The Aloha Chicken Project

[alohachickens]

Somer,
Your young Naked Necks start laying yet?

I don't think so. In the pen of youngsters that were hatched in May-June, while I am getting a few eggs per day, it's probably just from the few March hens. I have about 40-50 pullets growing out and I'm only getting about 4-5 eggs per day from there! So looks like we haven't really gotten started, just yet.

 

[draye]

I don't think so.  In the pen of youngsters that were hatched in May-June, while I am getting a few eggs per day, it's probably just from the few March hens.  I have about 40-50 pullets growing out and I'm only getting about 4-5 eggs per day from there!  So looks like we haven't really gotten started, just yet.  

Okay I guess I thought they were a little older. I would still love some hatching eggs from them. Let me know if you get any for sale.

I am planning to mix with my flock and also with my EE's for green egg layers.

 

[Thorner]

[/IMG]
Look what we found in our coop 2 nights ago! It's a cooper hawk, we think. He was in the area we have sectioned off for our aloha chicks. NONE of them were harmed. I think he got in the main coop,my big BRS started squawking,and he freaked out. His head was bloody from trying to get out. I thought our coop was secure! We have secured any holes and there's no way anything is getting to my babies now! Now I'm a little nervous to let the big ones out to free range. Guess I'll have to only do it when I'm outside.

 

[Thorner]

Here he is in the coop!

 

[alohachickens]

Wow! What a beauty. I hate when chickens get eaten by hawks, but they are such beautiful animals. My friend Kathleen who lives in-town Phoenix (Sunburst Farms) had all of her original Alohas picked off by hawks. She finally had to use bird netting over a large chain link garden area that now houses the poultry before it stopped.

Last month I visited with her, and all the Alohas that I brought her more recently, back in June (including Pumpkin-Roo and Sprinkles the Sussex and a few other favorites) were still doing OK over there! So they made it through the summer hawk-free. It is probably safe to say they will be OK from here on out.

A less labor-intensive idea is running clear filament (fishing line) across the area in random pattern. I guess for hawks, they can sort of see it in some light, but not in others? The theory is this confusing "now you see it, now you don't" effect discourages them from preying in the area. A lot of folks combine with hanging old reflective CD's from nearby trees becauase supposedly those flashing in a hawk's eyes also makes it tougher to hunt.

 

[draye]

Wow no posts here in a month and a half. Any news on these?

 

[alohachickens]

Everything is going great. Hatching TONS of babies! I've held back 11 Naked Neck x Aloha chicks . . . for no particular reason! Just because they're cute. LOL.

My friend Debi in Tucson is going to specialize in Aloha NN's, so the girls may go down there. One of the F1 (first generation) Naked Neck x Aloha boys turned out to be fully Mottled! In fact, he looks like a true Mille! So that's going to be her "main boy". Even with the Naked Neck, he was the best Aloha rooster - because his Naked Neck momma was such a nice, big, fat, beautiful Buff Columbian hen! Like Momma, like son!



Only one of my NN x Aloha hens turned out Mottled. Just a few spots but they are there:


(this is probably his sister.)

There are many beautiful smaller hens, not teeny tiny, but typical Aloha size. (Similar to Exchequer Leghorn hens - 3 to 5 pounds?)

They were the youngest - hatched in June - and JUST STARTED LAYING in DROVES!!! As of a couple weeks ago, I've got eggs coming out of my ears!!!


This photo was taken a few weeks ago. I've held back about 20 or so of these hens.

Plus, I have my BIG new Buff Sussex crosses!


This hen is actually by a Meyer's Speckled Sussex hen with the Buff Sussex roo. She is HUGE. Spots are smaller than Meyer moms, but more visible than the few that the rooster has. He definitely carries spots! I also have some solid, non-mottled Buff Sussex hens. These will be mixed with Alohas this year, and I will lose some spotting, but gain a lot of size if all goes well.

Lots of pics on Pinterest page:

http://www.pinterest.com/alohachickens/aloha-chickens/

Mostly, though, I'm spinning my wheels until the new breeder coops are built. Saving the money for those has been tough, I've estimated materials at probably $1000 and that's not easy to set aside for CHICKENS! (Especially in one lump sum!) But the cash is there. My boyfriend is ready to build . . . SO HE SAYS . . . but he's been distracted with a new dune buggy project. He's trying to get the dune buggy done for an event in January. Still, my coops will probably not take priority until February.

In the meantime, there are awesome hens, and awesome roosters, but all in this big muckety-muck of a barn, breeding randomly! There are surely some lovely chicks in there, but it's hard when I don't have a good place to raise them? And a waste of resources trying to raise ALL of them and picking out the ones with traits that I need, when soon as the breeder coops are set up, I should have lots more control over the results than just random chance!!!

New breeders are:

Debi in Tucson

Jess in Phoenix

We still have:

Stephen - though his program has been "in limbo" as he moves properties. He does have a nice flock though!

Derek had more predator issues that affected all of his chickens. Including the Alohas. Coyotes (in a pack) killed the Great Pyrenees guard dog he bought to protect his flock. Then they broke in the coop and killed many nice chickens. Also killed was a very nice flock of Legbars. So sad!!! Now he has a guard donkey. Keeping fingers crossed the donkey can help. But the predators in his area have been brutal for him and for his neighbors as well. Coop even had buried wire but that wasn't enough to stop them. He's going to try more protective measures and try again. (Glad I don't live near there!)

So that's it for the Aloha breeders. Three more small flocks also exist in area backyards. Just set up two more "resource" flocks in homes who don't have to breed if they don't want to - but will hopefully provide a few "safe homes" for the genetics if anything happened here.

Derek gave me a great deal on the used Sportsman's 'bator that he loaned me last year, and now it's officially mine! And yes . . . it's FULL OF EGGS!!!

Already have hatched about 100+ chicks since October.

About 100 more chicks are expected just this month!!! Yay!!!

Things are going OK right now, and holding my breath, hoping this will FINALLY be "the year" the program meets the final goals. (Of course, I seem to say that every year! Ha ha ha.)

This hen is a good example of the best I have bred to date, and what I am going for:



Hen in front is Aloha with heavy Sussex lines. But she does have yellow feet, and is light red or dark buff, with white mottling. Her size is very good! Not ginormous but certainly not small. I'd say size of a hatchery Sussex or RIR.

(The white hen behind her, in this photo - white with "gray" neck? Doesn't look like a fit for the program, but she should work fine. Mom was a Dun gene on Light Sussex, (Cinnamon Sussex) and the dad of this "white" hen was the Buff Sussex rooster, so she carries Buff. She may also carry for Mottling but she is for sure HUGE in size, and has a Buff daddy. Will be crossing her with a colorful Aloha roo, and she should improve size and type greatly! Both the Light and Buff Sussex are known for tremendous size, and she is a very big girl! Half her babies will carry Dun gene. They will probably look solid Buff-ish in color and probably will not have spots, though it is possible she carries the Mottling gene.)

 

[draye]

Everything is going great. Hatching TONS of babies! I've held back 11 Naked Neck x Aloha chicks . . . for no particular reason! Just because they're cute. LOL. My friend Debi in Tucson is going to specialize in Aloha NN's, so the girls may go down there. One of the F1 (first generation) Naked Neck x Aloha boys turned out to be fully Mottled! In fact, he looks like a true Mille! So that's going to be her "main boy". Even with the Naked Neck, he was the best Aloha rooster - because his Naked Neck momma was such a nice, big, fat, beautiful Buff Columbian hen! Like Momma, like son! Only one of my NN x Aloha hens turned out Mottled. Just a few spots but they are there: (this is probably his sister.) There are many beautiful smaller hens, not teeny tiny, but typical Aloha size. (Similar to Exchequer Leghorn hens - 3 to 5 pounds?) They were the youngest - hatched in June - and JUST STARTED LAYING in DROVES!!! As of a couple weeks ago, I've got eggs coming out of my ears!!! This photo was taken a few weeks ago. I've held back about 20 or so of these hens. Plus, I have my BIG new Buff Sussex crosses! This hen is actually by a Meyer's Speckled Sussex hen with the Buff Sussex roo. She is HUGE. Spots are smaller than Meyer moms, but more visible than the few that the rooster has. He definitely carries spots! I also have some solid, non-mottled Buff Sussex hens. These will be mixed with Alohas this year, and I will lose some spotting, but gain a lot of size if all goes well. Lots of pics on Pinterest page: http://www.pinterest.com/alohachickens/aloha-chickens/ Mostly, though, I'm spinning my wheels until the new breeder coops are built. Saving the money for those has been tough, I've estimated materials at probably $1000 and that's not easy to set aside for CHICKENS! (Especially in one lump sum!) But the cash is there. My boyfriend is ready to build . . . SO HE SAYS . . . but he's been distracted with a new dune buggy project. He's trying to get the dune buggy done for an event in January. Still, my coops will probably not take priority until February. In the meantime, there are awesome hens, and awesome roosters, but all in this big muckety-muck of a barn, breeding randomly! There are surely some lovely chicks in there, but it's hard when I don't have a good place to raise them? And a waste of resources trying to raise ALL of them and picking out the ones with traits that I need, when soon as the breeder coops are set up, I should have lots more control over the results than just random chance!!! New breeders are: Debi in Tucson Jess in Phoenix We still have: Stephen - though his program has been "in limbo" as he moves properties. He does have a nice flock though! Derek had more predator issues that affected all of his chickens. Including the Alohas. Coyotes (in a pack) killed the Great Pyrenees guard dog he bought to protect his flock. Then they broke in the coop and killed many nice chickens. Also killed was a very nice flock of Legbars. So sad!!! Now he has a guard donkey. Keeping fingers crossed the donkey can help. But the predators in his area have been brutal for him and for his neighbors as well. Coop even had buried wire but that wasn't enough to stop them. He's going to try more protective measures and try again. (Glad I don't live near there!) So that's it for the Aloha breeders. Three more small flocks also exist in area backyards. Just set up two more "resource" flocks in homes who don't have to breed if they don't want to - but will hopefully provide a few "safe homes" for the genetics if anything happened here. Derek gave me a great deal on the used Sportsman's 'bator that he loaned me last year, and now it's officially mine! And yes . . . it's FULL OF EGGS!!! Already have hatched about 100+ chicks since October. About 100 more chicks are expected just this month!!! Yay!!! Things are going OK right now, and holding my breath, hoping this will FINALLY be "the year" the program meets the final goals. (Of course, I seem to say that every year! Ha ha ha.) This hen is a good example of the best I have bred to date, and what I am going for: Hen in front is Aloha with heavy Sussex lines. But she does have yellow feet, and is light red or dark buff, with white mottling. Her size is very good! Not ginormous but certainly not small. I'd say size of a hatchery Sussex or RIR. (The white hen behind her, in this photo - white with "gray" neck? Doesn't look like a fit for the program, but she should work fine. Mom was a Dun gene on Light Sussex, (Cinnamon Sussex) and the dad of this "white" hen was the Buff Sussex rooster, so she carries Buff. She may also carry for Mottling but she is for sure HUGE in size, and has a Buff daddy. Will be crossing her with a colorful Aloha roo, and she should improve size and type greatly! Both the Light and Buff Sussex are known for tremendous size, and she is a very big girl! Half her babies will carry Dun gene. They will probably look solid Buff-ish in color and probably will not have spots, though it is possible she carries the Mottling gene.)

Very very nice. Still gonna have NN eggs for me this spring? I'd really love to put those colors on my NN's.

 

[alohachickens]

Of course! I think if "preserving" Aloha bloodlines happens via Naked Necks, it's still an Aloha flock. As you know, the NN gene can come or go depending on what you breed them to! LOL.

I'm so glad Deb nabbed that rooster. I didn't know what to do with him. I'm not really breeding for NN's but he was looking SO NICE that I couldn't bear to cull him! She agreed to take him with her and grow him out.

I thought his spotting might fade out at five months, which is what happens with a lot of rooster chicks, but it didn't! So I guess my neighbor's NN hens did carry some recessive Mottled gene? (She has one hen with two telltale white spots, but that is not a hen that I used.) Still, it proves the Mottled gene is floating around in her stock. Hers are hatchery NN's, most likely from Privett Hatchery in NM, because that is where the local feed store buys chicks, and that is the feed store she bought those from.

I am encouraging Debi to keep the rooster over her Aloha hens, because the NN's have been popular up here, so they might be good sellers down in Tucson where she lives. That way she can hatch chicks, and some will be NN's and others "regular" chicks - and she will have NN's for the NN fans, and "regular" Aloha chicks for the folks who think the NN is creepy! LOL.

That rooster should throw some excellent "regular" Alohas in addition to NN's. His mom was a beautiful hen - even if she was a Turken! LOL. Her buff color was the most beautiful pale cream, and she had stunning bright yellow legs. What a beautiful girl! The neighbor still has that hen, and she's looking older and more ragged now, but she did make it through the summer. I might borrow her back to try with a different rooster this year, and hatch a few more babies out of her.

Here was the breeder pen, showing the parents of my NN hens, and Debi's NN rooster:


Buff Colombian "momma" NN hen - borrowed from neighbor.


Parents to my NN hens and Debi's NN rooster. I kept 4 hens. Only 1 has Mottling.

 

[alohachickens]

Here are a few of the other NN x Aloha hens. Because the spots are recessive, they appear solid, but all have some "hint" they carry Mottling:


This is the ONE hen that shows visible Mottling. Just a few spots. Better than nothing!!!




The others appear solid Buff, but you saw their Dad in the pics - he was SUPER colorful so they carry the gene for spotting!

In this photo, if you look carefully, you can see the teeny tiny white tip to this hen's tail feathers. All of the "solid" hens have a stray spot hidden somewhere on a tail, body, or wing. Just a hint that tells you the spotty gene is there, in hiding!!!