The Aloha Chicken Project

[notinoz2007]

i'm not sure how accurate we were with the candling, some showed no veins but they had the dark spot i was looking for so we decided to keep them til next check. i would be so excited with 39 chicks but i dont expect all those eggs to make it. - but maybe we'll be lucky. good idea to put cheeto with his very own harem, he is such a beautiful bird and big so i hope he gives you the markings and size you've been looking for.
are those chick pics the ones i just saw last week? i dont remember them being so big, they sure do grow fast. i love the ones with stipes along the eyes, what breed is that taken from?

 

[Tam'ra of Rainbow Vortex]

I can't wait to start hatching!
I want to see what I get...
Mabo and I are still trying to figure out our breeding pen/incubator/chick tagging situation so we can be sure we know which chicks came from which parents. Since neither of us are experienced chicken breeders my thought is that being super organized is the best way to make up for it! Right now we both ambitiously hope to set up 3 breeding pens giving us a total of 6 pens between us. Right now we only have 3 pens total, but I don't think it would be too hard to make an A-frame tractor-style run with a small coop attached.
I am sure we'll get some good ones though... My chickens just get prettier all the time and I am so excited to see what their babies will look like.

 

[MaBo]

I second that, Tam'ra! It's killin' me to watch everyone incubating and hatching! JEALOUS. However, I have started saving eggs because I am super-close to finishing the incubator. My first batch of incubating eggs will be from Aloha hens outcrossed with "Red" my big RIR/NHR rooster. The Aloha hens are the only ones laying right now anyway. My other non-Aloha hens probably won't start up laying again for another month or two. By that time I must have my other pens built.

Tam'ra of Rainbow Vortex :

I can't wait to start hatching!
I want to see what I get...
Mabo and I are still trying to figure out our breeding pen/incubator/chick tagging situation so we can be sure we know which chicks came from which parents. Since neither of us are experienced chicken breeders my thought is that being super organized is the best way to make up for it! Right now we both ambitiously hope to set up 3 breeding pens giving us a total of 6 pens between us. Right now we only have 3 pens total, but I don't think it would be too hard to make an A-frame tractor-style run with a small coop attached.
I am sure we'll get some good ones though... My chickens just get prettier all the time and I am so excited to see what their babies will look like.​

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Hello everyone. I'm new to BYC but joined specifically because I am interested in Aloha chickens. My husband and I live in KS on approx 5 acres and have 8 children. I'm a full time mom and DH is a test pilot.

Before researching I thought I would raise approx 10 hens for eggs, but I became really fascinated with the idea of breeding for a more interesting looking chicken. I like the looks of the Sussex but wished for more variety. I found Greenfire and loved the colors of the Swedish hens and ultimately ended up at the Aloha chicken website. I'm looking for recommendations on what and where to buy. Don't I need around 25 chicks in order to end up with 10 hens? In order to increase size on the Alohas should I mate with Buff Orp, Sussex or Swedish Flower for a confetti colored Aloha?

Thanks for your help.

 

[MaBo]

karenS, hello and glad to have you here! I'm fairly new to the project as well. To my knowledge, many(most?) of us are working with birds that came from alohachickens, in some way or another. There's at least a few of us here in Oregon, myself and another BYC member Tam'ra, who are trying to help out. Between us we have 8 hens and 3 roos (Alohas) that we selected as best of 20-some chicks received last spring from alohachickens. We too have been scheming on how best to bring in better size, as well as coloring, and even egg-laying. Here in my flock, for size and color, I have several nice roo's.... a NHR/RIR, and Buff Plymouth Rock, who I'll be crossing with my 4 Aloha hens. I also have one very colorful (but size-challenged) Aloha roo who I'll be crossing with several large buff hens. I'm in the process of building 3 separate breeding pens, and once I get those done, I'll be hatching like crazy.

I think you are on the money with the idea for Buff Orp and Speckled Sussex, as those are both large. I'd suggest talking with alohachickens about your plan of attack, and about getting some chicks. She has began hatching again, as well as other members whose hatching operations are 'coming online', so in the near future I'm guessing there will be some chicks available.

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[RAREROO]

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Hmm, I'd have to see what it involves to be NPIP . . . . . time to research . . .

I'm pretty sure you are supposed to be NPIP certified to legally ship live birds out of your own state at all, even within the continental US

 

[stormylady]

Tam'ra of Rainbow Vortex :

I found out it takes me at least 2 hours to download 200 pictures, then sort them, then choose the best, then choose the best of those, then upload them. Hopefully they're worth the effort! It was tough to narrow it down, but I think this shows of the color and pattern pretty well.

Here are the six Alohas I have left after culling, sharing, and unfortunate disappearances. The first pic after each name was taken this weekend, the others are old ones for comparison so you can see how much they have changed.

Digit is the smallest and brightest of my four ladies.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_img_1729.jpghttps://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_alohas_028.jpghttps://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_digit_1027.jpg
Puffy is the lightest colored, but she has beautiful dark eyes. She's also quite photogenic for being so camera shy!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_img_1747.jpghttps://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_alohas_122.jpghttps://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_puffy_1161.jpg
Flecks is pretty good sized, but she's the homeliest one I kept. She's got a sassy personality and never backs down.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_img_1777.jpghttps://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_alohas_024.jpghttps://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_flecks_1191.jpg
Goldy is the most unique. Anyone who works with feathers would want her she is just so pretty.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_img_1818.jpghttps://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_alohas_046.jpghttps://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_goldy_a_1223.jpghttps://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_goldy_b_1223.jpg
Here's Flecks, Goldy, and Digit together. Puffy, unfortunately, didn't want to pose with her sisters.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_img_1814.jpg
Easter the very timid is the lowest rooster on the pecking order, and thus was hard to get in any really good pics.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_img_1835.jpghttps://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_img_0720.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_alohas_082.jpghttps://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_easter_1562.jpg
Hastur, formerly Nameless, was strutting around soaking up the attention. He photographs quite well.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_img_1803.jpghttps://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_img_0783.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_img_0727.jpg
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_nameless_149.jpg
Easter and Hastur posed for a pic together(ish) so we can see them side by side. Easter (right) is the lighter one, Hastur (Left)is more red.
And Rufus, the Barred Rock is in the lower right corner.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_img_1773.jpg https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_nameless_and_easter.jpg
And, though they are not Alohas, here are my Sussex rooster with a Buff Orpington hen who will be adding their genetics to the mix this spring.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/29884_img_1714.jpg

They're all very nice, but I like Flecks the best, I don't think she is homely at all!

I think it might be that I see alot of speckled sussex in her I don't know , I just think she is prettiest!

 

[Tam'ra of Rainbow Vortex]

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Flecks is very Sussex-like in personality too. She is the most outgoing of my Alohas and the only ones in my flock bolder and more persistant than her are the Sussex and my lone barred rock. Of course I still think she's pretty, but she is by far the plainest one I kept. Her size and personality are the main reasons we kept her in the mix. I just like her a lot. She's not as flighty and skittish as some of the smaller girls. She's definitely a late bloomer though. She had NO white at all until she was at least 3 months old, when tiny 'flecks' of white began to emerge, and then spread! Till then, she was nameless and counted among the likely culls.

The way these chickens change as they grow still astonishes me. That's why I'm in it; I love variety and surprizes!

 

[alohachickens]

Just an FYI for possible new folks who want to join up on the project with live chicks: I'm hoping to set things up to ship chicks in March and April. The "window" to ship live chicks out of Phoenix (where the main flock is located) is very narrow. That's because by May, our temps are up to 100+ degrees and stay that way all into fall. In the winter, when the temps are nice here in Phoenix, it's freezing everywhere else in the country! The Post Office told me they prefer to ship when the temps are about 50-80 degrees for the entire trip. (Although obviously, they do ship in more extreme temps, as we all know!) There aren't many times of the year where it's pleasant both here in the desert and everywhere else, too. Which is why having project breeders in other parts of the country would be awesome! Tamra and MaBo are in the Pacific NW, but we have no one in the Midwest or Texas or CA or . . . . anywhere else!

At this point I'm thinking of setting up a couple of live chick shipping dates in March and in April. I'll post the dates here when I figure them out. I'm only charging $1 per chick right now, because we haven't yet achieved the project goals. These still need a lot of work outcrossing and such. But even though the chicks will be affordable, the buyer will be responsible for all shipping charges and supplies. (Like the special chick shipping box.) I prefer to go "Express" shipping on these, if we're going far, and just about EVERYWHERE is "far" from Arizona! So with all charges, expect maybe $65-$70 total with shipping and supplies included?

After April, that would be it for shipping chicks until fall. I'm guessing I could maybe ship out four to six batches of 25 live chicks to new breeders this spring? That's at the current incubator capacity. A fellow in town here has a BIG incubator, it holds 300 eggs, but he lives an hour away, so I'd have to drive an hour pick up live chicks the day they hatch, pack at his home, then drive them directly to the downtown Phoenix post office for shipping. Yes, it could be done, but then I'd have to charge for the gas to drive all around town, LOL!

But I have two "home" incubators that hold 42 eggs each, so I definately could supply two boxes of 25 chicks every three weeks during March and April.

 

[laughing man]

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sweett!!