The Aloha Chicken Project

[alohachickens]

Sommer, I've been looking at lavender Orps and wondering how you would feel about me setting up a breeding pen with a lav Orp roo and some Aloha hens. I know we are still focusing on the bright colors but it seems to me since I have the space and plenty of Alohas to start with maybe I could go ahead and start that breeding program as well. I'm still looking forward to more eggs in June/July from the Alohas but if I started the lav Orps around the same time as that group, I think it would work out nicely. Let me know what you think.

Actually, that would be a big help.

This isn't something I've really "pushed" because we have SO much to work on as it is. But one thing that bugs me about the current (pure) Swedish Flowers, is the "blue" gene that is prevalent. Oh, don't get me wrong, I think blue is pretty! But like Barring, and Black, it's also a dominant gene - which means it can take over - and the result is "Splash". If you look at the Swedish Flower thread, you will see more and more WHITE chickens over there in the new generations. That's because in its dominant form, Splash appears as a white chicken with a few random darker flecks.

My thoughts are, if the point is spotted chickens, you don't want a "white out" where the Blue comes in and becomes Splash. But, the gray feathers on the Swedes with the Blue gene makes them unique.

Lavender (sometimes called "self blue") also turns black feathers gray, but it is a recessive. You only get black feathers or Lavender feathers when both parents carry the gene. I thought it would be nice if Alohas had Lavender to produce gray, instead of Blue. So, I've picked out a pure Swedish hen and rooster with NO gene for "blue" in hopes that someday I'd be able to introduce Lavender.

(Would also love to bring in Chocolate, but that's another story. LOL.)

Now, the Lavender is "just black" under that recessive gene. Plus Orps are fluff balls with short short short tails. Hmm, I would also recommend crossing Lavender Orps with Sussex, to try to tighten the feathers and add the long tails?

Keep the pens seperate, but full steam ahead. Your first chicks are going to be mostly black, but once you can break that up and other colors start to "leak" in, then you could start to outcross those to the regular Alohas, in the hopes that someday many of them could carry the gene for Lavender. I'd much prefer that over Blue so we can avoid the all-white Splash chicks!

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Okay, so here is what I think you're saying.

In separate pens:

1. Cross Lav Orp roo over Speck Sussex hens

at the same time

2. Cross Speck Sussex roo over Lav Orp hens

the resulting chicks will be black but carry the recessive spotted and Lav traits

In separate pens:

3. Cross #1 LO/SSX roo with #2 SSX/LO hens

4. Cross #2 SSX/LO roo with #1 LO/SSX hens

This should hopefully result in some spotted Lav chicks with pretty tails that could then be crossed with Alohas?

Is that correct?

 

[runsw/scissors]

I was looking at some of my aloha babies after reading one if Alohachicken's blog posts...

She states in part that getting buff chicks with white spots has been difficult. Here I have been tripping all over buff chicks with white spots, has anyone else been seeing lots of buff w/ white chicks?

At this point these chicks (hatched the end of Feb) have bloomed fairly late, spot wise, & at 7 weeks old I'm interested to see who hangs on to their spots.

 

[Tam'ra of Rainbow Vortex]

Near disaster!

A wheelbarrow tipped over and fell on Digit (my smallest, but best colored hen) squishing her. Fortunately, though she has been there trapped beneath it all day (or longer?) she survived. So far. She is eating well (and ignoring the water I gave her because she likes the mash I gave her so much) but she is a bit wobbly. She is using her wings for balance because her legs seem a bit... unstable.
I am hoping it is just shock, stiff muscles, and being up too late (I found her more than 2 hours after dark) but I worry she might be injured. She stands with her feet on top of each other, sometimes with her toes curled in, but she is standing, which I hope means her hips are okay.

This is the first time in months I have done a late night head count. I am really glad I did!

On an amusing note, all the Alohas (who weren't pinned under a large plastic tub) were in the Big coop, despite being raised in the Little coop. They kicked out my fluffy sweet rooster and took over. None of the other chickens moved, just the Alohas, and the poor displaced rooster.

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Near disaster!

A wheelbarrow tipped over and fell on Digit (my smallest, but best colored hen) squishing her. Fortunately, though she has been there trapped beneath it all day (or longer?) she survived. So far. She is eating well (and ignoring the water I gave her because she likes the mash I gave her so much) but she is a bit wobbly. She is using her wings for balance because her legs seem a bit... unstable.
I am hoping it is just shock, stiff muscles, and being up too late (I found her more than 2 hours after dark) but I worry she might be injured. She stands with her feet on top of each other, sometimes with her toes curled in, but she is standing, which I hope means her hips are okay.

This is the first time in months I have done a late night head count. I am really glad I did!

On an amusing note, all the Alohas (who weren't pinned under a large plastic tub) were in the Big coop, despite being raised in the Little coop. They kicked out my fluffy sweet rooster and took over. None of the other chickens moved, just the Alohas, and the poor displaced rooster.

Oh man. It would have to be the best colored hen -- so sorry for her and you. Hope she improves quickly and is soon back to normal.

Lucky thing you found her. Not only do we have chicken math, sometimes we also have chicken ESP!

The Alohas are forces to be reckoned with!

For some reason I'm not able to load any pics right now. I'll try again later. Just wanted to share how some of my chicks are feathering out. They are so cute! They come when I call them and lots of them are really quite friendly. The shy ones I'm winning over with mealworm treats! I'm totally irresistible when I have mealworms!

 

[Tam'ra of Rainbow Vortex]

Digit's disaster update:

Alive, alert, and eating well.

I think, though I am no vet, that her right 'knee' is sprained. She seems like she can't put much, if any, weight on it. But I can't find any breaks and it doesn't seem dislocated.

I tore a ligament in my knee once and I know what it's like, but I recovered well enough to walk without a limp in a weeks time, So I am hopeful she'll be on her feet again very soon.

For now she is in a rabbit cage eating (entirely unnecessary) mash because it seems to me she needs some pampering while she heals. Poor dear will probably be traumatized for life, though!

 

[alohachickens]

Hi everybody!

I just wanted to pop in here and say hello! I've been out of town working like CRAZY - 12-16 hour days, nonstop since I left. Boy am I going to crash when I get home. I'll be back in AZ next week. Can't wait to see my youngest peeps when I get back - I'm sure they will have grown like crazy in the two weeks since I've been gone!

Karen S - Exactly! You got it. You'd get mottling, lavender, and (maybe?) longer tails on the roosters? And possibly a little bit of brown tones in there, although most likely the non-lavender chicks will only be black and white. It takes a long time for the black color to let some other colors show through, but hopefully in a couple of generations you'd be able to get red, white, and lavender mottled, or orange/lavender mottled - just imagine the Ginger girls (orange white and black) and picture all the black replaced by a soft light gray color. That's what Lavender would do to their coloration.

Tamra - ARRRGh! What a bummer about Digit! Hope she pulls through OK. Have you been able to hatch any chicks from her yet?

Runswscissors - I can't wait to see your buff & white chicks! They are siblings of the group I have at home. Mine have been late bloomers too but when I left town, I was finally starting to see some action on the spotting.

Well, have to do some more work tonight before I crash - I'm in New Jersey right now. Will talk to y'all later!

Sommer

 

[2seth2]

This project is amazing

 

[Deerfield Acres]

This project is amazing

It really is, isn't it?

Glad you stopped by. I'll be posting some pics of my now 4 week old Aloha and % Aloha chicks this afternoon. There is such a broad array of colors and I'm just so thrilled to have them! DH and I are planning the breeder pens and have just finished up the layer's coop (kind of, sort of). Busy, busy, busy!

 

[Deerfield Acres]

Got the pics early -- so unlike me! Here are some of my pretty birds, all are 4 weeks old.

If you look really hard, you can see a nice orange base with some black up top and spots on the breast. Sorry for the poor lighting but this is really a pretty bird with darker red coming in on his hackle feathers. He's a friendly one too and doesn't show any white yet but I have hope that he still may because of the lighter areas on his wings.



I have several of these ginger/white chicks in varying shades of buff and orange. So, so pretty!



This is my favorite. It has tons of white with pretty grey/black spangles in a softer shade of buff. It's a cockerel and one of the shyer birds but I'm working on calming him down. I have some females who are paler shades of this guy with much less gray instead of black. They are really pretty too but their colors just don't show up well.

I like this one because the black markings are different and the orangey feathers coming in are a nice rich shade.



I was photographing the one on the right and look who flew in for a treat! They're great fliers! The one on the right has a much softer buff color but the wings have interesting black spots.



This is one of the biggest cockerels. He looks a little scruffy because his big boy feathers are coming in. He's really pretty and friendly and look at that comb -- it's red already! I love his brightness and depth of color.




Here's the grand finale. I love all the variation!!!!



Okay, anyone else got some pics to share? Not hinting at you Taz, I know your hands are full right now. Keeping your MIL and your family in my prayers.