What is the "Confetti" Color?

I first spotted "Oddball" the Banty hen, next door, early Spring 2009.  She was mixed in a pen of chickens that belonged to my neighbors, and was the only one.  What attracted my attention was her color, which looked very similar to a few photos of the Swedish Flower Hens pictured on the amazing chicken breeds web site, www.feathersite.com - which you guys should all check out by the way, it's awesome!

Here's the "Feathersite" photo that even got me to notice the oddball hen next door.  This picture was borrowed from Feathersite.com for whom I'll always be grateful to, because without this site, I wouldn't have known such a breed existed, or know what to look for to try and re-create it:

Blommehons/Swedish Flower Hens from Sweden

Above:  Photo from Feathersite.com showing Swedish Spotted Hens

Today I now have chickens that look very similar to the ones seen on that page, at least in color. There is still a lot of work to be done in terms of body size, leg color, and overall type. However, check out this pullet that is growing up here and look at how much she resembles (in color) the Feathersite photos:

Above:  NO SWEDISH FLOWER HEN BLOODLINES - All American!

Until this chicken was born, I thought the exteme amount of white on the "Confetti" chickens was related to barring.  (Barring is stripes on the feathers.)  But, this new girl, who I may call "Streaky" has no barring. 

The neatest thing about the "Confetti" color, is how strongly it reproduces itself.  I've raised many chickens in this color now.  What else I like about it, is how different it is from Speckled Sussex and Mottled Java, the current American mottled colors.  If you had to decribe those breeds, you would call them "a dark chicken with white spots" whereas Confetti chickens might be called "a light chicken with dark spots".

I am not really sure what gene or genes are causing this color, but I am very pleased at how easy it has been to reproduce in generation after generation.  As I go into 2012, the goal will be to get the Confetti color onto a true "big chicken" body type.  We want to keep the color, and ONLY the color, and basically transfer that color onto a body type of a Sussex, Orpington, or other large dual-purpose breed. 

I am hoping the fact that this color has been easy to work with so far, will mean in a year or so, we'll have the color on a true "big chicken" body type.  Right now, the Alohas have been small in size, with a tendency towards a "gamey" or thinner and lanky body.  The goal is big, fat, round, bodies, while keeping these same bright colors.

My First Post! Aloha!

I'll make this short and sweet.  What is this blog about?

A few years ago, I decided that I wanted some Swedish Flower Hens, or "Blommehons" as they are called over there.  Only problem was, this rare breed was NOT in the United States.  To import them would have cost thousands of dollars.  What to do?  Create my own, of course!

I wasn't having much luck, until I found the strangest little hen in my neighbor's flock next door.   Her feathers were in a unique color that I now call "Confetti".  Her bloodlines helped create lots of unique colors in my flock.  Finding her was the key to the program today.  I have no idea what her background was, or where she came from origially.

She was tiny in size, but BIG in color!

To see the detailed story of the last few years, check out my old website.  I've run out of room there, hence this blog.  But the web site tells the whole tale:

http://alohachickens.webs.com/

Now the Swedish Flower Hen has been imported to the United States, thanks to Greenfire Farms!  But, a funny thing happened on the way to copying an overseas breed . . . I've started to create something totally new. 

This is the tale of one gal in a suburban backyard creating her own breed, by luck and by feel, with just a basic understanding of genetics.  Follow along and see how it goes!

Below:  The strange little tiny hen that started it all . . . . Oddball!