Ancona chicken
The Ancona is a lively Mediterranean layer from central Italy, with black plumage tipped with V-shaped white marks.
Some details are still being checked. Anything marked unconfirmed or reported may change. Suggest a change
The Ancona is a pure-bred chicken breed in the PCGB Soft Feather Light class. Its origin is given as Ancona, Italy. It appears on the RBST Watchlist as a priority breed, so keepers of pure stock help conserve it.
It is kept in large and bantam forms. Recognised colours: Mottled (black).
Expect roughly 180–220 eggs a year, with white shells.
Compiled from poultryclub.org, rbst.org.uk, poultrykeeper.com, en.wikipedia.org. See sources
Photos
From keepers' flocks
No keeper photos yet.
Keep this breed? Add your birds on Flockstock and share a photo from the bird's page. Go to my flock
Identity
- Species
- Chicken
- Type
- Pure breed
- PCGB class
- Soft Feather Light
- Origin
- Ancona, Italy
History
It was the most widespread chicken in central Italy. Birds reached England in 1851, where breeders refined the regularity of the white tipping. They went to the USA in 1888. America recognised the single comb in 1898 and the rose comb in 1914; rose combs were first shown in Birmingham in 1910. Wikipedia reports the breed 'at risk' worldwide in 2025, with low numbers in Italy.
Appearance
Black, often beetle-green, with about one feather in three tipped white. Flights, sickles and tail are tipped white. Yellow legs mottled with black. Single or rose comb. Germany and Holland developed a blue mottled variety, and Australia recognises a red one. A bantam exists.
Recognised colours
Mottled (black)
Size and weight
- Forms
- Large, Bantam
Eggs
- Eggs a year
- 180–220
- Egg colour
- White
- Notes
- A white-egg layer.
Temperament
- In short
- Lively
- Keeping notes
- Wikipedia calls it rustic, lively and hardy. It ranges widely and flies readily.
Hardiness
Hardy
Broodiness
Not recorded yet.
Flying
Flies readily
Suitability
- Beginners
- Suitable for beginners
- Good to know
- The autosexing Ancobar was created from it.
Conservation status (RBST)
A priority breed on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust Watchlist.
Breed club
- The Ancona Club, breed-specific
Sources
This page is compiled from:
Review
Some details are still being checked.
Suggest a change
Spotted something wrong or missing? Tell us what it should say, and we'll review it.