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Thanks Yellow House. I will keep that in mind. She kind of looks like a grandma bird now. Is that a serious fault, or more or less overlooked due to that tendency?
Nava, look a few posts up...UAC is United Ancona Club.
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I'm afraid it would be a serious fault if you were to show her; ideally, the Ancona is a black bird with maybe 20% of it's feathers tipped in white. As Yellowhouse says, select your breeders from birds that are either very dark (very few teeny, tiny white tips), or from those that don't get too light by their second molt.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=6520311#p6520311 This is Ms Bentley, an Ancona hen I have that went broody this year. She's almost three in that picture. She has gotten lighter each year, but it was a case of the white tips getting bigger rather than completely changing her color. You can see she's still more black than white.
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I know you have experience in being a club officer...want to be President?
Being the president is easy. It's being the secretary that is demanding. The secretary is the backbone of any club.
Okay, so would you like to be the secretary? If not, and we have no qualified volunteers, I will do it. (I'm assuming Secretary keeps up with membership, etc.?)
Have you raised them for a while? Have you raised offspring up in number? A patterned variety such as yours is going to require hatching in number with strong culling if it's going to improve. That's certainly not going to change if you out-cross to Anconas. Indeed, it could make everything worse. I wouldn't outcross to anything until you've spent a few solid years of raising up hatchlings in number to have a sense of what's going on with your stock. The Mille Fleur Leghorns are so new. Every pic I've seen of them reinforces this and speaks of a need for continued breeding efforts. Best of luck!
ANCONA CLUB: I'd love to see it up an running again. I couldn't, however, be the secretary. I'm already the secretary for the New Hampshire Poultry Fanciers Association. I think that two secretary psoitions would cheat both. I could serve as president, if there were none looking to assume that position.
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That would not ne my first bent.
Have you raised them for a while? Have you raised offspring up in number? A patterned variety such as yours is going to require hatching in number with strong culling if it's going to improve. That's certainly not going to change if you out-cross to Anconas. Indeed, it could make everything worse. I wouldn't outcross to anything until you've spent a few solid years of raising up hatchlings in number to have a sense of what's going on with your stock. The Mille Fleur Leghorns are so new. Every pic I've seen of them reinforces this and speaks of a need for continued breeding efforts. Best of luck!
ANCONA CLUB: I'd love to see it up an running again. I couldn't, however, be the secretary. I'm already the secretary for the New Hampshire Poultry Fanciers Association. I think that two secretary psoitions would cheat both. I could serve as president, if there were none looking to assume that position.
Joseph
Thanks Joseph, yes at present I'm a hatching fool, that's my first objective, just curious about using the ancona later if necessary. They are beautiful