Ancona Chicken Thread

[Rhinoman]

That's an impressive coop!

And heavy. As a matter of fact heavier than I anticipated. We are not going to be able to roll it with just the two of us and our little lawn mower. The good news is the neighbor has a huge ATV! I never meant for the coop to be moved frequently maybe yearly whatever I just want to be able to move any other coops I build.

 

[bruceha2000]

I wish it would warm up a little I'd like to get them out on some grass for a few hours. I THINKING for such young birds it should be at least in the upper 60's?

Seems like that might be kind of cold for 2 week old chicks. Maybe if it is sunny and no wind??


Their new coop is almost finished (it'll be our "purple" clan coop). It just hasn't been warm enough to paint it yet.

It's an 8' x 12' Woods open-air style coop, the area you see in front will be covered with 1" x 2' square cage wire after the coop is painted. Those are basement hopper windows on the monitor face.

Nice. I like the open front concept. You see so many coops that don't even have windows and probably not enough ventilation. With these you get plenty of both. I would think the chickens would be happier with a lot of light and we all know how important ventilation is, especially in winter. Why 1" hardware cloth and not 1/2"?

Bruce

 

[Rhinoman]

The 1" x 2" cage wire is much thicker than hardware cloth and will be strong enough to keep out the large predators; fox and coyote. I'll back it with metal screen to keep out the small predator weasels.

 

[Rhinoman]

I weighed the 3 week old chicks. Lightest one was 5oz the heaviest one 9.5oz!

 

[Rhinoman]

I wonder just how many birds an Ancona breeder will winter over from any given pen any given year? Because this breed will lighten with age the bird that is good as a pullet or cockerel will not likely be a good hen or cock as far as color is concerned.

I'm going to show my birds so...

Part of me is also wondering if such a worry worth having.

 

[NYREDS]

I wonder just how many birds an Ancona breeder will winter over from any given pen any given year? Because this breed will lighten with age the bird that is  good as a pullet or cockerel will not likely be a good hen or cock as far as color is concerned.

I'm going to show my birds so...

Part of me is also wondering if such a worry worth having. 

Yes, mottled birds tend to lighten with age. This can affect their performance in the show room but it doesn't alter their genetics so there would be no reason not to keep them as breeders if they were good as young birds.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

One thing you could do is keep a large laying flock of pullets each year and then see who molts in the best.

I didn't think of it when I sent them to you. A few of them are going to be SC. Just don't breed from them if you keep the females and eat the SC males.

Interesting weights.

 

[Rhinoman]

Yes, mottled birds tend to lighten with age. This can affect their performance in the show room but it doesn't alter their genetics so there would be no reason not to keep them as breeders if they were good as young birds.

That's what I meant when I said "also wondering if such a worry is worth having". If I keep the birds that look great the first year; do I really care if in the second year mottling is a little off. If the pullet, that becomes a hen was good enough as a pullet than it will do fine despite being a bit too white as a hen. And as you pointed out it's the genetics that matter!

Joe I counted them when I wing banded them the other day 36! So a few single combs is no big deal. Also a question: how soon before you kill the supplemental heat? At what age do you put them outside? Ok that was two questions. The thing is my brooder is down to 73 and the chicks on the far side away from the heat source!

They're notably bigger than they were Monday.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Reduce the bulb down significantly and turn it off in the day over the weekend to see how they do. If they appear to be fine, then only turn on the bulb at night.

You're going to end up with a few beauties for sure. Certainly enough to begin your breeding project.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

You're going to notice that they grow quickly and mature fast. By 20 weeks they'll be looking lovely.