The Poultry Keeper

nigel · Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 6:21 pm Post subject: Ancona

This thread is for Ancona

Camile · Joined: 13 Dec 2006 Posts: 96 Location: Faartan

Good morning ..

I just have one Ancona .... don't know if she completely a pure breed although she looks like it .. because she just went broody on me ..

And they are not supposed to be broody, and are considered non-sitters.

They are light mediterranean (Italian), will produce a large number of medium size white eggs, very flighty and good forager.

Camile

Henwife · Joined: 31 Jan 2006 Posts: 3222 Location: Monmouthshire

In their 2nd year they are prolific layers of very large white eggs. Their feathering as chicks and growers will convice you they are magpies not anconas. The hens have large floppy combs & the cocks' are upright. I've got some bantam ancona eggs in the hatcher now, and three cross bred LF hens in the laying pen.

Henrietta · Joined: 07 Oct 2005 Posts: 40

When the chicks first hatch they remind me of a dark choc ice !
They finally turn into the delightful white spotted variety.

Annie (not very original I know) was my first Ancona bantam. She was a "cuckoo in the nest" in that I bought Welsummer eggs and she hatched out! She is very friendly and very chatty. Also very adventurous.
Last year during the hot weather she kept disappearing . Finally returned with 5 chicks in tow all of which she reared to adulthood. Crosses but the hens are very attractive black birds with a purple sheen to their feathers which I've kept. Unfortunately have developed their mother's ability to escape. One dug her way out of a very secure run AND it was during the snowy weather.

This year Annie is being confined to barracks to make sure no more accidents happen. She now has 2 more Ancona friends. (only 2 hatched from 12 eggs bought from Ebay).

At the moment I have 5 chicks in the brooder unit.

Kristal · Joined: 01 Apr 2007 Posts: 115 Location: Shrewsbury

This is Dilys, the 12 week old Ancona that I bought from moo2moo last week. She is a very sweet-natured little bird so far, very tame and friendly.

Wilt · Joined: 09 Nov 2006 Posts: 31

Philip Smedley was kind enough to let me have this trio. Sorry the photo isn't up to much!!

GTB · Joined: 16 Jul 2008 Posts: 30 Location: Heart of Wiltshire

Here's a photo of one of my Ancona hens.

They are pretty hardy birds which lay a lovely large white egg (middle egg).

The egg on the left is from a black rock and the one on the right is the first egg from a young Welsummer hen.