The Aloha Chicken Project

[Deerfield Acres]

Great pictures everyone! I am loving all the spots!
Karen I am having the same problem, LOTS of roos! I was hoping that you got all the pullet eggs. Combined with the fact that one of my cats got a hold of some chicks...It is definitely survival of the fittest around here.

Darn cat!!! I have a few that are tiny, and so they will just go into my bantam coop.

It is amazing how friendly they are.

Bad kitty!

I have one blah colored hen that is the sweetest thing. If I am in the room, she is right there with me. I cup her in my hand and she just nestles in like she's in heaven. When I lower her back into the brooder, still nestled in my hand, she won't get off. I am enjoying them all of them so much watching their colors change.

 

[alohachickens]

Finally got my Sussex pics on the computer which still uses the internet!

Here's Bell and Paprika (the most spotted). My other hen, Skull, Looks like she's halfway between these two.

And here is Cayanne with Bell, so you can see the contrast.

And a flock pic to show off the pretty colors!

LOVE Paprika! That's totally what we need! And actually, the two Aloha roosters that I see there don't look ridiculously small when compared to your hens. I see some nice bright reds in their colors, too! I can't wait for you to hatch some more chicks from these guys . . . .

 

[alohachickens]

What kind of antibiotic did you use on your birds? I've used probiotics and Vet Rx and it seems to control the sneezing well, and I haven't lost any birds because of it, but they don't get completely over it. I've been thinking to treat with an anti-fungal treatment to see if that would clear it up. I thought perhaps since they were in the basement it had gotten too damp for them. It didn't seem so to me but I'm not a chicken!

I've had no problems with the Aloha brooder pen, thank goodness.

I don't know - I got it from LareePQG - she said it was "the good stuff" and that most poultry antibiotics were not nearly as strong. I really need to ask her what it was called, because she was right, it worked GREAT. She said most of the poultry antibiotics at the feed store were about as effective "as adding Kool-Aid to their water." She had the sniffles thing going around her flock for ages last year, and this was what finally got rid of it.

I will find out what it was called and post here!

 

[alohachickens]

once ypu reach your goal what will make alhoas different from SFH

1. No crests on Alohas

2. More variety of color. Right now, there are no Buff/White, all red/white, barred crele/white (Confetti) colors in Swedish.

Alohas would have an "open door" policy with no restrictions on new colors. In other words, if you wanted to introduce Lavender or Chocolate mottled Alohas, with Lavender or Chocolate Orps as your starting stock and crossing those with Sussex and later "real" Alohas, that would be fine, so long as they met all the other breed standards, like single comb, yellow legs, etc. I don't see Alohas as ever being a "closed" breed, which is the case in most breeds - you select your original stock and NEVER introduce new bloodlines again.

The problem is, if your breed is an old one (like Sussex became a club in 1903) then perhaps no new blood has come into the breed in over 100 years. Now with chickens, breeders may have introduced some new blood here and there with no penalties, but for the most part, you've been working with the same stock with most standard breeds since maybe the 40's or 50's.

Pure Sussex are especially tricky to breed, because they want "just enough" white but not TOO much. Plus, they must all be that uniform mahogany brown color. With such tough standards, it's easy to see why a Speckled Sussex breeder wouldn't want to toss in, say, a Rhode Island Red now and then to freshen up the lines. But I think that is exactly why now the breed seems to be kind of fragile, at least according to friends and neighbors who have bought hatchery Sussex and had them die very easily.

When two unrelated breeds are crossed together, often the result is a stronger chicken, because of the fresh bloodlines. That is a big reason why a lot of production egg layers are actually cross-breeds. Usually, the more pure the breed, the weaker it is. My feeling on Alohas is that if someone can make what looks like an Aloha from whatever breeds they want to cobble together to get the same traits, more power to them! Because more variety in the genes usually means a stronger, healthier individual.

Other than more colors and no restrictions on outcrossing, the goal of body type and coloration would be very, very much like a Swedish Flower, because the goal of the Alohas was to create an American Swedish Flower chicken! But since America is a melting pot, I think Alohas should reflect that.

 

[alohachickens]

I have one blah colored hen that is the sweetest thing. If I am in the room, she is right there with me. I cup her in my hand and she just nestles in like she's in heaven. When I lower her back into the brooder, still nestled in my hand, she won't get off. I am enjoying them all of them so much watching their colors change.

Maybe she will color up later? Or just cross her with the right rooster - these should all carry colors in their background, even if they don't show them! She sounds like a sweetie.

 

[alohachickens]

oh also, wanted to mention that runny noses have been running through my flock but no sneezing. the first one affected is over it now and its spread to the older alohas. they arent acting sick so i havent medicated. what is it with this sickness lately? do chickens have allergies?

I don't know, but it's odd, I've had chickens for umm, six years? And never had any respiratory illness until this year! It started when we had that weird cold snap, what was that, about a month ago?

Oh, and about KIng - and rehoming him - see if a feed store would like him. I usually sell my extra roos to Pratt's Pets in Glendale, but they are really far from you. Anyway, they buy grown roos for $5 and sell them for something like $12. I figure, that's WAY more expensive than a grocery-store broiler. Who would pay that much to EAT them??? So I feel like the roos are pretty safe going there, precisely because they do charge that much money for them!

The feed store closer to me also takes in roosters and re-sells them, but they don't pay you anything for the roosters. But Pratt's does not take baby roosters, just adults that are about four months or older. So right now, when I have a bunch of young roosters that Pratt's will not want to buy, I can take them down to my feed store and they will sell them to other chicken owners in the neighborhood, since they only sell pullet chicks - so folks who bought chicks from them should have had all girls, and they will need a rooster from somewhere else.

And most of the time, I just give them to my neighbors. If they go to Jorge's, typically his dogs eat them eventually, which is why I stopped giving him my extra chicks. TOO MANY DOGS. Though we did manage to save a nice rooster that was a "cull" who ended up being spectacular, so it was worth it!

My other neighbor, Ray, takes my extra chicks too, but he's worse than I am, and doesn't kill anything. And his yard is super-safe from predators. The only chicks I've given him that have died, have been ones that flew over his 6-foot fence. Everything that stays in his yard has survived! So he has about 10 roosters of various ages next door! I think I need to just give him my extra hens for a while and send the baby roos to the local feed store. Otherwise, if I keep this up, the guy is going to have about 50 roosters over time. Ha ha ha!

 

[nicolets]

1. No crests on Alohas

2. More variety of color. Right now, there are no Buff/White, all red/white, barred crele/white (Confetti) colors in Swedish.

Alohas would have an "open door" policy with no restrictions on new colors. In other words, if you wanted to introduce Lavender or Chocolate mottled Alohas, with Lavender or Chocolate Orps as your starting stock and crossing those with Sussex and later "real" Alohas, that would be fine, so long as they met all the other breed standards, like single comb, yellow legs, etc. I don't see Alohas as ever being a "closed" breed, which is the case in most breeds - you select your original stock and NEVER introduce new bloodlines again.

The problem is, if your breed is an old one (like Sussex became a club in 1903) then perhaps no new blood has come into the breed in over 100 years. Now with chickens, breeders may have introduced some new blood here and there with no penalties, but for the most part, you've been working with the same stock with most standard breeds since maybe the 40's or 50's.

Pure Sussex are especially tricky to breed, because they want "just enough" white but not TOO much. Plus, they must all be that uniform mahogany brown color. With such tough standards, it's easy to see why a Speckled Sussex breeder wouldn't want to toss in, say, a Rhode Island Red now and then to freshen up the lines. But I think that is exactly why now the breed seems to be kind of fragile, at least according to friends and neighbors who have bought hatchery Sussex and had them die very easily.

When two unrelated breeds are crossed together, often the result is a stronger chicken, because of the fresh bloodlines. That is a big reason why a lot of production egg layers are actually cross-breeds. Usually, the more pure the breed, the weaker it is. My feeling on Alohas is that if someone can make what looks like an Aloha from whatever breeds they want to cobble together to get the same traits, more power to them! Because more variety in the genes usually means a stronger, healthier individual.

Other than more colors and no restrictions on outcrossing, the goal of body type and coloration would be very, very much like a Swedish Flower, because the goal of the Alohas was to create an American Swedish Flower chicken! But since America is a melting pot, I think Alohas should reflect that.

So basically... they could be nicknamed 'Freedom Flowers'.

 

[Tam'ra of Rainbow Vortex]

Both of my Aloha roosters are about the size of my Sussex and orp hens. They stand as tall as my bigger roosters (they stretch to do it because they want to be the biggest baddest things around) but they really are smaller. Not tiny, though, And nice red-gold colors, But they are barred, and they are mean

I am thinking of culling one of them since I only have 3 sussex hens left and don't need so much Aloha roo. I have been waiting for one to stand out as 'better' than the other, but they are about the same size, about the same amount of white, they are equally mean to my other roosters...both barred... One has puffy cheeks and is a little gold-er (that would be Easter, the one in the back). I talked to MaBo and he says I have 3 nice gold pullets and a cockeral with puffy cheeks so that is for sure buff orp + Easter. I am thinking of culling him, since we have some of his offspring and Hastur is otherwise closer to the goal. Then I hatch a batch from him and the next generation should be better!

My Sussex roo (not yet pictured) is GORGEOUS and I can't wait to see his chicks either. Mixed with my Aloha hens, he will for sure improve size and temperament. He is such a mellow guy and he is one solid chunk of rooster. My other big roo is a fluffy marshmallow, but my Sussex is sleek and strong looking. He has a decent number of spots, and his mahogany is bright and beautiful. I am looking forward to seeing what I will get. With the beautiful, unique, and quirky Alohas and my big, friendly, beautiful Sussex I am sure to get great results. And with MaBo's big buff and red Aloha crosses, we are set for the next generation. its gonna be good!

 

[alohachickens]

I am thinking of culling one of them since I only have 3 sussex hens left and don't need so much Aloha roo. I have been waiting for one to stand out as 'better' than the other, but they are about the same size, about the same amount of white, they are equally mean to my other roosters...both barred... One has puffy cheeks and is a little gold-er (that would be Easter, the one in the back). I talked to MaBo and he says I have 3 nice gold pullets and a cockeral with puffy cheeks so that is for sure buff orp + Easter. I am thinking of culling him, since we have some of his offspring and Hastur is otherwise closer to the goal. Then I hatch a batch from him and the next generation should be better!

Hmm, I am wondering . . . the rooster with puffy cheeks by Easter . . . . would carry Easter's bloodlines, and carry SPOTS. (Even though he would not show spots.) Could possibly be crossed with pure Sussex hens. The result would be 1/2 Sussex, 1/4 Buff Orp, 1/4 Aloha chickens. If crossed to a Susssex, many chicks should end up spotted. (At least half)

If you kept the spotted hens from this cross, with the Buff Orp bloodlines in the rooster, and Easter's golden tones behind them, even though the babies would all look like "poorly bred pure sussex" they would carry lighter colors in their background.

But being 3/4ths "big chicken" this new rooster's kids out of Sussex hens would be large, and overall, these would be better than using either pure Buff Orps or pure Sussex!

The three gold pullets could be tossed in with your Sussex rooster, for again, 3/4ths "big chicken" babies with spots. The magic is going to happen when those half-Sussex are crossed with either a pure Aloha like Hastur or with each other. Then the recessive reds and golds will show themselves.

Weird that you've had mean Aloha roosters. I've handled Butterscotch and Flame and they are the utmost gentlemen. LOL. Cheeto, the half Buff Rock, is not "mean" but he did take a good chunk out of my hand once when I grabbed a hen and she screamed. (He thought I was going to kill her and of course gallantly stepped in to rescue her, so that's actually a good boy there.) The Swedish rooster - one is a sweetie to me, and has become my lap-rooster that I can pick up and pet. But they are all kind of jerks to the hens! A bunch of teenage punks. Hope they outgrow that foolishness. LOL.

 

[alohachickens]

So basically... they could be nicknamed 'Freedom Flowers'.

Exactly! You are free to get to that goal any way you wish. I think we can work forever on improving colors, and then, on improving productivity and health, even once we get the colors.

If you can create something that looks like a Speckled Sussex but with yellow legs, and it comes in more colors than ONLY that one approved Sussex color of mahogany/white, (New colors on big chickens - like buff and white, or bright red and white!) plus a bit more spotting than a "regular" Speckled Sussex on some of your chicks, I don't care how you got there. That's an Aloha chicken.

Use any blend you want to get there. . . just beware of strong, overpowering genes like barring, black, and dominant white, and blue, that can come in and kind of "take over" your program. It's not a "law". if you use some other breeds, though, you may regret it! That's all. I used some Easter Egger early on, and I'm still battling muffs and gray legs and funky combs as a result. Had I known then what I know now, I would have done things differently. So I recommend some breeds because I know it's going to make the path easier, that's all.

Some colors (like Confetti and Ginger) have pretty much only been seen in the Alohas so far that are descendants of this little random-bred banty "Oddball" that I bred from. That's the "unique" and exclusive Aloha line that can't really be bred from other things - at least, not that I've found so far. Maybe as we experiment we'll find another cross between existing breeds that would make Confetti or Gingers, but I haven't run across it so far. Those colors have not popped up in either Swedish Flowers, or in Sussex crosses. For that reason, some actual Aloha chicks from my stock may be needed to get certain colors and patterns in your flock. So the Ginger and Confetti colors so far have been "exclusive" colors in my flock:


Above: Confetti rooster with a non-Aloha game hen.

But a lot of other colors can be replicated without using any of my stock. Cross Sussex with NHR, Cross an extra Swedish Flower rooster with a Buff Rock. Cross those together. If it's big, spotted, yellow-legged, single-combed and in a color not seen in either Sussex or Swedish, then it must be an Aloha. Ha ha ha! You should be able to get Alohas that look like Flame using SUSSEX AND NEW HAMPSHIRE RED. So if you like "Flame" - please note you can make your own Flame-style Alohas without ordering chicks from me!


Note that Flame still needs yellow legs but otherwise that's an Aloha chicken.

I hope people who want to play along at home will consider working on their own "exclusive" colors! Have fun with it!