The Aloha Chicken Project

[draye]

Deerfield,

I don't know if the Whitw Rocks will help with washing the color down from the Sussex.

My experience with the White Rocks are all white babies with some with black spots throughout. Also, a lot if them hide barring.

Who did you order the White Ricks from? If you look on the Plymouth Rock thread find Yard Full o'Ricks ( something like that) his name is Scott. He has work for years on Columbian Rocks and now Cackle Hatchery is selling them and got their stock from him.

The Columbian I think would work a whole lot better. This if course is from my experience with the WR and not all WR are the same. It wouldn't hurt to try them I suppose and see what happens. A second or generation might get you back to the Aloha look.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Deerfield,

I don't know if the Whitw Rocks will help with washing the color down from the Sussex.

My experience with the White Rocks are all white babies with some with black spots throughout. Also, a lot if them hide barring.

Who did you order the White Ricks from? If you look on the Plymouth Rock thread find Yard Full o'Ricks ( something like that) his name is Scott. He has work for years on Columbian Rocks and now Cackle Hatchery is selling them and got their stock from him.

The Columbian I think would work a whole lot better. This if course is from my experience with the WR and not all WR are the same. It wouldn't hurt to try them I suppose and see what happens. A second or generation might get you back to the Aloha look.

I have 25 from Cackle and 25 from McMurray. I need to look up who the really nice birds came from... may have been Cackle also. That's really interesting that Cackle is carrying great Columbian's.

I thought the plain White was going to be problematic.

 

[draye]

I have 25 from Cackle and 25 from McMurray. I need to look up who the really nice birds came from... may have been Cackle also. That's really interesting that Cackle is carrying great Columbian's.

I thought the plain White was going to be problematic. :/

Cackle was where I got my WR's from and even crossbreds I got from them were white. I eventually sold all the WR and the crosses. I just wasn't having much luck with them and got discouraged. They were nice sized birds though. Maybe not quite up to standard weight but close. I think the WR from Cackle are dominant white.

Murray I've never worked with their WR stock. Theirs might be a recessive white. Not really sure though. I have heard that some hatcheries carry WR stock that are silver based ( as in for Sex link crosses).

Another thing though Cackle and Ideal both carry what they are calling Rhode Island Whites ( not rose combed). Folks are claiming that they are actually White Rock that are silver based. They say this because Rhode Island Whites are only rose combed APA anyway.

 

[alohachickens]

alohachickens, yes ma'am, the rest were Buff Sussex. I will be selling the pullets and raising the cockerels for meat.

I will be happy to take however many eggs you can spare. 25 - 30? I will make up the difference in room in the bator with Buff cross eggs here. If not that many, it's okay. I would think that being in the pen for 2 weeks is plenty. I know they say 3 weeks but I'm not too worried about it, if you have eggs ready and waiting now. I like all the hens (including the Buff) you have in the pen with the new guy. He's really pretty and if even one of his chicks looks like him with a Sussex breast, I will be very happy. I like him a whole lot and I realize he isn't even fully grown out. Nice looking bird.

So, turns out, I did not get any Columbian Rocks, they are all White. My question is, once the Rocks are mature enough to breed, should I go ahead and cross my best Rock rooster (there are some really fast growing, big birds in one group) with my Buff/Speckled and Buff/ Aloha crosses (F1) I am now raising to get some yellow legs going? The Rocks will be mature enough this fall to accomplish that. Then, when those crosses (F1's) are mature, breed them back to a couple girls I get from this batch of hatching eggs? Is the white going to wash their color out too much? The Speckled crosses need washing out but I really don't want a ton of gray, either, right? I guess I can always just try it and see what happens. Just wondered if you may have more of an idea what that white is going to do without the Columbian in there. I suppose if they were Columbian, they wouldn't be as nice and thick as these White Rocks are. These are really substantial birds with big breasts, considering they aren't Cornish crosses.

Hmmm, personally I'd be a bit afraid to work with the White Rocks? I have some confusion about the White genes. I think in one case it "hides" whatever is under there, and in the other type it replaces black? I mean, I thought I understood solid buff (the all-yellow color with yellow tail that is seen in Buff Rocks and Buff Orps) but for some reason that gene refused to "play nice" with the Mottling, no matter how much I tried. Even though the "Chicken Color Calculator" said Buff and Mottled would make Buff Mottled? (And yet it never really happened?) I only brought in the Columbian gene with great reluctance - and that was just because another BYC'er on here was a "guinea pig" and he crossed Light Sussex with Speckled Sussex and made Mille Sussex out of that cross. I was only willing to give it a shot AFTER he proved that it worked! LOL.

Since there are other "simpler" ways to get the yellow legs and not ruin the color - like this pen here - I'd maybe just enjoy your Rocks and leave it be. We can get that yellow leg gene from some nice New Hampshire Red lines, and I've already proven several times that particular cross does nothing to hurt the spotty color, and it does also improve body type.

My general approach has been, if I don't really understand what is going to happen if I introduce a particular color, I just steer clear.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

I checked it out and the WR group that is so large came from Cackle. There is no comparison between those and the McMurray birds. The McMurrays are solid yellow as chicks, but their bodies are narrow, slower growing and the cockerels could pass for pullets were their combs not so big and red. The Cackle cockerels look like cockerels, no doubt, without taking the combs into account. They are wide bodied and have a cleft in between the breasts more like a Cornish. These are really substantial birds.

So the Cackle chicks had gray in their yellow down. McMurrays, solid yellow. Very different backgrounds for sure but do you think the Cackles then would be silver based? McMurrays, dominate white?

 

[alohachickens]

I checked it out and the WR group that is so large came from Cackle. There is no comparison between those and the McMurray birds. The McMurrays are solid yellow as chicks, but their bodies are narrow, slower growing and the cockerels could pass for pullets were their combs not so big and red. The Cackle cockerels look like cockerels, no doubt, without taking the combs into account. They are wide bodied and have a cleft in between the breasts more like a Cornish. These are really substantial birds.

So the Cackle chicks had gray in their yellow down. McMurrays, solid yellow. Very different backgrounds for sure but do you think the Cackles then would be silver based? McMurrays, dominate white?

I honestly would not know? This may be a question for the folks in the Rock discussion?

 

[Deerfield Acres]

alohachickens, my Aloha girl is 4 lbs. My Buff hens are 6 lbs. The Buff rooster is a 10 lb bird. Weight-wise, we are shooting for 5 lbs on the hens, or 6? And target for a rooster?

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Quote:
Okay, will check it out.

 

[alohachickens]

NEW COLOR ALERT!

Wow, I can't believe THIS happened! I did not expect to see this for another generation:















THIS IS A NEW COLOR in BIG BIRDS! First time in Standard size fowl - I think? It is Buff Columbian Mottled, with the Dun Gene. I don't know what we'd call it - is it Dun Mille Fleur?!?

I have heard this happens in itty bitties - like Seramas - but anyway, guys - this is what I've been trying to do! This is the "Aloha" version of the Swedish Flower Blue Mottled!

I have removed the Blue color, and replaced it with Dun, so we can get the "look" of Blue without worrying about Splash!

I gave a bunch of chicks to a neighbor on Feb. 14th, and they raised them up. Last night, I walked down the street, to help them evaluate the "keepers" and this is what I found! I am going to leave her with them over the summer, because they have a fabulous cool shady yard with tons of trees and I can't see her being any safer here. Plus they are keeping a very nice rooster to grow out. They said they are willing to pen her with the boy next Fall and give me hatching eggs back. The boy is Sussex bred - very BIG - very light - looks Mille Fleur Sussex except - HE HAS YELLOW LEGS! So her babies when crossed with him would be 100% golden mottled, but would either carry yellow legs (if she is dominant for the pink/white legs) or if she carries a yellow leg gene, half the babies will have yellow legs. And the Dun gene is a simple dominant so half the babies will show Dun like Momma.

SO EXCITING!

 

[alohachickens]

alohachickens, my Aloha girl is 4 lbs. My Buff hens are 6 lbs. The Buff rooster is a 10 lb bird. Weight-wise, we are shooting for 5 lbs on the hens, or 6? And target for a rooster?

I would say if we could get them to at least the size people expect in a hatchery Speckled Sussex that would be great. You know, how the hatchery Sussex are usually not nearly as big as Heritage or show quality ones. It's not that they need to be ridiculously huge - its more that I don't want them to be noticeably smaller than other breeds, like they are now.

I know that getting them MEGA big, while cool looking, may actually make them a bit less practical, as the lighter bodies keep them a bit more able to deal with the heat in AZ and also fly up away from predators. While I adore the giant Sussex guys here, the fact that one rooster literally broke his leg jumping from the rafters of my barn is kind if crazy! LOL. I would say at least 5 pounds on the hens and 8 pounds on the roosters would be nice? I would want them to not look "runty" when compared to other backyard breeds like Wyandottes, etc.

They don't have to be ridiculously huge, though that would be fun, giant Alohas, I don't know if huge is always the most practical or efficient? From what I have heard Jersey Giants as cool as they look waste a lot of feed because they are slower growing? Just don't want Aloha fans to be let down at a pack of runty little chickens. Honestly the itty bitty Alohas kick *** out here, they are tough as nails and lay in all weather. If we can get them a bit larger and more robust, these scrappy little gals are practical as heck if you want easy to care for, predator savvy layers.