The Aloha Chicken Project

[HEChicken]

I finally got a pic of the little Leghorn cockerel. I actually think his spots are not as good as in the hen you posted above. And he's the only one of the group with any color at all - the rest are just solid buff.

 

[alohachickens]

I finally got a pic of the little Leghorn cockerel. I actually think his spots are not as good as in the hen you posted above. And he's the only one of the group with any color at all - the rest are just solid buff.

He is actually pretty darn adorable.

Try to get a pic of his chest when you can. The boys express spotting differently so the chest spotting helps get an idea of how strong the gene is.

However, any amount of white is a good thing on a Buff. It could actually mean his spotting gene is strong?

And in the long run, let's just say you crossed the spotty boy (from the NHR / Exchequer pen, the red and white spotted one previously shared) with pure NHR hens - to create 3/4 NHR mottled carriers (would likely not show any mottling) and then crossed the "solid brown" (hiding mottling) hens from that generation with this guy - in theory you'd get half mottled chicks that would be 5/8 Leghorn and 3/8 NHR.

Likely results down the road, could possibly be something that resembles Mottled Leghorn, but with improved size and meatiness from the NHR. Again, regardless of color probably would make a really good farm chicken! And that is the entire point of the Aloha project - very pretty but practical and useful farm chickens!

If you keep working with these lines, as the spots pop up, just pick out the most spotty and within a few years I think you have all the ingredients to make your own unique Aloha strain - I think it will be an awesome group in a few years using what you've got going there.

BTW, related but not-related . . . while I didn't specifically pick for "most egg laying" in the Alohas, it did happen accidentally. Because I hatch so many chicks all year long and keep the most-spotty peeps, if a hen lays a lot of eggs, then her chicks will automatically have a better chance of being "the chosen ones" simply by being available for me to choose from! I remember my foundation hens were Kona and Ginger. Ginger was by far the more spectacular hen, but she laid fewer eggs and to my frustration, refused the attention of most roosters so what eggs she did lay were typically infertile. Kona laid buckets of eggs like a champ and all were fertile, so early on Kona became the foundation hen despite the better color seen on Ginger.

So if you end up setting up a pen with a group of hens (NHR / Exchequer cross in with the Buff Leghorn / Mille Leghorn crosses) and just start hatching out eggs - even if you end up tossing BOTH roos in the pile and make it a "mixed bag" with all the ingredients present - you'll find the most prolific hens and the most determined rooster will win out and just pick the best colors and spots. But I think the key here is you just need more peeps to select from. Even early on when I had just the one 'bator it was full most of the time. I read a breeder's advice and it was "Breed copiously, and cull ruthlessly" and that's been my motto ever since.

Luckily, all chickens find ready homes where I'm located, which makes it easy. I don't need to worry about what to do with my extras - they are so in demand! Even now I've got more buyers than I do chickens for sale. Admittedly, ready buyers and good weather most of the year make it easier for me to raise a lot of babies . . .

Just wanted to point out that most likely the more you raise from this pen the better they will get over time. As the better layers will give you more eggs to work with and the more poor layers will give you less hatched to pick from. So they will naturally become better layers over time, the more you hatch and the more you cull. If that makes any sense???

 

[draye]

Anything new in Alohaland?

 

[HEChicken]

Not much new here Draye

I'm just waiting for my spring-hatched generation to grow up and start laying. I can hope that happens before winter, in which case I might be able to hatch then. But if they anything like their Exchequer Hen grandparents, they'll be slow to start laying so it won't be until next spring. Its a good thing I'm a patient person.

 

[draye]

Not much new here Draye

I'm just waiting for my spring-hatched generation to grow up and start laying. I can hope that happens before winter, in which case I might be able to hatch then. But if they anything like their Exchequer Hen grandparents, they'll be slow to start laying so it won't be until next spring. Its a good thing I'm a patient person.

Thanks for the update.

I understand about having to wait until something starts laying. Me, I'm not so patient!

 

[draye]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1034269/the-calico-aloha-mottled-naked-neck-thread/360

A few updated pictures. We're having rain about all week this week, so when it stops raining and dries up a bit I'm going to try to get better pictures.

 

[cgmaster]

I now have Silverudd's blues (aka blue isbars). I think they would be an ok option for adding blue eggs into the aloha gene pool. What do you all think? If that would be a viable option I might be looking for some alohas once my silverudd's blue flock is increased

 

[draye]

I now have Silverudd's blues (aka blue isbars). I think they would be an ok option for adding blue eggs into the aloha gene pool. What do you all think? If that would be a viable option I might be looking for some alohas once my silverudd's blue flock is increased

You'd have to look back through the thread, but alohachickens culled the blues from them because of the splashes they produce, I think that it messed up the mottling.

 

[HEChicken]

I now have Silverudd's blues (aka blue isbars). I think they would be an ok option for adding blue eggs into the aloha gene pool. What do you all think? If that would be a viable option I might be looking for some alohas once my silverudd's blue flock is increased

Ism't the Isbar a barred bird? My understanding is barring is very difficult to breed out so barred birds are generally not recommended for this project.

There have been multiple attempts to add colored eggs to the project and I personally think it would be super cool to have a flashy bird that lays a flashy colored egg. However so far the attempts to add color to the eggs have also added too many other unwanted elements - like muffs, beards, barring etc. By the time those traits are bred out, the egg color is gone as well.

 

[cgmaster]

You'd have to look back through the thread, but alohachickens culled the blues from them because of the splashes they produce, I think that it messed up the mottling.

Well what if i only used the black birds from them?

Ism't the Isbar a barred bird? My understanding is barring is very difficult to breed out so barred birds are generally not recommended for this project.

There have been multiple attempts to add colored eggs to the project and I personally think it would be super cool to have a flashy bird that lays a flashy colored egg. However so far the attempts to add color to the eggs have also added too many other unwanted elements - like muffs, beards, barring etc. By the time those traits are bred out, the egg color is gone as well.

Silverudd's blues ar not barred, they are typically Blue/Black/Splash with either gold or silver leakage
Here is blue my cockerel: