ancona, bad examples?

[klf73]

I don't know if anyone has them, but I got ancona from a breeder on ebay because no one here had them. They are 5 months old and are looking more like a mottled bird than the white tipped black feathers I have seen on other ancona. I am wondering if they are just slow to get their adult color? Maybe the weather (very cold) has affecting their feathering?

 

[hinkjc]

I'm not sure I understand the question. An ancona is a mottled bird.

 

[klf73]

sorry, I am scattered. I will get a pic tomorrow but they don't look like the ones on feathersite, rather they still look like they have juvenile coloring, with a lot of lighter colors still on them. The pics on feathersite, the white looks like nice *dots*, mine look like smudges

 

[blackclownfish16]

It takes awhile for mottled birds to color up sometimes even till their first molt. Anconas should have very clear mottling compared to other mottled birds. I would wait until they were at least 8 months old before I made any judgments, thats what I do with my birds.

 

[hinkjc]

Excellent points bcf! I think I see what you're saying Krista. I agree, they probably need more time to develop fully.

 

[Birch Run Farm]

I agree, you'll see some changes after they go through a major molt. Mottled birds do. Hang on to them, I bet they will turn out fine! I hear they lay some nice BIG white eggs.

 

[klf73]

I thought they were just slow developing, then I saw a pic of someones 4 mo, it looked just like feathersite....made me wonder about mine.....mine still look *juvenile* as far as color. I wasn't sure if the cold weather slowed down the process, as the person(w/the 4mo) was where it is warm.

 

[Birch Run Farm]

Krista,

I think our cold weather does slow young ones growth down. I switched my birds to turkey-game bird high protein feeds quite some time ago because I had so many chicks in October. It is all I feed now as far as commercial feed.

All of my birds have benefited. They still get kitchen scraps, corn on occasion and evergreen boughs. The higher protein really helps.

I have some ameraucana, araucana and red star peeps from October that are slow to mature but they are getting there. I am also soaking alfalfa cubes and feeding them as well.