Ancona Chicken Thread

[bruceha2000]

Congrats on the new egg layers! My AC's white eggs are just as white as my White Leghorn and store bought.

Even MORE new layers!

On Sunday the EE laid her first blue-green (XL, double yolk!) and the other Cubalaya laid her first small egg! The smaller Australorp laid her medium brown egg Monday and BOTH Cubalayas also laid. Sadly, the Ancona girl that laid the big egg in my last post (turned out to be a double yolk) dropped a shell-less egg from the 4' high roost right in front of me yesterday. Still working out the kinks.

Bruce

 

[bruceha2000]

Breakfast today, 2 XL Ancona eggs.



The girls have been productive. 21 eggs in 17 days not counting the shelless one.

They have each been laying 2 or 3 days in a row, then a day off.

Bruce

 

[bobbieschicks]

My AC is a great layer, laying most days with only one or two days off a week. She's better than my Lav Orpingtons for consistency. I didn't use extra light this year and she's still laying pretty regularly.

 

[TomF]

I have been raising chickens for 4 years and just recently became aware of the Ancona breed.
My grandson & I are interested in hatching some fertile eggs and would hope someone would tell us where we could purchase some.
thanks
Tom

 

[bobbieschicks]

I have been raising chickens for 4 years and just recently became aware of the Ancona breed.
My grandson & I are interested in hatching some fertile eggs and would hope someone would tell us where we could purchase some.
thanks
Tom

I purchased fertile eggs to hatch my AC on eBay from Gabbards Farm. You can order directly from her website. You can also check here on BYC under the hatching eggs for sale thread. Julie was very helpful and they have reasonable prices. Of course shipped eggs are a risk. Maybe someone else on here ships eggs? I just have my one AC and only as a pet quality layer of fresh eating eggs.

 

[bruceha2000]

What are you looking at? Move along, nothing to see here (unless you have BOSS!)

 

[bruceha2000]

OK, so Zia has decided she needs to be Miss Bossy Pants. She is jumping the other girls, including the small Cubalayas and the larger but oh so docile Easter Eggers. I would have made her sleep in the indoor run but she was so annoyed yesterday when I locked her out of the coop so the other girls could lay that she flew into the 8 mil clear plastic on the sides of the coop so hard that it ripped. I didn't want her to do it again and let her into the coop. I think Chicken Jail is in her future.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Bruce

 

[Yellow House Farm]

What does "jumping" mean? Fighting them or mounting them? THe former's a problem; the latter's just fine.

 

[bobbieschicks]

OK, so Zia has decided she needs to be Miss Bossy Pants. She is jumping the other girls, including the small Cubalayas and the larger but oh so docile Easter Eggers. I would have made her sleep in the indoor run but she was so annoyed yesterday when I locked her out of the coop so the other girls could lay that she flew into the 8 mil clear plastic on the sides of the coop so hard that it ripped. I didn't want her to do it again and let her into the coop. I think Chicken Jail is in her future.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Bruce

Awh poor little prisoner. My AC can get a little pushy when it's treat time. She's second in command of all the layers and isn't afraid to remind the others. But rarely have I seen her get attack the others. Maybe she does it in private because they know to move out of her way. I do have an Aruacana that will get on the back of my silkie and peck her. If she didn't lay such beautiful blue eggs I would have freezer camped her by now.

 

[bruceha2000]

What does "jumping" mean? Fighting them or mounting them? THe former's a problem; the latter's just fine.

She has jumped on them in a mounting position, though I don't know why that is all right. And she has chased after them. Perhaps I need a description of "fighting". The girls certainly don't like it when she chases after them. Last night she was keeping some of the girls from getting up on the roost. 19' of 4' high roost is plenty of space for 12 chickens. She and Yue (the other Ancona) picked the muff feathers out of the EEs and Faverolles (though the Faverolles joined the "game" on the EEs).

On Sunday Zia wouldn't let Andromeda into the nest box (enclosed community that was their only option until a week or so back so some of them like it best) then went in herself where she laid an egg. I took that out and Andromeda went in. Zia then went back in and forced Andromeda out. I put Andromeda in one of the open top nest boxes (~45" long with 2 dividers) but she jumped out and went back in the community box where Zia then went back in and tried to force her out again so I locked her out of the coop and played doorman for all the girls that wanted to lay for the next hour. Zia was going nuts. Around both sides of the coop (it is was a horse stall and the back wall is the original wall of the upper part of the barn). She kept running around the 3 sides, tapping at the chicken door (insulated glass window) in the front wall and eventually flew into the clear 8 mil plastic on one side of the coop (above the 4' wall) ripping it as she bounced off.

Bruce