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Discussing The Ancona Chicken As An Egg Layer And Pet
Author : kor rassad
Submitted : 2011-02-16 16:12:59 Word Count : 540 Popularity: 15
Tags: chicken, chickens, ancona, ancona chicken, pet, pets, bird, birds
Discussing The Ancona Chicken As An Egg Layer And Pet
In the mid eighteen hundreds, the popular Ancona chicken was shipped to England out of the originating city of Ancona, Italy. It then made its way to America in the late eighteen hundreds.
These busy little chickens are spangled color, coming from the co-mingling of the Original Mottled Leghorn to the Black Leghorn. Their greenish black feathers tipped with white and sometimes having a tint of purple, have come from the Black Leghorn. From both, perhaps, come the yellow featherless legs and toes spread just far enough apart. And Earlobes? Yes, chickens have them and this chicken shows its in white. Italy originated the this kind of in reds, browns, and white, which is where the copper tinge on the neck feathers could be from.
Chicken combs on this chicken are of two types... Rose combed and, in the hen, a single tilted comb while the rooster's is straight up. Avoiding chicken killers is the job of the bay colored eyes!
Large and miniature varieties are available. The Bantam type would be one of the small kind. These are fairly common chickens. There is also an Australian variety, a red Ancona that shows red with white flecks on neck feathers.
Moulting (losing feathers) is natural and as these feathers grow back in, the white tips will grow back larger, allowing the age to be determined quite easily. The six pound rooster is a bit larger than the hen, who weighs in at a mere four and a half pounds. She is a great egg producer and as a pet, living eight years makes them about perfect.
Speaking of eggs, they lay from one hundred sixty to one hundred eighty large white eggs, (about one a day) a year. It has been said that occasionally there will be tinted eggs. They convert feed to egg production quite well. Given an adequate place to lay these eggs will keep them happy... So will the owner!
The hen is not too broody but does raise strong little chickies fast and if a few are hand-raised by the owner, they do make nice pets. They are friendly and will follow around.
The Ancona does not care to be penned up in small spaces. The females are busy little birds, the males being slower. The fact that they are cold hardy will aid the owner in decisions regarding housing. The pet chicken may want to be housed closer to their owner, the regulars in a hen house or coop. Sometimes called a chicken house, this should provide shelter from the elements as well as from predators. Normally this is where the nests would be located as well.
On a humorous note, Ancona chickens have been chosen as a model for a non-combat pet in an online game of magic! In this game it can be summoned and will follow the warrior around. It will not fight, however! Why don't chickens like humans? They beat eggs! Hahahaha!
Author's Resource Box
To continue reading more about the Ancona Chicken, and other
Chicken Breeds, visit ChickenCoopAdvice.com
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Pet Love Infos And Tips