The Aloha Chicken Project

[alohachickens]

I collected 5 eggs from 6 aloha pullets today. I weighed them. 54, 47, 45, 38,38 grams.

Interesting info, 5moore. I have not weighed my Aloha eggs, but I should, LOL. How do these weights compare with other breeds or the general grading system?

BTW, since I have introduced Swedish Flower and some more Sussex blood, I am now seeing some much bigger egg sizes in this generation of Alohas.

 

[fosterson]

So far no one seems to know what I'm asking about, but I can keep inquiring. I'm just getting my flock set up as it is, so I'm not in a huge hurry! I actually have a couple of very nice Buff Sussex hens in my pen right now, and I've been talking to a breeder about some SQ Speckled Sussex to go with them. I could easily get my 'girls' going first and THEN wait for chicks from you

 

[alohachickens]

So far no one seems to know what I'm asking about, but I can keep inquiring. I'm just getting my flock set up as it is, so I'm not in a huge hurry! I actually have a couple of very nice Buff Sussex hens in my pen right now, and I've been talking to a breeder about some SQ Speckled Sussex to go with them. I could easily get my 'girls' going first and THEN wait for chicks from you

This would be FABULOUS. The Buff Sussex will help lighten the Mahogany base color on the Speckled Sussex. And, starting with show quality Sussex will ensure the chicks have good bodies and form.

If you get the chicks from this cross going, all you will need is one good Aloha rooster with yellow legs and tons of white mottling to give your program a boost! The chicks from a Buff Sussex / Speckled Sussex cross will not show any white spots (unless the Buff Sussex have some "hidden" Speckled genes in there.) However, all the chicks from this cross will be large. They will probably be dark brown in color (as the Mahogany dark-brown color is very dominant) and your job would be to pick out the biggest sized and lightest colored hens.

The hardest part is getting good large hens. I have only a handful with size and color. I have lots of big plain hens, and lots of small colorful hens, but getting the combo of both traits has been extremely difficult! You would then look for a colorful rooster with yellow legs and tons of white, and cross him to your "plain brown" hens. (That are actually HIDING the Speckled gene.) The result (in theory) would be that half the chicks would come out wildly spotted and maybe in new colors. Keep the spotted ones. None would have the yellow legs (again, in theory) as the pink legs of the Sussex are dominant. But when you crossed those chicks together again (or to a new Aloha rooster with yellow legs) the chicks should be colorful and with a lot of yellow legs, plus improved size and type from your high-quality Sussex. Expect it to take about two years to come up with some really nice hens!

Here's a photo of one of my most recent generation hens, I think you might end up with hens that would look something like this:



She is full size. Her light color and improved size came from Swedish Flower, but she has more white spotting than most Swedish, thanks to the Aloha influence. She is barely six months in this photo, and will gain more white as she ages.



Here is another "improved" hen that is full size but contains a decent percentage (at least 25%) Aloha blood. She is lighter than most Sussex. Spotting, I'd like to see a lot more white, but it's a start!



This photos shows the "improved" hen on the left next to an older 100% Aloha hen on the right. You can clearly see the size difference.

The photo-bomber is a pure New Hampshire hen that will be bred to a very colorful (but small) Aloha roo, to get some fresh outcrosses for larger size and less gamey body type.

 

[fosterson]

Hmm. Oddly, one of my buff hens (she was considered an 'off' color because she's an incomplete Columbian...a few black feathers in her neck) also has a handful of white feathers on her back, and she got more when she molted. I suspect she might have some speckled genes in there! The other one is really a 'ginger', she's the right color buff/gold but she's got four black feathers in her tail. She came from the same breeder as the other. Neither are show quality but they have good type, just not the right color.

I have some RIRs...but frankly, only one of them is anywhere near type. Nice eggs, but not very typey at all. The Barred Rock crosses are right out

 

[jbolt]

Hi sommer, im hatching out my First alohas from my own flock, 6 eggs in in lockdown and two and a half dozen more go in the bator next Friday! My 2 main roos weighed in at 10 and 9 lbs. And the gamey one with tons of color weighed in at 7 lbs. I also have a young large extreme mottled roo that will be replacing one of the others when he matures. He has yellow legs, and a beautiful rose comb, which is an interesting gene in itself......

 

[fosterson]

Here's a general question for ya'll:

Are we looking for any color egg or are brown eggs preferred?

I have a local breeder with some Cream Legbars - they're big, they lay nicely with big eggs, they have nice combs and bright yellow legs, and while they've got barring, they aren't E/E for black. Most of his are true Lavender/Cream colored.

 

[jbolt]

I thought the same, as I have a few cream legbars from greenfire farms...and olive eggs, like isbars would be neat!! as for the yellow legs and beautiful combs I totally agree.

 

[notinoz2007]

from what i remember (or maybe dreamed about) blue eggs were an end goal, there were just so many other things to fix before getting into that. for a quick second she was looking at some project hens at the university of arkansas that had red/brown body and laid blue eggs. we tried to get some of those but it never worked out and now the project went private. i think a beautiful aloha with blue eggs would be in high demand

 

[alohachickens]

Hmm. Oddly, one of my buff hens (she was considered an 'off' color because she's an incomplete Columbian...a few black feathers in her neck) also has a handful of white feathers on her back, and she got more when she molted. I suspect she might have some speckled genes in there! The other one is really a 'ginger', she's the right color buff/gold but she's got four black feathers in her tail. She came from the same breeder as the other. Neither are show quality but they have good type, just not the right color.

What breeder did you get the Buff Sussex from? Sometimes, I have searched all of Craigslist (you can do that on certain web sites) trying to find Buff Sussex. That search came up with a breeder in the Seattle area. I did email him, but he told me he does not ship chicks or eggs. Live in-person pick up, only! Dang.

Oh, another note - my chicken-loving cousin from Washington state is visiting for the holidays. Umm, what area are you from? Her house is in Sequim, WA. She could bring up hatching eggs when she returns, I would imagine, if that is not too far from you? Just a thought!

 

[alohachickens]

Hi sommer, im hatching out my First alohas from my own flock, 6 eggs in in lockdown and two and a half dozen more go in the bator next Friday! My 2 main roos weighed in at 10 and 9 lbs. And the gamey one with tons of color weighed in at 7 lbs. I also have a young large extreme mottled roo that will be replacing one of the others when he matures. He has yellow legs, and a beautiful rose comb, which is an interesting gene in itself......

Wow, that is so exciting! I would love to know what your breeding flock turned out like. Those are some great weights on the roosters!

I remember you posting a few pics a while back, but if I recall, the images weren't very clear. Maybe phone pics or something?

I am getting ready to do a Blog post, highlighting the breeder pens, which are still in flux. The most exciting thing is up at Stephen's. He is growing out about 50 Alohas, plus we have another very special surprise, that I haven't posted about, because "don't count your chickens before they hatch" and all that . . . LOL. I'll be posting info as soon as the chickens DO hatch! Until then . . .