The Ancona breeders thread

[Yellow House Farm]

This thread is established for the discussion of the Ancona: its history, breeding, and important productive qualities. Hopefully it will be a sight that helps new-comers understand this excellent breed and encourage the pursuit of breeding Anconas to the Standard of Perfection.

 

[buffalogal]

On the old Ancona thread, a poster mentioned that their birds were autosexing at hatch due to a smudge/spot on the breast of the males. At the time, you had wondered if that was a trait of their particular strain, and they said they'd seen it in at least one line of large fowl and two of bantams. I didn't hatch any Anconas last year after that post, so I wasn't able to check that out for myself. However, this year out of my first batch of 24, it seems I am either very fortunate and have all pullets, or it's just not a trait retained in my line. It occured to me it might be something common in the single comb birds, but absent in the rose combs. What about your birds?

 

[Yellow House Farm]

On the old Ancona thread, a poster mentioned that their birds were autosexing at hatch due to a smudge/spot on the breast of the males. At the time, you had wondered if that was a trait of their particular strain, and they said they'd seen it in at least one line of large fowl and two of bantams. I didn't hatch any Anconas last year after that post, so I wasn't able to check that out for myself. However, this year out of my first batch of 24, it seems I am either very fortunate and have all pullets, or it's just not a trait retained in my line. It occured to me it might be something common in the single comb birds, but absent in the rose combs. What about your birds?

Greetings Buffalogal!

The down pattern itself in the European birds seems to be different. They seem to be darker, more black, with an orange cast down the back. The sex-linked trait seems to be a dot of black in the otherwise white breast indicating a male.

This year I have some chicks that are being thrown that have the extended black appearance, yet as of late there are none with the orange cast. In these chicks, 1/2 have had a black dot in the breast so I am watching closely. On the downside, they appear to have far too much black in the shank.

Now, Cecil Sheppard, who was probably the most prominent breeder of Anconas ever, described Ancona chicks as being black and orange. Now, I always thought that was strange, for how could anyone ever mistake what we think of a mottled chicks as being black and orange. Well, it occurred to me, when I saw these European birds, that maybe this was the down pattern to which he was accustomed. One recent European author discusses the possibility of a gene for Ancona Black. I need to look into this more.

 

[buffalogal]

Good point. Generationally speaking, Mr Sheppard would have been almost at the original imports, and they could have gradually lightened from orange to the 'canary yellow and black' we're familiar with today.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Good point. Generationally speaking, Mr Sheppard would have been almost at the original imports, and they could have gradually lightened from orange to the 'canary yellow and black' we're familiar with today.

If Sanders, the European breeder, comes on here, he can post his pics. It's actually a different effect. It's not in splotches; it's like an orange cast over the black.

 

[Rhinoman]

I looked at the chicks you sent me and did not find any black dots. Just FYI

Am I right in thinking that our birds will always throw some chicks with single combs?

 

[Yellow House Farm]

I looked at the chicks you sent me and did not find any black dots. Just FYI

Am I right in thinking that our birds will always throw some chicks with single combs?

As you select for the RC, they will be rarer and rarer. If we always breed from RC in two more years, they'll practically gone, with one popping up every once in a while. The SCs are horrible for the winter here. I encourage everyone to breed towards the RC because once it's stable, the shape can be honed and then we won't want to go back and forth between SC and RC because the the SC will undermine the balance of the RC.

 

[buffalogal]

That's true. I just had one hatch from this last batch of 24; first one in 4 years.

 

[Rhinoman]

According to the weather report it is not supposed to fall below 50 for the next few nights. I'm thinking of moving the 4 week old chicks outside to their new portable woods-style coop tomorrow.

Joe, there's at least one single comb in the batch you sent me (sadly it's one of the really big chicks). I'm going to weigh them again tomorrow and examine the rest closely before putting them in their outdoor coop. I'll post my findings. They're wing banded and my records are in excel spreadsheet so I'm going to start adding little comment on which chicks look like which sex comb type etc.

 

[Rhinoman]

From "A Little Journey Among Ancona's" (Cecil Sheppard) page 31.

"Anconas are very beautiful even from the fluffy yellow and black baby
chick period."