The Aloha Chicken Project

[HEChicken]

Edit to ask - how many pullets/hens do you have to go around? Per boy...

Ummmm....I dunno? Seriously, when people ask how many birds I have, I invariably say either "I don't know" or "about 100" depending on the circumstances. I keep turkeys and chickens together and the numbers vary greatly throughout the year. In spring a large number go broody and raise chicks, which I typically grow out. Then I either sell the pullets or keep if I need replacement layers, and butcher the cockerels when they're big enough. Same with turkeys. This winter I got down to a breeding quad but over the summer each hen will be raising a clutch so the number will be, ahem, dozens.

Suffice it to say that it seems to be "enough". Last year I had a couple of hens looking ragged due to over-mating but only because they are rooster's favorites as they squat if you blink at them twice. The rest of the hens looked great. Yet there don't seem to be too many hens either as when I candled the eggs in the incubator that is currently running, I have 100% fertility.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Yeah, just getting going here, so pullet numbers aren't high enough to support a lot of cockerels with them - will likely need to house some on their own. Continuing to try to wrap my head around it.

Speaking of which, I need to get off of BYC and outside to start working on those tractor coops again...

 

[alohachickens]

I just found this Ebay auction from Rye, Texas - which is NE of Houston, TX according to Google Maps.

I was SUPER excited by this rooster - until I saw the date on the photo - 2012!

Seriously doubt that's the rooster with the hens now? And, the hens look rather "normal" - so even though this roo is fabulous the lack of similar extreme spotting on the hens would likely bring the chicks back to the normal range.

Anyhoo - please look at the photo of this rooster.

Whenever I say "Take a super spotty Sussex rooster and cross over New Hampshire or Buff Sussex" -

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Speckled-Sussex-Eggs-10-/121910101735?hash=item1c626886e7:g:0z8AAOSwUuFW1O2h

THIS is what I mean when I say "Super Spotty Sussex Rooster"

Now also keep in mind, that Sussex gain white spotting as they age, so there is a slim chance this is some *ancient* rooster that has turned white over many years. However - if you see a rooster that is 6 months to 2 years old and displays this kind of mottling, PLEASE try and grab him. This does happen from time to time in batches of Sussex. A proper breeder of Speckled Sussex would cull this rooster for having excessive white spotting.

OMG, if only I could get my hot little hands on a young rooster like this!!!!

So, anyway, looks like the auction is a bust. Still wanted to share, so you guys could see what a REALLY spotty Sussex boy might look like, if you are lucky enough to find one.


Isn't he fabulous!?!?

 

[HEChicken]

Sommer, I emailed the seller of that 2012 dated photo to ask about the age of the rooster and here is her response:

Quote: So I'd say, go ahead and bid on them. I asked because a lot of times people have the wrong date on their pics as they don't know how to change it in their camera. It seemed odd to me to post an auction with photos of 4 year old birds so I thought it wouldn't hurt to double check. If she's on the up and up (and she sounds genuine to me), this rooster is producing this much white at only 7 months old so you'd want to snap up those eggs!

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

I just found this Ebay auction from Rye, Texas - which is NE of Houston, TX according to Google Maps.

I was SUPER excited by this rooster - until I saw the date on the photo - 2012!

Seriously doubt that's the rooster with the hens now? And, the hens look rather "normal" - so even though this roo is fabulous the lack of similar extreme spotting on the hens would likely bring the chicks back to the normal range.

Anyhoo - please look at the photo of this rooster.

Whenever I say "Take a super spotty Sussex rooster and cross over New Hampshire or Buff Sussex" -

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Speckled-Sussex-Eggs-10-/121910101735?hash=item1c626886e7:g:0z8AAOSwUuFW1O2h

THIS is what I mean when I say "Super Spotty Sussex Rooster"

Now also keep in mind, that Sussex gain white spotting as they age, so there is a slim chance this is some *ancient* rooster that has turned white over many years. However - if you see a rooster that is 6 months to 2 years old and displays this kind of mottling, PLEASE try and grab him. This does happen from time to time in batches of Sussex. A proper breeder of Speckled Sussex would cull this rooster for having excessive white spotting.

OMG, if only I could get my hot little hands on a young rooster like this!!!!

So, anyway, looks like the auction is a bust. Still wanted to share, so you guys could see what a REALLY spotty Sussex boy might look like, if you are lucky enough to find one.


Isn't he fabulous!?!?

Why does the super speckledy Sussex need to be the rooster - can it be the hen under a NH rooster (or black tailed red NN rooster)? Two of my Speckled Sussex pullets (nearing POL, only about 18 weeks) have quite a bit of white already (the other three don't have nearly as much).

(No pics right now, will try to get tomorrow.)

- Ant Farm

 

[draye]

Why does the super speckledy Sussex need to be the rooster - can it be the hen under a NH rooster (or black tailed red NN rooster)? Two of my Speckled Sussex pullets (nearing POL, only about 18 weeks) have quite a bit of white already (the other three don't have nearly as much). 

(No pics right now, will try to get tomorrow.)

- Ant Farm 

I think that she suggests rooster because you'd have less chickens to buy and that you can get more prod gent from a rooster quicker than a hen. After all she only lays one egg a day and a rooster can fertilize umpteen I don't know how many eggs daily.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Quote:
Oh, good - because I already have the pullets and don't want any more roosters than the absolute minimum. I'm ok if it takes longer, if it keeps me more sane, chicken math-wise...

Got a couple photos today (hard to do, they wouldn't sit still). They are still young (not yet POL), so I expect them to get even whiter. One is darker mahogany than the other. Lots spottier/whiter than the other three pullets (which are mostly essentially brown with accents). Given my goals with these birds, I'm pleased that they are in the mix.





Of course, Kev now has me wanting to add lavender chickens to the mix for porcelain NNs... (later, later...)

- Ant Farm

 

[draye]

Oh, good - because I already have the pullets and don't want any more roosters than the absolute minimum. I'm ok if it takes longer, if it keeps me more sane, chicken math-wise... Got a couple photos today (hard to do, they wouldn't sit still). They are still young (not yet POL), so I expect them to get even whiter. One is darker mahogany than the other. Lots spottier/whiter than the other three pullets (which are mostly essentially brown with accents). Given my goals with these birds, I'm pleased that they are in the mix. Of course, Kev now has me wanting to add lavender chickens to the mix for porcelain NNs... (later, later...) - Ant Farm

Ha ha. I'd like to have a Lavender myself. Only because it's a diluted on other colors. I want to see if I can get some cream color into my flock. I've heard that it will dilute red to a straw color. I did once have a Lavender pair of Ameraucanas but they were almost bantam sized and the hen didn't lay very well. So they got sold and I've not found a descent priced Lavender since.

 

[Kev]

Oh, good - because I already have the pullets and don't want any more roosters than the absolute minimum. I'm ok if it takes longer, if it keeps me more sane, chicken math-wise...

Got a couple photos today (hard to do, they wouldn't sit still). They are still young (not yet POL), so I expect them to get even whiter. One is darker mahogany than the other. Lots spottier/whiter than the other three pullets (which are mostly essentially brown with accents). Given my goals with these birds, I'm pleased that they are in the mix.

Hm, your pullet seems spottier than some of the hens in the auction picture..

Is it my imagination that the male version is spottier than the female version of the "same bird"? I understand there's a lot of variation all over the place in both sexes but it often seems the roosters tend to be whiter than the hens... if that's a general case, perhaps that pullet would have been 'pretty white' if she were a cockerel?

Quote:
<brain waves- now now...> sanity is overrated....

 

[Kev]

Ha ha. I'd like to have a Lavender myself. Only because it's a diluted on other colors. I want to see if I can get some cream color into my flock. I've heard that it will dilute red to a straw color.

I did once have a Lavender pair of Ameraucanas but they were almost bantam sized and the hen didn't lay very well. So they got sold and I've not found a descent priced Lavender since.

Lavender does turn the regular red to a straw color.. but it turns the dark red to a rose/pinkish shade. Someone tried to start on a project of lavender show stock RIR- birds so dark they look black, the idea was to see if lavender on those would create pink birds.

I also wonder about lavender on the red lace color- you know, like the BLR wyandotte but replace blue with lavender..