The Aloha Chicken Project

[alohachickens]

alohachickens, I am sorry to hear about the heat wave you're having. We're having one rainy day after the next here and when the sun does come out it is ridiculously humid.

My eggs were supposed to hatch today but not so much as a pip. I'm going to leave them alone for a couple days and see if anything happens. I still have hope that I will get at least one?

ARGH. That is frustrating. I did have that one batch of Ebay Sussex eggs that got banged up, and they developed, but never even pipped. So if nothing hatches, was probably postal mishandling. Gosh darn it! Nothing works quite like Live baby chicks, huh? Sigh!

 

[Deerfield Acres]

I did get a start to a zip but the yolk was unabsorbed and glued it shut. Another one didn't pip but I could hear it peeping so I helped it slowly and carefully. This one had a seriously deformed neck. Sigh.

I have the second batch in lockdown but didn't have the heart to candle prior to. Just couldn't face reality, yet. I am so hoping I get something in the next couple days.

So true, nothing works like chicks. An uncle of mine is contemplating a move to Arizona soon, so I'm thinking "Hellooo Uncle, meet your houseguest, a crazy chicken lady, here for the purpose of flying hatching eggs home!" Hee hee. He loves chickens. I'm going to recruit him for the Aloha program, then he won't mind having a houseguest so much!

 

[Kev]

I just wanted to share photos of my upcoming flock!

FINALLY - feeling like I have some of my "end goal" Alohas!

Of course they are going to need some fine tuning, building up type and such, but these are still close enough to be what I would call "Alohas":


Younger Aloha NN hen, only about 3-4 months. Of course half her kids will be "normal" feathered and look at those yellow legs and spots!!!




Above: This gal is most like the Aloha end goal, with her light coloring and bright yellow legs!

Oh wow, now I am really getting why you are working so hard in this project- REALLY like the color those two girls.

It's too easy to fall into thinking "mille fleur"- it is a flashy color but I simply could never get excited about it and to be honest, many of them are actually ugly.

I hope the naked neck will be encouraged to float around. I realize it is not liked by many but IMO it is really practical for those in hot climates and the breed itself is a very nice bird- too bad so many are turned off simply by the visible neck, ha. And I still remember being awestruck by that one rooster one of your fellow project buddies has.

 

[alohachickens]

Oh wow, now I am really getting why you are working so hard in this project- REALLY like the color those two girls.

It's too easy to fall into thinking "mille fleur"- it is a flashy color but I simply could never get excited about it and to be honest, many of them are actually ugly.

I hope the naked neck will be encouraged to float around. I realize it is not liked by many but IMO it is really practical for those in hot climates and the breed itself is a very nice bird- too bad so many are turned off simply by the visible neck, ha. And I still remember being awestruck by that one rooster one of your fellow project buddies has.

Guessing you're talking about Robin?



Looks like he's going to be heading back to Phoenix in October! He's being a total jerk to my friend. She says she can handle him for a few months, but since she's not breeding (I tried to loan her an old incubator and the the piece of crap just didn't work) we decided it would be best to bring him back up here. I will put him in with the best NN hens, since so far, I have not hatched another rooster as large plus as nice looking as him! I will have to deal with his nonsense, but oh well. At least the chicks will be pretty, but I'll have to watch the temperament on the roosters. My other roosters so far have been very nice, no human aggression at all.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

I have one chick hatched and 4 pips! That sure beats "none" all to pieces. The kids are so happy we're actually getting some Alohas this time and I'm really good with it myself!

 

[Deerfield Acres]

The evening count is 4 hatched, 3 zips. Keeping my fingers crossed for more tomorrow morning.

 

[FridayYet]

The evening count is 4 hatched, 3 zips. Keeping my fingers crossed for more tomorrow morning.

Congratulations! Post pics when you can.

 

[alohachickens]

The evening count is 4 hatched, 3 zips. Keeping my fingers crossed for more tomorrow morning.

I needed some good news. Praying that one of the BEH eggs that I sent Deerfield hatched, or that one of the eggs will, because I just lost my wonderful, beautiful blue eyed hen.

She was two years old. I had no plans on selling her - EVER. This heat is brutal, I am up to four hens lost. Temps have been 110+ for days now. Several 115 degree days.

I have made "mug bogs" for them to lay in, set up wading dishes everywhere, brought ice to some dishes during the afternoon. We had a strong breeze yesterday but when it's 115 it just feels like opening an oven door. Not much cooling relief there.

I also lost a beautiful half Sussex hen, and my biggest Buff Sussex hen, plus a Buff Sussex cross. Four "keeper" hens lost in the last 10 days since the serious heat started. Going to go mope in a corner now. I would cry but I know it won't do any good, she's gone. Her son was the probable sire of the eggs I sent to Deerfield. (I say "probable" because he was the head of the breeding pen, but I don't think it was together for a full 4 weeks before I sent those first eggs. Plus two NN hens were brought in, and those were running with other boys.) So the son of the blue-eyed hen is probably the sire of MOST of the chicks.

Bought a mister system but it will be days before it's set up, probably. The boyfriend wants to hook up a "dedicated" water line. I'm OK with hooking it up to the hose and unscrewing it every day to use the hose, because then I could use it immediately. I'm so scared of who I'm going to lose next. And we have about three months of this heat left.

RIP beauties. SO need to get a few breeding flocks of these set up in other states - out of AZ heat!!!!!







These three hens that I lost this week,were so stunning, they were good enough to found an entire breeding program between the three of them. The Buff had the size, the Sussex had size and spots - and the blue eyed hen - she was just amazing.

Hoping Deerfield got some good stuff. Two of the hens lost were from the pen I set up and got her eggs from. I also hatched some eggs here from that same pen. I have about 70 teeny peeps that were born end of May and first week of June, so they are only 2-3 weeks old. I marked the eggs from that pen, and then added some eggs from the general Aloha population. Wow, I hope there are some good ones in there, because I have no idea how my flock is going to look like by the end of the summer at this rate.

Desperately need breeding programs in other states to combat the summer losses here . . .

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Ah Sommer, that's so sad. I'm so sorry to hear that. Wow.

On the upside I have 9 chicks and one pip. We tried to see if the BEH egg (only one that developed) hatched, but couldn't tell. Once they've all hatched, we'll check the shells and let you know. I'll post pics as soon as they are out of the hatcher and in their brooder. I'm so happy to have this many, I can't even tell you. I believe it may be possible I have chicks from each of the hens lost?

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Sommer, when we had our terrible heat wave, I froze chunks of watermelon and cantelope for them to peck at to help cool them down. I also put ice in their waterers. It really did help even though it seems ridiculously over the top. I used the misters and mud bogs as well. That kind of heat is just brutal. Not saying that they could have been saved. I still lost a few birds with all those heroic efforts. I remember putting one seriously panting bird in our shower enclosed bathtub for a cool down. DH loved that one.