Ancona Chicken Thread

[Yellow House Farm]

Unfortunately, folks, especially folks without experience with them, often condemn Mediterranean birds for being flighty. They often opt for Rocks or Orpingtons, something more phlegmatic. It's an on-going stereotype that needs some serious breaking. I just--5 minutes ago-moved 21 pullets to their new housing, easy as pie.

 

[Yellow House Farm]

They're beautiful, productive, hardy, tough, excellent foragers, fairly self-reliant, disease resistant, charming; their pattern is challenging, but I like a good challenge.

 

[SanderB]

And now with the foxes everywhere you need to have a good covered pen anyways. But they can indeed fly meters high and far.

I like them because they are rare, because of the beautiful color pattern and because they are good layers.

 

[RhapsodyOwens]

I only have two that are 10 weeks right now, but they are beautiful!! My son picks them up and rubs their bellies until the fall asleep lol!!

 

[Yellow House Farm]

Here are some photos of our 2013 Ancona pullets. Anconas are such a fantastic fowl. They're beautiful, productive, thrifty. The mottled pattern is striking. Unfortunately, before taking these photos we threw wheat; so there was no getting them to pose. It gives more of a glimpse into their industriousness....and fluff.

 

[Alaskan]

DANG!

Those pullets are so super cute!

 

[SanderB]

Nice, you got rose combed ones. I like the ones that are running outside. Some have a nice type, color and comb.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

Here are some photos of our 2013 Ancona pullets. Anconas are such a fantastic fowl. They're beautiful, productive, thrifty. The mottled pattern is striking. Unfortunately, before taking these photos we threw wheat; so there was no getting them to pose. It gives more of a glimpse into their industriousness....and fluff.

Beautiful birds! I can't wait until my girls get that pattern, they are 10 weeks now.

 

[Rhinoman]

Wow, they're beautiful. Now there's a significant variation in color patterns between the birds. Are the more desirable birds (SOP) the ones with more white mottling?

 

[Yellow House Farm]

The desire is the idle of the line. The Standard enumerates approximate numbers of those feathers tipped in white; it ranges from one in two to one in five depending on the section of the body. However, one tends to err on the darker side in pullets because of the tendency to molt in lighter each season. If one starts with birds too light, one end with quasi-white birds.