View source for Ancona chicken

{{Short description|Breed of chicken}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{use list-defined references|date=June 2013}}
{{EngvarB|date=June 2013}}
{{infobox poultry breed
| name          = Ancona
| image         = Ancona chicken.jpg
| image_size    =
| alt           = 
| image_caption =
| status        = 
| altname       =
| country       = Italy; United Kingdom
| distribution  =
| standard      =
| use           = eggs
| nickname      = 
| apa           = Mediterranean<ref name=apa/>
| aba           = 
| ee            = 
| pcgb          =Soft feather: light<ref name=pcgb/>
| maleweight    = 2.5–2.8&nbsp;kg
| femaleweight  = 1.8–2.1&nbsp;kg
| skincolor     = Yellow
| eggcolor      = White
| comb          = Single or rose
| note          = 
| type          = [[Chicken]]
| latin         = Gallus gallus domesticus
}}

The '''Ancona''' is a breed of [[chicken]] which originated in [[the Marches]], region of Italy, but which was bred to its present type mainly in the [[United Kingdom]] in the nineteenth century. It is named after the city of [[Ancona]], capital of the Marche. It is popular in Britain and the United States, but uncommon in Italy; an initiative to re-establish it in its native area and preserve its [[biodiversity]] was launched in 2000.<ref name=acc/> There are also Ancona [[bantam (poultry)|bantams]].

== History ==

The Ancona originated in central Italy,{{r|agraria}} where it was the most widely distributed breed of chicken.{{r|zanon}} The first Ancona chickens were imported into England in 1851,<ref name=dad/> and [[selective breeding|selectively bred]] there for regularity and consistency of the white markings in the plumage. In 1880 a breeder named Cobb showed a group. Some birds were exported from Britain to the United States in 1888. Rose-combed Ancona chickens were first shown in [[Birmingham]] in 1910.<ref name=zanon/>

In the United States, the single-[[comb]] Ancona was recognised by the [[American Poultry Association]] in 1898, and the rose-comb bird in 1914.<ref name=apa/><ref name=albc/>

== Characteristics ==

The Ancona is a typical [[Mediterranean Class (chicken breeds)|Mediterranean breed]], rustic, lively and hardy.<ref name=agraria/> Birds range widely and take flight easily.<ref name=albc/>

The plumage is black, mottled with white. Approximately one feather in three has a v-shaped white marking at the tip. All primaries, sickles and tail-feathers should have white tips. The black feathers may have a beetle-green tint. In Italy, blue mottled with white is also recognised in full-size birds, but not in bantams. Australia recognises a Red variety, with a chestnut to red bay ground colour.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Limited|first1=Victorian Poultry Fanciers Association|title=Australian poultry standards|date=2011|publisher=Victorian Poultry Fanciers Association Limited|location=Ballarat, Vic.|isbn=9781921488238|pages=26–27|edition=2nd}}</ref>

The legs are yellow mottled with black, the beak yellow with some black markings on the upper [[mandible]], and the eye orange-red. The skin is yellow, the ear-lobes white or cream-coloured. The comb is of medium size, with five well-marked points; in hens it should fall gracefully to one side.<ref name=agraria/> In the United Kingdom and in the United States, but not in Italy, a rose comb is permitted.<ref name=albc/>

Cocks weigh {{convert|2.5|to|2.8|kg|abbr=on}} and hens {{convert|1.8|to|2.1|kg|abbr=on}};<ref name=agraria/> ring sizes are {{Convert|18|mm|in|abbr=on}} and {{Convert|16|mm|in|abbr=on}} respectively for full-sized birds, and {{Convert|13|mm|in|abbr=on}} and {{Convert|11|mm|in|abbr=on}} for bantams.<ref name=fiav/>

== Use ==

The Ancona is a good layer of white eggs, of which it lays an average of 220 per year;<ref name=dad/> the eggs weigh {{Convert|50|g|oz|abbr=on}} or more.<ref name=agraria/> Hens have little tendency to [[broodiness]]; pullets may begin to lay at 5 months.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}}

== References ==

{{reflist|refs=

<ref name=acc>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120203112551/http://www.civiltacontadina.it/modules/civiltacontadina/index.php?id=9l Pollo Ancona: biodiversità e animali da fattoria] (in Italian). Associazione Civiltà Contadina per la salvaguardia della biodiversità rurale. Archived 3 February 2012.</ref>

<ref name=agraria>[http://www.agraria.org/polli/ancona.htm Ancona] (in Italian). Atlante delle razze di Polli – Razze italiane. Accessed June 2013.</ref>

<ref name=albc>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130410101652/http://www.albc-usa.org/cpl/ancona.html Ancona Chicken]. American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, 1993–2009. Archived 10 April 2013.</ref>

<ref name=apa>[https://web.archive.org/web/20171104135004/http://www.amerpoultryassn.com/PDF%20Forms/APA%20Recognized%20Breeds%20and%20Varieties%20Sept2012.pdf APA Recognized Breeds and Varieties: As of January 1, 2012]. American Poultry Association. Archived 4 November 2017.</ref>

<ref name=dad>[http://dad.fao.org/cgi-bin/EfabisWeb.cgi?sid=8e4d32da3d6d4b10976c3d44b64f4dba,reportsreport8a_50004211 Breed data sheet: Ancona/Italy]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed August 2014.</ref>

<ref name=fiav>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130627031413/http://www.fiav.info/html/5cts/cts018.html Elenco delle razze riconosciute dallo Standard Italiano:  anelli di riconoscimento e colorazioni ufficiali] (in Italian). Federazione Italiana Associazioni Avicole. Archived 27 June 2013.</ref>

<ref name=pcgb>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143235/http://www.poultryclub.org/img/Breed%20Classification.pdf Breed Classification]. Poultry Club of Great Britain. Archived 12 June 2018.</ref>

<ref name=zanon>Alessio Zanon (2003–2012). [https://web.archive.org/web/20120703022719/http://www.ilpollaiodelre.com/polliIt1.htm Ancona] (in Italian). Il Pollaio del Re. Archived 3 July 2012.</ref>

}}

{{Chicken breeds of Italy}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ancona (Chicken)}}
[[Category:Conservation Priority Breeds of the Livestock Conservancy]]
[[Category:Chicken breeds originating in Italy]]
[[Category:Chicken breeds]]
[[Category:Animal breeds on the RBST Watchlist]]