Ancona get their name from the port city of Ancona on the North East coast of Italy on the Adriatic Sea where the ancient breed was originally exported from.  Ancona share a common history with their famous cousin the Leghorn, also from the same region of Italy.  They are so similar in type, that some refer to Ancona as mottled or black Leghorns. 

Like the Leghorn, Ancona are  famous for being excellent layers of large, white eggs.  In 1916, H. Cecil Sheppard, the most famous of Ancona breeders, held the world egg laying record with a Ancona hen that layed 306 eggs in 330 days!  They are bold, active birds.  Excellent foragers with a good feed conversion ratio for economical production of eggs.

He wrote a wonderful book in 1916 titled "A Little Journey Among Anconas" documenting the enormous success he had in breeding Ancona for production and the show ring.

For over 13 years, his winnings dominated the Madison Square Garden Poultry show.  The largest poultry show in the nation at that time.

Ancona have a black backgound with a beetle green sheen and a white V-shaped tip on 1/2 to 1/3 of the feathers.  For all you dog lovers, they remind me of the reverse of a Dalmation which is white with black spots.  They have the classic white ear lobe associated with all Mediterranean breeds.  They have yellow skin and shanks, although the shanks may also have black mottling on them.  Ancona come in both single comb and rose comb varieties.  Some claim their mottled pattern gives them a camaflouge advantage agains predation.  Fertile, vigorous and somewhat flighty.  These birds hold their own and pay the rent with copious amounts of white eggs.

It is quite a challenge to get the mottling right to win in the show ring.  There can be a lot of variation within the same bloodline.  The pullet on the left has good, even mottling.  The pullet pictured bottom left has too much mottling, the one bottom right has too little.  Birds should be evaluated their first year because the white mottling becomes more pronounced with age.  This is true for all mottled varieties of chickens.

We raise the single comb variety.  In addition to the American Poultry Association's (APA) standard, our breeding program focuses on egg size and lay rate.  Ancona are the newest breed to arrive at Whitmore Farm and are currently laying a medium sized egg.  We are working to increase egg size to the more historically accurate large and extra-large size.  Below is a picture of the bright white eggs we have selected for with our Ancona.  They are shown with tan Delaware eggs.  The color combination is quite appealing in retail packages!

For more photos of this breed and any other type of chicken, see www.feathersite.com

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