Discussing The Ancona Chicken As An Egg Layer And Pet
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by: korrassad
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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.
On top of the head of the hen, will be found a single floppy comb with the rooster sporting a very straight and tall one. A second variety is the rose colored comb. Their sharp eyesight from the bay colored eyes and its coloring, aids it in staying away from the bad guys!
There are Red Australian types, Bantam and many large and smaller kinds. They are pretty common. The Australian variety is red with white specks on the neck area 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.
About once a day during the laying season, the Ancona will produce one egg, totaling one hundred sixty to one hundred eighty a year. Occasionally tinted eggs will show up. As the hens eat, the food they consume changes to egg production in a very satisfactory manner. This should please the owner!
When they do choose to sit a clutch of eggs, the hens can grow a nice little batch of chickies that are durable and strong. The babies, if taken from the hen and cared for by hand, can become quite happy little pets. Teach them tricks and to come when called and they and the owner will be pleased!
Housing is not difficult for the chickens if the owner keeps in mind a few things: the females are active and love to get around, they like wide open spaces and they are not adversely affected by winter weather. The rooster is happy to just walk around so he could care less if he were in a smaller enclosure! The chicken coop (house) itself is for keeping the chickens, hen and rooster, safe from the bad guys and the weather off from them! Nest boxes would be in there also. The owner can keep the "pet" chicken closer to them if desired!
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!
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To Learn more about chicken Coops and keeping the Ancona Chicken visit ChickenCoopAdvice.com
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