History
The Ancona originates from the Italian province
of Ancona and was bred from a mixture of breeds including the Leghorn.
Their black feathering led to them being called Black Leghorns. They are
tough, hardy birds and are prolific layers, producing a large number of
white eggs. They were very popular as egg producing birds in Europe and
arrived in England in 1888 and slightly later in America. The breed can
be seen in two different varieties the single combed and less common
rose combed forms. They have white earlobes and bay coloured eyes and in
the single combed variety, the large comb flops backwards. The
feathers are beetle green-black, tipped with white and they have yellow
featherless legs and feet with some black mottling down the shanks. They
have four long, well spread toes.
Behaviour
Anconas are small attractive birds which are not
prone to broodiness. In fact, they are non-sitters and will produce a
large number of medium size white eggs. Chicks are vigorous and mature
quickly. They are alert, busy little birds and are happiest foraging in
the open air. They are not happy kept in confined spaces and they also
fly well so high fencing is necessary. With good care and kind
treatment, they can become quite trusting and may become tame if handled
from a young age. With every moult, the white spots on their plumage
become bigger so the older the bird, the whiter the feathering. They are
very hardy and a cock will weigh in at around 6lbs while a hen weighs
approximately 4½lbs. They have an average lifespan of around 8 years.
There is also a bantam version.
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