The Aloha Chicken Project

[Deerfield Acres]

Wow, Deerfield - your "Master Plan" is actually very brilliant!

I think if you're up to it, we should make you a good "go-to" source for "BIG" chicken stock that will be compatible with the "original" true Aloha base stock that I've got here.

Please carry on with this plan - it's terrific! Hatch hatch hatch like crazy so I can send people to you to buy hens.

A-HEM . . . assuming the chickens will cooperate with FERTILE eggs for you . .. argh!

I will be glad to be the "go-to" source for Plus-size girls!

Forgot to tell you I checked fertility last night and out of 8 eggs, 6 eggs were fertile so that's a great improvement. I have a friend who had to AI her Silkies, and I'm not above doing that myself, if I have to.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

My friend in Tucson, Deb, shared a photo of "Robin". He was the F1 (First Generation) Naked Neck x Aloha cross who was too good to cull.

I still can't figure out how he ended up so spotty? Only one other F1 hen has small amounts of spotting.

How funny that the best Aloha rooster that I bred last year happens to be a Naked Neck! I am in love with his super pale Mille coloring. I am going to give Deb a few of my larger Buff colored Aloha hens so she can put them with Robin and hatch chicks over the summer. Isn't he cool?

He is amazing. Much better structure, yellow legs. That's a nice bird -- Deb's going to have some fun with the Buff Aloha hens and this guy!

PMing you about your culls.

 

[alohachickens]

I will be glad to be the "go-to" source for Plus-size girls!

Forgot to tell you I checked fertility last night and out of 8 eggs, 6 eggs were fertile so that's a great improvement. I have a friend who had to AI her Silkies, and I'm not above doing that myself, if I have to.

Yay for fertile eggs! Which eggs are they? Buff Sussex for your customers?

 

[draye]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/6828118/


Beautiful. I hope that I get at least one that turns out that pretty.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Yay for fertile eggs! Which eggs are they? Buff Sussex for your customers?

All were fertile, except 2 of the Buff Sussex girls.

The weather is getting dicey in the area and it zapped my PM to you into the ether. I'll try again!

 

[Deerfield Acres]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/content/type/61/id/6828118/


Beautiful. I hope that I get at least one that turns out that pretty.

I hope you do too!

 

[draye]

I hope you do too!

Thanks.

 

[alohachickens]

Finally got pics of the super - shy Speckled Sussex-y baby!

He's smaller than the other Sussex-y boy. BUT - I got him back from my neighbor along with a few others. So, he could be a couple weeks younger? I can't remember when everyone was hatched.

Also, I don't know what my neighbors feed the babies, but I know the adults get a grain mix that's sold cheap locally. It's not horrible - it's a mix of corn, barley, oats, etc. But I doubt it's a complete feed, it's probably more like feeding your hens nothing but scratch grains. I am not sure if the babies get actual "chick start" or this mix? If they get the grain mix, they may be a little smaller because of that.

But like I mentioned before - I can't remember when everyone was hatched so it could be simply that they are younger! LOL.

So let's not look at size (since it could be age) and just look at his structure. I thought he was pretty well built, and right now, he's showing a bit of white. Not a great Aloha, but maybe a good replacement for the Speckled Sussex rooster that I lost? I could maybe cross him with the Aloha Naked Necks?

Since the big Speckled Sussex rooster died, and this chick looks very much like a pure Speckled Sussex, that would mean Momma would be one of my two Speckled Sussex / Buff Sussex cross hens. Shown here with a "normal small Aloha" for SIZE comparison. These two hens are HUGE. Not a ton of white - but HUGE:


Above right: Sussex Mom to chick?

So who would the Daddy be? Not the Buff Sussex - he doesn't have enough white. Dad could be Thing 1 or Thing 2 - who I suspect carry spots.

Or maybe a smaller Aloha rooster, I now have two with color that are starting to jump on the hens. But I kind of doubt they would have been old enough to breed two months ago, when the egg these chicks were hatched from went into the incubator.

So, by process of elimination, my best guess would be Thing 1 or Thing 2 as the daddy. If that is the case, this rooster could turn out very nice indeed.

Here is one of the Things:


Above: Thing 1 or 2.

The only other roo of breeding age would be the tall roo - but he has a RIDICULOUSLY big comb, is long and lanky, and has long flowing tail. This chunk of a baby rooster has a teeny comb and short tail. So I doubt that's the daddy? Again, evidence points to Thing 1 or Thing 2 as daddy.

OK, here are the photos:


















Well, grow him out and see what happens, I guess? See if he keeps that white and gets big?

If Thing 1 or Thing 2 is the daddy, then that means this boy would be 1/2 Buff Sussex, 1/4 Hatchery Speckled Sussex, with the rest probably Aloha?

 

[alohachickens]

Here are more of the chicks from my neighbor. I gave some of the Naked Neck chicks to my neighbor to raise, and tossed a few "regular" Alohas with them, too, since they would be running the heat lamp for the few Naked Necks anyway and they had extra room in the brooder. Told them they could have the Aloha NN's for free if they raised my babies for a while.

So now I have THREE roosters that are mostly white. Plus I got a couple of random hens from the neighbor, from those chicks I gave them to raise. But because I was picking out the biggest chicks, mostly I got roosters. LOL.



One of these is my "keeper" boy but hard to tell him from the rest? His size is the only difference between him and the ones I got back from the neighbor.

They all look similar, the others are just a bit smaller. Younger? Or not as well fed? Not sure?




Also looks like there is a cute hen in there with a lot of white.






Okay, looking at photos, it looks like one of the babies (above) has a dark tail feather on the BOTTOM of the tail

And his brother has a dark feather on the TOP of his tail plus more color on the back (hackle) area.

 

[alohachickens]

Can we just take a moment to enjoy the pretty color of this hen with horrible body type? LOL.



I know she's not well built, but oh, the COLOR!