The Aloha Chicken Project

[cactusrota]

alohachickens - How big are you trying to get with your birds? Like, in comparison to a utility RIR for example? I'd be really tempted to get some hatching eggs from you next month, but I'm fighting the thoughts because they don't really fit the narrative of the flock I'm working on building... but I really like what I see! I keep catching myself coming back to this thread just to look. I swear I'm hopeless...

 

[alohachickens]

alohachickens - How big are you trying to get with your birds? Like, in comparison to a utility RIR for example? I'd be really tempted to get some hatching eggs from you next month, but I'm fighting the thoughts because they don't really fit the narrative of the flock I'm working on building... but I really like what I see! I keep catching myself coming back to this thread just to look. I swear I'm hopeless...

To be honest, the general buying public is very obsessed with ultra huge birds right now - Orpingtons, etc.

That being said - the inclusion of the Sussex bloodlines has increased my feed bill mightily! LOL.

There is a valid reason why Leghorns are smaller, slim hens - less feed for the same size egg.

So, I think I will be satisfied with a "happy medium" - perhaps Wyandotte size, which is a tad wider than Leghorns but not as big as Orps.

Right now I'm breeding to the BIG stock to try and boost size. But when I weighed a hen recently that I thought was acceptable size, she was only 4.5 pounds - which is Leghorn weight.

I think I will be happy with hens 4.5 to 5 pounds and larger for boys of course. Probably not much bigger, however, because it does have a strong drag on the feed bill for someone like me who just can't eat my chickens.

If you want hatching eggs this spring, being as you are in Arizona, they are only $5 per dozen locally so no reason why not to give them a shot for fun.

 

[cactusrota]

If you want hatching eggs this spring, being as you are in Arizona, they are only $5 per dozen locally so no reason why not to give them a shot for fun.

You're not helping!!!

 

[alohachickens]

You're not helping!!!

These baby pics won't help at all then either. LOL.


Caught them all piled up on a log the other day. LOL.

 

[cactusrota]

These baby pics won't help at all then either. LOL.


Caught them all piled up on a log the other day. LOL.

I really like those tricolor ones! They remind me of calico cats!

I'll definitely keep you in mind. I've got so many options bouncing around in my head lately. There's a place down in Wilcox where I can get hatching eggs for a few different breeds that I like, and I'm also considering putting in an order at Sand Hill Preservation Center for his "mystery chicken" assortment (it just sounds too intriguing...). I hate being indecisive...

 

[BrownEggsSouth]

I would love to get involved
I found your website, and I have several of the breeds you would like bred back into aloha's

So what would it take to get involved?
And how much would it be to have hatching eggs shipped to fairhope Alabama?

 

[alohachickens]

I would love to get involved
I found your website, and I have several of the breeds you would like bred back into aloha's

So what would it take to get involved?
And how much would it be to have hatching eggs shipped to fairhope Alabama?

Generally rates on shipped eggs are pretty miserable, as far as getting a "real" breeding program going. You can often get a handful of chicks to hatch, but to get the really "WOW" stuff I like to start with a batch of 20-50 chicks and pick out the very best. Kind of difficult if the Post Office scrambles the box, LOL.

So here's the options:

Shipped eggs - sent a box of 20 eggs to a friend in NC the other day. Priority Shipping was $20. To add the "Fragile" handling (that can increase hatch rate) was $10. So that's $30 for shipping. You can skip the Fragile handling -that's optional - but it's just so totally hit and miss with shipped eggies. I sell eggs locally for $5 per dozen, but that's someone driving to my door and handing me cash. Wrapping each egg, driving to the Post Office and back takes me a full hour. Plus there is cost of packing supplies.

This is why I don't generally sell hatching eggs - it's a bit of effort. Plus, it always depresses me when at times nothing even hatches. I have a friend who is going to sell Aloha eggs on Ebay for me as a way to help "casual" hatchers who want to just hatch a couple chicks for their flock, which is awesome! I'm so glad she is going to help out in that department. (In general, shipping eggs is just not my thing.)

If you are totally serious about starting a breeding program, I will put forth the effort to ship eggs, but have to charge like $25 for 18 eggs plus I'd add whatever extras "loose" in the box. Add shipping and you're up to $45+ with no guarantee of baby chicks! Always so risky with the shipped eggies. But for sure it's possible, and I will do it for potential breeding homes who will keep a rooster.

The next option is shipping Lives. I've mailed out 3 boxes this Spring and so far it has gone great! Yay! That's $100 total for a box of 25+ babies, which covers about $45 in Express shipping, the special chick shipping box costs $7 to $10, plus I drive them across town to deliver them to the Post Office right next to the airport to minimize stress and handling. That took me about two hours round trip the other day, yeeech, because that's downtown and traffic is a mess. When all is said and done I only get about $1-$2 per chick. So it sounds expensive - but honestly it's as cheap as I can go and it truly gives you the best shot of getting started. Things look promising for next week's hatch due April 4th. It's possible I could ship next week if the Post Office OK's it. My shipping window is narrow because they only approve shipments if temps are under 85 degrees! It's already been in the 90's this year! But next Tuesday is looking right at 85, so might work out.

Last option - if you are the patient type - my parents going to be at a cooking competition in Orange Beach, Alabama, in November. If they drive (they may fly) it would be no big deal to have them drive eggs. But I don't know if they will drive again or not - it's REALLY far! They said they'd probably fly this year but we'll see? Or if you know any truckers, I'm right off the I-10 freeway outside of Phoenix, AZ, as you come into town from Los Angeles, and there is a truck stop within walking distance of my house. I see the I-10 drives right by your town too. So if you have friends in the trucking industry who do that route, that is the cheapest option, as I sell eggs locally for only $5 per dozen.

Keep in mind from June- October the eggs are infertile due to heat, so this is also seasonal. All the more reasons why I seriously need breeders outside the state of AZ, the super HOT weather makes shipping hatching eggs or live chicks extremely difficult.

Would appreciate the help! Let me know what I can do.

Live chicks are the best odds of getting things going; having eggs driven is the cheapest way to get something seriously started.

Shipped eggs is expensive and risky but if you want to try I have plenty of eggs right now, but I'd be bummed if you invested the money and didn't get a good hatch rate, so if the weather cooperates and you have the funds, live chicks is the way to go right now. Because it's super rare for the weather to cooperate for Live shipments, it only happens a few weeks per year LOL.

If you have trucker connections, I will be getting fertile eggs through May, and can meet at a nice truck-friendly place right off the freeway.

Hope that info helps!

(*Egg pickup goes for anyone else reading this - if you have trucker friends or if you are driving through Phoenix just send me a message via BYC and I can meet folks with $5 per dozen hatching eggs at the local gas station. I'd love for some Alohas to get the heck out of Phoenix before the heat really arrives in June!)

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

I got 25 chicks from Alohachickens this February - she was able to pick out all the Naked Neck ones (which is what I wanted) and added in some fully feathered ones for me to use with my own NNs for breeding. They arrived healthy and in good shape, and are robust. They have now feathered out (they are 5 weeks) - I have some photos from their 5 week weigh in.

Warning - LOTS of photos... (And sorry - some squirmed a lot.)
























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