping they will actually incubate. The box took a hard hit, but check out this auction!!! Hoping for a rooster from these eggs, if I can get them to hatch? You know how it is with shipped eggs!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-Dozen-Hat...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

SUPER SPOTTY!

Hoping for a rooster.

Also, Deerfield - I already crossed some Spotty Sussex (Meyer Hatchery) with the BIG Buff Sussex. This is what I got:




See, they are a bit lighter than "regular" Speckled Sussex? 'Cause Daddy was a Buff Sussex. Moms were super-spotty for Sussex. So they carry good spotting.

Here's the BIG rooster that I just lost, so bummed! He hurt his leg:

He was dark, but carried spots and most of all, had MASSIVE size. But I got his son who will be even more valuable for Alohas:

Don't be alarmed by the Naked Neck. It can be bred out in a flash. Only half this boy's babies will have the Naked Neck.

Oh, and this is fun! The Naked Neck roo above? I have photos of ALL FOUR GRANDPARENTS. How fun is that?!?


Dad's side of the family:
Sussex hens, bottom right - one of those is Grandma, the Buff Sussex is Grandpa.
This pen made the giant "Speckled Sussex" looking rooster. Dad's side had SIZE.


Mom's side of the family:
Grandma Naked Neck was big, round and yellow.
Grandpa Aloha was skinny and little but had TONS of pretty spots.
Mom's side has COLOR.

The parents:



Finally, the baby:

Spots are back. Size is HUGE on this baby.
Legs are pink, but since I know his pedigree, I know that he carries the yellow leg gene.

He is 3/4ths "big chicken" from three DIFFERENT families - Meyer Sussex, Walt's Art Sussex, and Privett Hatchery Turken. The last 1/4 is Aloha.

He can improve size and body type on small Aloha hens, and give plenty of "fresh" blood to prevent inbreeding on my "original" Aloha stock.

Naked neck gene will be inherited by half the chicks, but I saw Mottled Naked Neck eggs sell for $45 per dozen on Ebay. $45 A DOZEN? Wow!!! It seems spots are also popular with Turken fans, who will inadvertently carry on the Aloha genes, too! So this little side project is really a happy one. The big buff Turken hens are great, the neighbor's Naked Neck hens are super healthy and survived two AZ summers so far with very little care. Good, healthy genes in this BIG young boy! He has a lot of quality - even if his neck looks a bit creepy. LOL. His temperament is also terrific, he's friendly and outgoing without being aggressive.

I hope that the various Turken and Aloha breeding will offset the fragile nature of the Speckled Sussex in his background, because I love that breed too, but they are not nearly as hearty as the Alohas. (Apparently, Turkens are also very tough, as my neighbor still has her original flock, surprisingly.) The Aloha / Turken might offset the beefy but more sensitive Sussex?

Anyway, I have lots of cool stuff going on here, just need the breeder pens to "break out" projects, and of course, take time to raise some project chicks.

 

[alohachickens]

Sommer did you get a chance to look at the pics I posted of what alohas I currently have? Let me know what you think. The NEW pumpkin roo looks good. A little darker in color than pumpkin roo. I dont want any turkens.

Found another pic of him that I took a few weeks ago. Look at how spotty his belly is.

 

[alohachickens]

Sommer this is my breeding flock. I know it's not a glamorous shot but it shows their colors/patterns well. I lost one of the whiter mottled hens Saturday night to a possum. So I have two of the darker red mottled and two of the whiter mottled.

This is a really nice looking group and very "Aloha-y"! By that, I mean, these look like they are a "type" but nobody would be able to tell what they were? They aren't Swedish, they aren't Sussex? What are they? Very nice group!

The rooster is fabulous but he has Barring. Now that's not the end of the world or anything, but gotta be careful with it, to make sure it's only carried by one parent. I bred it out for the time being, in my flock, because it is so easy to add back in. I think you have plenty of color, and if I can send you some big chickens, you can put color on them.

I'm kind of thinking this hen with "New Pumpkin" maybe?



Crossing this beefy red hen with New Pumpkin would get you chicks that would look pretty much like her, but smaller. However, they would carry yellow legs and good spots from New Pumpkin.

I also have a hen that is half New Hampshire Red, and half super-spotty Aloha. She has good size and very classy body type. She may be a good cross with New Pumpkin. Half the chicks would get the spots back again. Don't have a pic of her, but she basically looks like a New Hampshire Red. There is one tiny white dot on her tail and wing, but those are the only hints that she carries Mottling. All the chicks from that cross would have yellow legs, which would be nice!


I also feel like this half-Sussex / half Aloha hen's offspring might be helpful to your program.

Love your Alohas and it makes me happy to know they are there. I could re-build a lot faster, should something ever happen to my stock, with eggs your little flock there. And it's cool that you might go a "new" direction on yours as they develop! Already they are getting a bit of a "look" to them. I remember the rooster that sired that line - sadly he passed in the summer heat, after he sired some great chicks for me. A real shame that he didn't get a chance to sire more.




RIP "Raymond's Roo" - shown here next to a pure Swedish Flower hen. This rooster contained zero Swedish blood. He had Buff Rock, New Hampshire Red, and Aloha. He was crossed to the Swedish and I kept a few of the hens from this cross. Good chickens.

The hen ducking her head down is Raymond Roo's daughter, bowing to Pumpkin Roo. She's the hen who snuck off and hatched out some peeps on her own! LOL.

I think this is one of the babies, who sadly passed this last summer:

Too small, because Pumpkin brought down the size on all his babies unfortunately. But how pretty!!!

Anyway - I'm guessing this is the family that your line comes from, but yours have taken a terrific direction all their own! Love it! Hatch more. LOL.

Need to send you eggs, though, because with that Barring gene, you'd have all totally barred chicks in no time if I don't get you some not-barred DNA.