The Aloha Chicken Project

[15littlem]

She's yellow in front and white in back. LOL! Anyone ever seen that before? Is this even a color?

Will PM you with Stephen's phone number but I thought everyone might want to look at some of the Aloha culls. Or in the case of the Ginger hen, the random hen that didn't make it into a breeder pen for some unknown reason. LOL! I should snag her and toss her in with the new Sussex roo or something, I guess? I think she just was one of those crafty hens that wouldn't let us catch her or something!

I've seen this coloring in a lot of EE's

 

[alohachickens]

I've seen this coloring in a lot of EE's

That's good that it wasn't anything rare. She just found a good home as a pet / layer in suburbia.

 

[alohachickens]

I just wanted to report that over the last 10 days I've sold about 80 Aloha chicks at $2 each via Craigslist. A good turnout considering these are "straight run". Most of Phoenix is "no roos" so all the feed stores around here sell pullets only. (Kind of hard to compete with that!) For a bit, however, I couldn't keep them in stock. Finally the calls to buy chicks have slowed, so looks like I'll be shuffling some chicks to a local BYC'er who will try to start a breeder flock in her area. Hoping it works well!

The rest of the "extra" chicks that I am hatching, if I do not get any calls via the Craigslist ad, and I'm left with too many at $2 each, I am going to put a sign on the back of my fence, where the Hispanic riders pass by on their horses every night. It will say "Chicks $1" and at THAT price I'm sure word will get around the neighborhood and they will go fast! I would rather sell them cheap in my direct neighborhood so (just maybe?) I can keep track of them in case anything cool develops. Going to be a little tricky with the language barrier, since about half of my neighbors speak only Spanish.

 

[alohachickens]

Deerfield and HEChicken - wondering about your chicks? Exchequers? Buff Sussex? How are things?

 

[HEChicken]

Deerfield and HEChicken - wondering about your chicks? Exchequers? Buff Sussex? How are things?

I'm a bad, bad person because I should have been updating. They are doing great!!! I lost a couple of the Exchequers within 48 hours of arrival - I assume due to shipping stress. Ideal credited me and we're all good. Since then, they are strong, healthy and growing in leaps and bounds.

My broody Aloha's chicks also hatched. Long story short.....I had her sitting on 3 OE eggs. I also had four turkey eggs incubating, but then realized that they were due within 24 hours of the Aloha hen's eggs, so I decided to let her have those as well, thinking if she raised them, I didn't have to worry about not having tutors for them. The chicken chicks hatched (all 3) on Friday. Midway through Saturday she decided it was time to abandon the nest and left the four turkey eggs in it. Only one was pipped and my initial investigation revealed that it had died. So I started to egg-topsy it and only after seeing blood flow did I also see the most imperceptible of movements. So I raced all 4 eggs up to my incubator, feeling horrible. That first egg hatched during the night. By morning there were 2 more pips, and both of those poults hatched throughout the day. I was ready to toss the last but candled and saw movement and heard it peeping at me! So back in it went and it hatched overnight last night.

Going backwards a little....after the first two were moving around fairly well, I decided to try giving them back to the Aloha. She looked horrified, and as they staggered towards her, she couldn't back away fast enough. At the same time she was alternately calling an alarm to her chicks, and cooing to the new babies. Within minutes she forgot how terrified she was, and realized they were just babies who needed her. She tucked them under and all was well. I took the third down and slipped it under around 10pm last night when she was pretty sleepy. The fourth was still very weak this morning and needed to stay in the incubator to get its strength up. Around lunchtime it started yelling so I took it down to her. She saw what I had in my hands, sighed, lifted her fanny and the look she gave me was "shove it under, I think there's room for one more". So now she has her 3 chicks, all 4 turkey poults, and seems content to raise her little brood. The turkeys dive under her just like the chicks and I've seen her showing them the food and encouraging them to eat it.

Here she is, "meeting" her fourth poult for the first time:



She is doing an absolutely wonderful job as a Mama hen, showing them how to eat and drink, but stopping a lot to sit, all fluffed up like in the photo above, so her new babies can rest and stay warm. She is constantly alert for danger and every time she hears my cock bird make an alarmed sound, she cranes her neck to see what the danger might be (although she is safe and sound in a hoop coop within the main chicken yard).

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Oh, so cute hechicken!

Still waiting for the Buffs. Colorado isn't having any better luck with spring weather than Kansas. Tonight is supposed to be winter-like again and the Colorado people don't ship until weather has stablilized, or the chicks are big enough to make the trip with only 10 babies. I'll be waiting well into May at this rate.

 

[tazcat70]

I know it is crazy!!!!

 

[knjinnm]

I'm a bad, bad person because I should have been updating. They are doing great!!! I lost a couple of the Exchequers within 48 hours of arrival - I assume due to shipping stress. Ideal credited me and we're all good. Since then, they are strong, healthy and growing in leaps and bounds.

My broody Aloha's chicks also hatched. Long story short.....I had her sitting on 3 OE eggs. I also had four turkey eggs incubating, but then realized that they were due within 24 hours of the Aloha hen's eggs, so I decided to let her have those as well, thinking if she raised them, I didn't have to worry about not having tutors for them. The chicken chicks hatched (all 3) on Friday. Midway through Saturday she decided it was time to abandon the nest and left the four turkey eggs in it. Only one was pipped and my initial investigation revealed that it had died. So I started to egg-topsy it and only after seeing blood flow did I also see the most imperceptible of movements. So I raced all 4 eggs up to my incubator, feeling horrible. That first egg hatched during the night. By morning there were 2 more pips, and both of those poults hatched throughout the day. I was ready to toss the last but candled and saw movement and heard it peeping at me! So back in it went and it hatched overnight last night.

Going backwards a little....after the first two were moving around fairly well, I decided to try giving them back to the Aloha. She looked horrified, and as they staggered towards her, she couldn't back away fast enough. At the same time she was alternately calling an alarm to her chicks, and cooing to the new babies. Within minutes she forgot how terrified she was, and realized they were just babies who needed her. She tucked them under and all was well. I took the third down and slipped it under around 10pm last night when she was pretty sleepy. The fourth was still very weak this morning and needed to stay in the incubator to get its strength up. Around lunchtime it started yelling so I took it down to her. She saw what I had in my hands, sighed, lifted her fanny and the look she gave me was "shove it under, I think there's room for one more". So now she has her 3 chicks, all 4 turkey poults, and seems content to raise her little brood. The turkeys dive under her just like the chicks and I've seen her showing them the food and encouraging them to eat it.

Here she is, "meeting" her fourth poult for the first time:



She is doing an absolutely wonderful job as a Mama hen, showing them how to eat and drink, but stopping a lot to sit, all fluffed up like in the photo above, so her new babies can rest and stay warm. She is constantly alert for danger and every time she hears my cock bird make an alarmed sound, she cranes her neck to see what the danger might be (although she is safe and sound in a hoop coop within the main chicken yard).

Please post pics of the turkey chicks as they out grow siblings and mom.

 

[alohachickens]

She looked horrified, and as they staggered towards her, she couldn't back away fast enough. At the same time she was alternately calling an alarm to her chicks, and cooing to the new babies. Within minutes she forgot how terrified she was, and realized they were just babies who needed her. She tucked them under and all was well. t.

Here she is, "meeting" her fourth poult for the first time:



She is doing an absolutely wonderful job as a Mama hen, showing them how to eat and drink, but stopping a lot to sit, all fluffed up like in the photo above, so her new babies can rest and stay warm.

OMG this is so freaking cute! And she is a really pretty spotty little hen too.

Thanks for posting this!!!

 

[jbolt]

My first alohas....