The Aloha Chicken Project

[Deerfield Acres]

I had DD take some pics of the jet setting Aloha chicks. I'm sick today but at least I can enjoy their photos.


Keep in mind that ALL of these chicks have yellow legs. Look at these pretty babies! I'm needing some light colored Alohas to help offset all the color of my New Hamps and there look to be some very promising ones here. If those buffy colored birds hang onto a fraction of the white they have now, I'll be very happy.




I threw this pic in just so you could see the range of color better on the dark one. Isn't that interesting? I know things will change and change drastically as they age, still I think it's really pretty in spite of being so dark.



If these birds will just hang onto their light colors!

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Okay, here are some more...

Thanks so much Sommer for sending these eggs back with Heather, and thanks Heather for hatching them. These guys are really people curious and fun chicks. I think the SF influence is really nice and I'm so glad I have them. Keeping my fingers crossed that the buffies don't lose their white as they age.

 

[HEChicken]

Awww...I needed that - thank you for the pics - they are gorgeous!!!

 

[alohachickens]

Not looking too shabby, are they? I'm going through the same thing here, the chicks are looking extremely nice over here too, but I will kind of just be holding my breath until they mature. (Thanks to that whole four month shedding of color that so many have gone through.)

I really need to get you guys some pics of the Little Yellow Legs chicks here. They are looking very awesome.

The next batch of chicks behind those, is just now starting the feather in. They are a "mixed bag" that included Meyer Sussex hens with a small, gamey, almost entirely white Aloha rooster, plus (since we only got about 10 eggs from that pen and I couldn't stand raising such a small batch) I also tossed in all the pure Swedish hen's eggs - her eggs are HUGE so they are always easy to pick out! She was with Raymond's Roo. I also picked out a few more from Raymond's pen. So far the entire group of chicks is coloring up really nice! Just hope the white will stick around . . . .

 

[alohachickens]

When I went to visit Laree a couple of weeks ago, she'd been so busy at work that she hadn't collected eggs in like five days, which triggered a "mass broody" fit in her hens.

The puffy-cheeked "mille Ameraucana" line of her Alohas are now mommies. One hen had 22 babies under her, the other pecked her so hard she didn't try to shake her out. They did a great job!

Dad is a Swedish Flower rooster with a blue tail. (Of course if anything hatched ends up suitable for the Aloha program she'll help me out.) But she has lots of other breeds in there, so just see how it goes - this is her "laying" flock. She also set up a breeder pen for me with other girls in there!

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Aw, that's so cute!

 

[HEChicken]

Sommer, my one Aloha hen is broody right now too. Strange....I got silkies and cochins so I would have some broody-bators, and who goes broody but the Aloha hen! Anyway, she's been sitting 9-10 days now and doing a great job. I've only seen her off the nest one time, although the presence of broody doodie in the broody pen indicates she is getting off daily. The rest of the time she is sitting on a lovely nest, with three eggs under her. I really didn't need any hatched at the time she went broody but didn't want her to sit in vain either so that was the compromise. I should try to get a picture of her, although she's in a dog house low to the ground so it won't be easy.

 

[BlossomSilkies]

Just got back from Stephen's and we set up a breeder pen with the new Sussex roo! WOW is he spotty! Not as big as the less spotty boy that we had last year, but his color is outstanding. He even has spots on his back which is unusual. Keep in mind he's only six months old, too - he is going to get more white as he matures.

I selected five of my absolute most favorite hens to put with him, seen in these pics. Then, we found a gorgeous Ginger hen, beautiful but tiny, and then we added Nui's mom, who is a HUGE hen who is first generation Aloha from a part Orp mom. I got Nui when I hatched out an egg from her this first-gen hen and the Sussex rooster, and Nui is much larger than most hatchery Sussex. So I'm crossing my fingers that I'll get more hens like Nui from this cross.

Basically, once the DNA is settled, I want to find a way to hatch EVERY SINGLE EGG that comes from this pen this spring!

*Five of the hens in here have yellow legs, so many of the chicks will carry for yellow legs. Only the Ginger hen and Nui's mom have white legs.











He now has seven girls of his own . . . yay!

 

[15littlem]

Try this new version of Chicken Calculator to factor in Comb shape and Foot color. HERE

 

[alohachickens]

I found this pic of Nui's parents when I was going through my photos today. Nui is the largest Aloha hen I have bred to date. This is Nui:



She looks like a pure Speckled Sussex, but she is not. She is larger than the Stromburg's hatchery pure Sussex hen.

I've told you that her Mom was really light colored, but wanted to show a photo since I actually found one!!!

Nui's mom is a Buff Hen with some Orp blood, who was a daughter of my foundation roo Vanilla. She is HUGE and tough as nails.



Nui's dad was this high-quality, and huge, Sussex roo from private breeder stock. Unfortunately, he did not have much white:



This is what I mean when I say the Mahogany color on the Sussex is very, very strong! But as you can see, there is some very "different" color in Nui's background.

The yellow hen, who is Nui's mom, is the daughter of the "foundation" Aloha roo, Vanilla. So this is Nui's grandpa on her Mom's side:

That makes Nui 25% "foundation" Aloha, 50% Speckled Sussex, and 25% "other large breed" as the hen bred to Vanilla was mixed Buff Orp and ???

She has been in the pen with Raymond's Roo now:



I don't know which eggs are Nui's but I hope she's laid a lot of them. I can't wait to see her chicks by this rooster.

So, Nui's mom, the big buff hen, is now with ANOTHER pure Sussex roo. The rooster that KristyAz raised. Nui's mom, as one of the "first generation" Alohas, is getting up there in age. I'm really hoping to get a good sibling to Nui out of that breeder pen!!!! (Crosses fingers!)