That's great about the personalities... Flighty birds are pretty boring. Are they going to be kinda like Easter Eggers, where you can hatch out a mess of eggs and get a different color or pattern on each one? Because I love that about the EEs...
They are very curious and come right up to you, BUT they don't like to be held or cuddled. They are much more savvy about predators than my "standard" breeds. My Buff Rocks, I can just reach down and grab them, they are blissfully unaware. And my Swedish roo is a big dork who literally runs into walls. He would be hawkbait in a second. The Alohas, by contrast, are always aware of their surroundings, are very good fliers, and are suspicious around strangers. They tend to hide when I "stalk" them with a camera, yet come right up to me when I'm ignoring them. They know the "predator gaze" well and do not like being the focus of attention! But if I'm busy gardening or doing lawn care, they are totally in my way.
Yes, the exact goal is for them to be just like Easter Eggers, where you would get a batch of chicks and in that group, you could get all kinds of colors!
Sussex are bred to be all uniform - each Speckled Sussex needs to be mahogany brown with a very deliberate pattern of small spots. The difference is while these are supposed to be pretty much like Sussex in body type and size, we're going for more variety in body color. Yellow legs, any solid base color, and the amount of speckling would preferably be much more white than what you see on a Sussex. The brighter and more flashy the better!
But base color - anything goes. Really trying to work on "new" colors though, like Confetti and Ginger-mottled, or Red/White mottled, or Buff/White mottled, because those are not seen on any other standard breed right now. For example the imported Swedish Flowers DO NOT come in a red and white mottled version. But I have a hen and rooster here that are half Swedish, and are in red/white mottled. We don't really want black and white right now, because Exchequer Leghorns and Mottled Javas already come in that color! So it's not anything "new" if we go that direction. What would be the point?
Picture a huge New Hampshire Red, but colored like the hen "Nicoletta" above. And in the same batch of chicks, you'd maybe get a Mille hen with a gold body, white spots, and a touch of black speckling here and there. Or a dark brown hen with bright white spots, who may lay dark eggs due to Welsummer influence. My hope is that breeders would find something they like and work on it. Like if you want super dark eggs, add some Wheaten Marans or Welsummers to cross with your Alohas.
The important thing though, is that they be practical AND beautiful. Strong, healthy, and good layers . . . PLUS pretty spots. Much like the EE'ers are very strong and healthy due to all the diversity in their bloodlines! I had this hatchery EE'er hen, and OMG, she was such a productive layer of big, blue eggs. She laid for years even in summer heat or short winter days. She was kind of boring to look at though . . . so adding the "pretty" to that would be the idea.
