The Aloha Chicken Project

[Deerfield Acres]

alohachickens, I wonder why EE's take on the spotting so much more readily than the New Hamps or Buffs? It's like if you manage to get the spotting on them, it doesn't fade like the NH's. My wildly colored Ricky with the puffy cheeks had not a bit of spot fade. Just loud and proud!

By the way, those are some beautiful EE's! Nice job Laree!

 

[alohachickens]

alohachickens, I wonder why EE's take on the spotting so much more readily than the New Hamps or Buffs? It's like if you manage to get the spotting on them, it doesn't fade like the NH's. My wildly colored Ricky with the puffy cheeks had not a bit of spot fade. Just loud and proud!

By the way, those are some beautiful EE's! Nice job Laree!

That's a really excellent question. Of course I don't know the answer to it, but if I had to guess, I'd say it probably has something to do with genes that "clean up" the colors on the NHR's and Buffs. Like, the one thing the EE'ers all have in common, is kind of a random "wild type" patterning of black mixed in. Example - while EE'ers can (technically) come in ANY color, have you ever seen a solid, pure red EE'er? Or a clean, pure buff EE'er? Even though technically those colors CAN appear, as there are no restrictions, and we know EE'ers are "mutts" so surely those breeds have touched the gene pool, they still take on the dominant "wild type" colors.

I noticed when I saw the "wild" chickens of Kawaii, that the bold patterns of mottling easily grabbed onto this "wild" color type:




This is not selectively bred . . . and even the orangey "ginger" mottled color was seen on a couple of wild ones, though the darker more "brownish" color is more common for sure.




Maybe the genes that are used to "clean up" the feathers to turn them into solid colors also help sweep the mottling off there too?

I have no idea . . . just making up theories here . . .

 

[alohachickens]

Hey y'all,

You know how I've said before that the Alohas were founded on "random bred" spotty stuff that I've found locally?

Here's a Craigslist ad that is advertising hatching eggs for sale, including eggs from a "speckled sussex" Does this look like a "real" Speckled Sussex to you?

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/grd/3636083193.html

Too bad he won't get any spotted chicks with that white roo. I guess I'll send an email, I have a nice roo here who would work well if he wants to try with that hen. Probably this person will think I'm a weirdo (well I am) but I'll let them know about the Aloha project anyway.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

LOL! That is totally not a Speckled Sussex!!!!!

Oh the mysteries of poultry genetics!

 

[Deerfield Acres]

The Aloha chicks that HEChicken hatched are hanging out in a small brooder in my craftroom. I decided I wanted them close so I can enjoy them a bit before they go out in the big brooder. They are so cute! I just asked DD to go take a pic for us so you can see the color variation in the down. So, so cute! They love their EcoGlow. I have the EcoGlow 50 which takes up all but a little space at both ends of this brooder. I've seriously considered getting one of those big metal things they use for chicks at the feed store, so I can keep smaller batches in my craft room with me. I'm really excited to see what we get from these guys -- too fun.









Little wing feathers coming in.

 

[HEChicken]

Awww...so nice to see the pics Deerfield - I've missed them way more than I expected to.

Way that is really a "too much white" Speckled Sussex, LOL. My guess is she is a hatchery SS and something else was mixed in along the way. I found it interesting to learn recently that hatcheries mix Leghorn into Barred Rocks so that their laying will improve. It made sense of the flopped over comb my hatchery BR had. BR's are not supposed to have large, flopped over combs.

 

[alohachickens]

Awww...so nice to see the pics Deerfield - I've missed them way more than I expected to.

Way that is really a "too much white" Speckled Sussex, LOL. My guess is she is a hatchery SS and something else was mixed in along the way. I found it interesting to learn recently that hatcheries mix Leghorn into Barred Rocks so that their laying will improve. It made sense of the flopped over comb my hatchery BR had. BR's are not supposed to have large, flopped over combs.

Those chick pics are SO cute! I can't wait to see them grow!

Hmm, judging from the production of BR's, adding some Leghorn to the mix was probably not a bad idea. LOL! The bit of Exchequer added onto the Alohas early on has really made them "laying machines". Now if only the eggs were bigger!

 

[alohachickens]

Okay, y'all - the breeder pens are pretty "set" at this point. I've got a ton of eggs in the 'bator and room for more.

Deerfield - I know you mentioned an interest in chicks out of Stephen's Pen #1, which would contain the "mostly white" Aloha x Swedish roo, over select Sussex and part-Sussex hens. No yellow legs there, but lots of size and could get some nice color.

We also have the pen with my pure Aloha big barred guy. Barred, yes, but lots of spots and yellow legs, too.

And two pens (one here and one at Stephen's) that contain a pure Swedish roo over colorful but small Aloha hens.

I had one person contact me about Aloha chicks, going to see if she wants some from the April 15th batch. Beyond that - who wants a big box of random Aloha chicks? This is the best shot to get anything. I can only raise so many, so if any of y'all are looking for a really big variety of bloodlines, with a good blend of Sussex, Swedish, and Aloha from FIVE different breeding pens, now is the time to speak up! These would be to ship out to you end of April.

Speak up now! While a lot of these are "new" crosses and I can't say what you'd get, we've never had a bigger variety or bloodlines, or better odds of getting something decent out of this program.

 

[alohachickens]

Great news! The owner of this hen has agreed to sell her to me for the program, as long as I agree to let her have her back after "retirement". Turns out she's from Stromburg's. The gal bought her from a 4-H'er who got her in an assortment of chicks from there. Wow, she looks NOTHING like the Sussex in their catalog:

https://www.strombergschickens.com/prod_detail_list/s?keyword=sussex

She is so much more "upright" in build. I totally like her! And she's going to cross so great with my little Pumpkin rooster. Okay, so here's pics of the boy I want to put her with, who while he still has a lot of filling out to do, is now breeding hens:






Good news: He's truly another PUMPKIN boy!!! Look at that orange tail!

And, he is way way way more mottled than either of my previous two Pumpkin roos, plus he has yellow legs, unlike the past Pumpkin guys! (They both had slate legs.)

The bad news? Size has kind of stalled out. He was growing great. Then in the last month, one roo (the boy that was mostly white as a chick and now looks pure Swedish) suddenly shot up in height, while all the other roos "stalled out" in size. They all just stopped growing! Bummer!!!

So, while he's a huge improvement over my previous Pumpkin roos in terms of color - with lots more spots and yellow legs to boot - he is still very lacking in size.

I think crossing him to this "new bloodline" Sussex hen would be a terrific cross! All the chicks would surely have lots of spots, and while they may not be huge (as now I'm learning the roo does a lot to control the size of the chicks) at least they will carry some larger genes thanks to the Sussex bloodline.

I'm really excited, as this could be a very unique dose of colorful + standard size genes. I did not get the age of the hen yet, however? So it could be merely that she's 5 years old and that's why she has so much white! Ha ha ha! But anyway, it would still be "new" Sussex bloodlines, and we could use the genetic diversity, so I'll take it regardless. Looks like Stromberg's is pretty pricey to order from, so this is great to be able to buy an adult hen from their lines and get chicks THIS spring.

 

[alohachickens]

This hen has not started laying yet, but her sister of the same age has started to lay now, so I'm eagerly waiting. This is the hen that I originally thought was pure Swedish. However, like my roos, her size has stalled out. Now, I am not sure if she is pure Sweidsh, or a Swedish x Aloha cross? She's not nearly as big as my "for sure" pure Swedish hen, and she has that cute little Aloha fantail thing going on. (The tails on the Swedish can vary, some are upright, but many have the "downward" tails.) So I don't know which it is? Small pure Swedish, or a "Swedisha". LOL! Either way, she really is a looker, isn't she?

Oh and her personality is PURE Aloha! Excellent flier, and I tried to put her in the "big chicken" coop, and she immediately found an escape route. Put her in the Pumpkin roo's pen, and she started trying to beat up the other hens. The little stinker!!! So much attitude!