The Aloha Chicken Project

[Deerfield Acres]

Yesterday was a complete and utter bummer. Jayhawks bombed and I lost my first Aloha

. It was the very last chick to hatch and was a teeny tiny little thing. I know these things happen but sheesh.

 

[alohachickens]

Don't feel bad! These things DO happen. I had two mysteriously die the first few days with this batch. I started with 53 and now have 51. It's just nature. After the first five or so days, they tend to stop doing that, thankfully!

Yesterday was a complete and utter bummer. Jayhawks bombed and I lost my first Aloha

. It was the very last chick to hatch and was a teeny tiny little thing. I know these things happen but sheesh.

 

[alohachickens]

I culled two roosters yesterday - one was the tan one that lost his spots. He wasn't looking as big as Cheeto, and since we KNOW that Cheeto carries the spotting gene, what was the point of keeping the smaller one? The other one I culled was a half-Sussex half-Aloha. I've been toying with the idea of putting a half-Sussex half-Aloha in with the "Ginger Girls" to get bigger Gingers for next season, but I keep thinking we can do better. This guy looks exactly like a Sussex roo, just smaller. Especially since I see some Sussex-ish chicks in this latest batch, that look much more RED than this fellow. If they color up brighter, those may be better options, I'd just have to be patient!

My neighbor had a goat up for sale, and the guy buying it yesterday asked me (from over the fence) if I'd sell him any roosters! It seemed like an opportunity too good to pass up, ha ha! Handed roosters over the fence and was handed cash in return. LOL.

I had NINE roosters before that, if you count all the teenagers and the three Swedes! Yikes!

I still have seven roosters . . . way too too many . . . . but two of the Swedes will be going to new homes soon. And Cheeto will replace his brother up at Stephen's. I know that Cheeto carries spots, but we haven't had a chance to "test" his brother yet. Makes sense to just keep Cheeto because he is proven, and let go of his brother, who looks exactly like him anyway.

I'll be left with Flash, Buttescotch, my own Swedish Flower roo, plus the three tiny baby colored Cheeto's sons to raise over the summer.

Argh! What if some of the other new baby roos start looking nice and I have to raise those? Too many roos! LOL.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Tough to lose them and rehome. I'm rehoming the excess Buffs and SSX as soon as I get back up on both feet. I have people who have spoken for them, just need to be able to deliver. Maybe next week.

How lucky to sell roos with no effort other than handing them over!

 

[notinoz2007]

finally went to my friends to check out the roo i gave her. i'll have to get you a picture. he's adorable. very light mottled with a nice tail. only problem is he's so TINY, almost half the size of the hens i gave her. pretty sure you wont want him in the program, but he's cute, LOL.

king is getting bigger and louder - - problem is, this boy is losing his spots!! you can still see some white on him, and both wing tips are white. he's still very pretty, but every time he crows (and crows and crows and crows) i think about replacing him with something prettier, and quieter!! here's a pic of him i took today. notice he still has NO TAIL feathers. i'm stressing about this. i'm not sure if they keep getting pecked out, or if he just wont have any ever.


our second in command is really nice, but small, so i dont want to use him. but my mom favors him so he'll be staying here a little while longer.


here snow is stretching, i thought it was a funny picture. i never get shots of them like this. snow doesnt crow, ever. i think king would eat him alive if he tried. the other 4 roosters that i culled crowed all the time to compete who was the best.


still my favorite hen - also the dominant hen in the whole coop

 

[draye]

finally went to my friends to check out the roo i gave her. i'll have to get you a picture. he's adorable. very light mottled with a nice tail. only problem is he's so TINY, almost half the size of the hens i gave her. pretty sure you wont want him in the program, but he's cute, LOL.

king is getting bigger and louder - - problem is, this boy is losing his spots!! you can still see some white on him, and both wing tips are white. he's still very pretty, but every time he crows (and crows and crows and crows) i think about replacing him with something prettier, and quieter!! here's a pic of him i took today. notice he still has NO TAIL feathers. i'm stressing about this. i'm not sure if they keep getting pecked out, or if he just wont have any every.


our second in command is really nice, but small, so i dont want to use him. but my mom favors him so he'll be staying here a little while longer.


here snow is stretching, i thought it was a funny picture. i never get shots of them like this. snow doesnt crow, ever. i think king would eat him alive if he tried. the other 4 roosters that i culled crowed all the time to compete who was the best.


still my favorite hen - also the dominant hen in the whole coop

Try that second rooster (very pretty) over some Sussex or Sussex cross (Bigger) hens. Should make some pretty spots.

 

[Gofygure]

I just went through this entire thread and wanted to say you've done a fantastic job! It was particularly interesting for me, since I too am working on a project with Speckled Sussex as a parent breed...although I seem to be taking it in the exact opposite direction you have. I loved watching your project take shape!

 

[notinoz2007]

for those of you who dont already know, i am incubating alohas in a kindergarten class. today is day 14 and i went to candle. i did not have to remove a single one!! the fertility is fantastic. right now we have 32 (out of 34) growing and moving. the class is so excited for next week - and so am i

*edited to add: sommer, my incubator will be empty april 13 if you still wanted me to incubate those test eggs. just let me know.

 

[alohachickens]

Try that second rooster (very pretty) over some Sussex or Sussex cross (Bigger) hens. Should make some pretty spots.

I'm kind of tempted to second that. HMM. It's a toughie. Depends on how small he really is. But without the right (bigger) hens won't be much help. If Notinoz's hens are small, it will make nothing but tiny chickens. I agree he might work really well on Sussex or Sussex crosses. Color on #2 looks great so far.

Clearly, King does HAVE some white. So he does carry spotting. But if he has no tail and he's annoying you, so rehome him! Larissa needs a home for Pumpkin right now and he's a looker, and while he's not huge, he is certainly not tiny or in any way a "bantam". You could always use him temporarily until we get some new roosters grown up.

I am getting kind of excited about the Swedish Flower x Aloha crosses that (hopefully) will be coming soon. Part of the reason I re-homed the Sussex and fading spots rooster is because of THIS guy:



This is my pure Swedish "keeper" rooster. Good news - turns out Swedes are "quiet crowers". LOL!

Below is this guy with Flame in the background. Yes, he is bigger than Flame already, but the difference is not as dramatic as you might think:



Some of the size difference is deceptive - the two roosters I culled had more "mass" or meat on them, and were actually HEAVIER than the pure Swedish roos of exactly the same age!

This pure Swedish is noticeably taller than either rooster, but is also lighter. He is bone and feather and not much more.

So we can improve the Swedish Flower lines on the Aloha project. The Sussex/Aloha cross rooster was earlier to mature. The culled rooster by Cheeto who lost his spots (Buff Rock lines) had much more meat on his bones, and would have made a much better table bird for a dual-purpose flock than the Swedish Flower rooster of the same age, who has a lot of height but is rather gangly or rangy in build. He may not have been very tall, and he did lose his spots, but he was round and fat - the best for eating by far. (If I was able to kill my birds, which unless it's a case of famine is not going to happen here, LOL.) I picked up both those roosters and handed them over the fence, and I was kind of surprised by their heavier weight compared to the light Swedish rooster. The Swedish guy lets me cuddle him in my arms, so I pick that guy up every day. He weighs nothing for such a tall rooster.

The ultimate Aloha goal is a dual purpose breed - top notch layers in the hens, but roosters fast growing and stout enough to make decent meals when you hatch out your own chicks and are left with a bunch of roosters. If we can get the huge bone frame from the Swedish and then add the muscle and bulk from Cheeto's lines, it could be very interesting!

Oh, and I do have one Swedish hen:



That's a Sussex/Aloha cross to her right, one of the smaller ones. Again, not a tremendous size difference. We are getting close.



I can't wait to cross her with one of Cheeto's colored sons this fall.

The pure Swedish Flowers will be mature in late May. I'll then cross this rooster with my Ginger Girls and Confetti Girls first - the tiny but best colored Aloha hens, and see what we get. It will be brutal to try and hatch out chicks in June or July here in Phoenix, but Stephen has a cooled building where he raises budgies, and we can keep a small number of chicks in there for a few months. I don't want to wait until fall to hatch anything, as sometimes the heat can kill animals out here and God forbid I lose this rooster before I get some of his offspring!

I can't wait to see the results of this pure Swedish rooster over our most colorful little Aloha hens!

 

[alohachickens]

for those of you who dont already know, i am incubating alohas in a kindergarten class. today is day 14 and i went to candle. i did not have to remove a single one!! the fertility is fantastic. right now we have 32 (out of 34) growing and moving. the class is so excited for next week - and so am i

*edited to add: sommer, my incubator will be empty april 13 if you still wanted me to incubate those test eggs. just let me know.

Duly noted! Those will be set aside for you.