The Ancona breeders thread

[Yellow House Farm]

Joseph, I love to look at your flocks. I would bet I could give you a sorry excuse for a breed trio, and you would have them looking like clones in a couple years.

I believe I saw a post of yours showing the ancona carcass, and it looked pretty uniform. In your opinion, would a light brown leghorn compare? Or is there less relation between the breeds than one reads?

Their standard potential is extremely similar. They have identical weights and almost identical type. However, although there are typical traits that ideally lead to utility, the actualization of utility depends on the individual breeder. Think of it like "breed is an idea; strain is a reality." There are some excellent strains of Light Brown Leghorns available--some of the best large fowl in America today. They would make a very worthy breed choice.

 

[Rhinoman]

Are you finding them to be productive?

They lay as well as my hatchery mix. I've built trap nest and intend to use them when the time is right. It just bugs the crap out of me not to know who's laying what. Of course never at the expense of SOP.

I'm glad you like the cock bird because that means I've got a sense of what is right. And I get to be right about his wings too!


So, haven't lost a bird since feb, my new enclosure is keeping predators out but I have a new problem. Yesterday evening my 4 year old daughter brought in a basket of eggs it had a load of black, black-pepper sized bugs crawling all over them. We've never seen a single bug on any eggs before last night. Today Brenton (the 16 y/o who does the bulk of the chicken chores) dipped all the chickens in ashes and cleaned out the nest boxes. He said he couldn't find a single bug on them? This evening he gathered eggs he said a couple of the had two or three of these bugs on them. I worked 7A-9P today and will tomorrow and can't examine the birds till thur and ideas of what this could be and how to treat?

 

[Yellow House Farm]

They lay as well as my hatchery mix. I've built trap nest and intend to use them when the time is right. It just bugs the crap out of me not to know who's laying what. Of course never at the expense of SOP.

I'm glad you like the cock bird because that means I've got a sense of what is right. And I get to be right about his wings too!


So, haven't lost a bird since feb, my new enclosure is keeping predators out but I have a new problem. Yesterday evening my 4 year old daughter brought in a basket of eggs it had a load of black, black-pepper sized bugs crawling all over them. We've never seen a single bug on any eggs before last night. Today Brenton (the 16 y/o who does the bulk of the chicken chores) dipped all the chickens in ashes and cleaned out the nest boxes. He said he couldn't find a single bug on them? This evening he gathered eggs he said a couple of the had two or three of these bugs on them. I worked 7A-9P today and will tomorrow and can't examine the birds till thur and ideas of what this could be and how to treat?

Sounds like some form of mite. I'd use DE or Pimetherin. You can put it the corners of your nest boxes, too.

 

[Rhinoman]

I realize this is the Ancona breeders thread but I don't think there's very many out there Joe (certainly not here on BYC anyway)! You started it, so like it or not you're my mentor! You're supper busy but imagine my 65 hr work-weeks plus 10 more hr travel time to and from; and 7 kids, life!!! 7ANDUN anyway.

I was very discouraged, disappointed and embarrassed last year when the majority of birds you sent me were taken by predators. Really, I was ashamed because they were entrusted to me and I felt like I let you down. I read enough to know how many people get into this and give up or fail and how few succeed. I HATE to fail (never surrender!). It's not really a competitive thing with me it's a stubborn pig headed thing.

So since I figured out (in March) I can't ferment my own mix with success and started feeding Poulin Turkey/ Gamebird grower/ Finisher everything was going great, till Monday when we found the little ******** on our eggs!

I had DE in my nest boxes should I have refreshed it? Was there something I missed that caused the outbreak? They're not free ranging anymore (death sentence here next to Pisgah park) but they do have a 100 x 100 fenced area. Only got two eggs yesterday out of the crew that usually gives me 7-9, so there's a problem. I'm thinking of spraying the birds with Pyrethrin, DEing the next boxes with fresh De and repeating this weekly for a couple of months. I don't really change the wood-shaving-litter on the floor of the coop but the birds really don't spend much time on it and I have poop boards so the litter is dry. really my coops are more dusty than anything!

One more thing that's been eating at me. You start collecting eggs for the incubator in February I know this, how in the word do you keep them from freezing? It's a year and a half off for me but I can't figure out how I'm going to incubate frozen eggs! We had this problem this winter just trying to collect eggs for eating.

 

[Rhinoman]

I'm a lot less discouraged but a lot angrier. There's a very good explanation of why little black [mites?] were all over our eggs. My sixteen year old who "cleans the nest boxes every Thursday" simply tops them off with fresh wood chips! When I put my hand inside one of the boxes I noticed it had clumped, caked on, stuff at the bottom, I scraped it with my fingernail against the junk. When it didn't move, I thought, how did this occur in three days since it was only three days since he was supposed to have deep-cleaned the nest boxes. I smelled my fingertips, they stunk like dead animal. I stuck my nose in one of the nest boxes, it stunk like dead animal. He's has never cleaned the nest boxes in two years! Yes, I guess you could blame me but when I check the boxes look like they're done, nice clean chips. Anyway, the crew and I bleached the nest boxes and rinsed them out thoroughly today, mixed in the DE with new fresh chips. Now I'll pick up some Pyrythrin and spray the chickens.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

I'm a lot less discouraged but a lot angrier. There's a very good explanation of why little black [mites?] were all over our eggs. My sixteen year old who "cleans the nest boxes every Thursday" simply tops them off with fresh wood chips! When I put my hand inside one of the boxes I noticed it had clumped, caked on, stuff at the bottom, I scraped it with my fingernail against the junk. When it didn't move, I thought, how did this occur in three days since it was only three days since he was supposed to have deep-cleaned the nest boxes. I smelled my fingertips, they stunk like dead animal. I stuck my nose in one of the nest boxes, it stunk like dead animal. He's has never cleaned the nest boxes in two years! Yes, I guess you could blame me but when I check the boxes look like they're done, nice clean chips. Anyway, the crew and I bleached the nest boxes and rinsed them out thoroughly today, mixed in the DE with new fresh chips. Now I'll pick up some Pyrythrin and spray the chickens.

Well, there's a big--BIG--difference between failing and giving up. A huge difference. I think that, in poultry if not in other areas as well, failure is one of the best modes of learning. I think that's how I've learned so much--I just keep failing. Isn't that Churchill, though, "Never, never, never give up!"

The other thing is not to get too annoyed with the inevitable. If this is your first bug infestation, it assuredly will not be your last. I promise.

As for the early eggs, I have often marveled at how cold eggs can get and still hatch. I regularly come home to collect eggs after work with an outdoor temp in the teens, and as long as they're not cracked, they hatch. It's pretty cool actually. You'll be surprised what you can do for early hatching; I always am.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Some update photos of what's growing out this year. Our strain is really coming along well. They possess excellent disease resistance, strong vigor, fairly early maturity, and productivity. They are selected to the SOP each year.

The Mediterranean breeds, as well as the Continental breeds, often receive some negative press on generalist sites that make them sound difficult to manage, etc. The trick to success with Mediterranean fowl is a mixture of breeding and husbandry.

 

[ccassidy18]

Does anyone have any tips for breeding and housing SC Ancona Bantams in New York? I just got a trio and this is my first time ever even having Ancona's...though I immediately got very attached to them...

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Does anyone have any tips for breeding and housing SC Ancona Bantams in New York? I just got a trio and this is my first time ever even having Ancona's...though I immediately got very attached to them...

You have a very rare bantam there. That's excellent. I'm jealous.

Do what is necessary to protect the male's comb. Nice, neat, controlled housing. Certainly no free-ranging at least until you've developed a stronger flock. You're going to want several different spaces--eventually, i.e. when these breed--for pairings and then progeny. If you have a larger space, you can during the breeding season isolate each hen in an open show cage and then move the male in between the pens. Starting a flock from a trio requires care pedigreeing, but it's a good way to start. You're going to want to learn about toe-punching and wing=banding.

 

[ccassidy18]

Thank you,and also,I was just going to put a plastic,numbered leg band on each bird,and I was going to work with line breeding until I can find another place that sells them in small quantities,because I am looking to start a small hatchery next year,and my Ancona Bantams will be one of at least 10 breeds available. When I am finally able to get eggs hatched and am able to ship across the country,I will post on here letting everyone know. I will also be trying to sell started birds,for example,pairs and trios. I don't have a website,but I will hopefully by next year.