Ancona — Day-Old Chicks

Greenish-black feathers with crisp white tips. Anconas come from near the port of Ancona in eastern Italy and are sometimes called Mottled Leghorns — active, alert foragers and prolific layers of white eggs.

Why backyard keepers love them:

• 🥚 About 260 white eggs per year — large eggs from a top layer
• ⚫ Mottled plumage — about one in five feathers tipped in white
• 🌿 Excellent foragers — active birds that love to free-range
• ⚡ Alert and quick — good at avoiding predators
• 🏛️ Heritage Italian breed — a classic with a long history

What to expect from your Ancona chicks:

Your Ancona chicks have black backs with white heads, chests and bellies. They grow into light, active birds — hens about 4.5 lbs and roosters about 5.5 lbs. They're flighty rather than cuddly. Marek's Disease vaccination is optional and is not included in the chick price. To vaccinate your chicks, check the Marek's vaccine box in your cart. Chicks are backed by our live arrival guarantee.

Weeks to first egg: about 18–22 weeks
Egg size: Large
Egg color: White
Eggs per year: about 260

Common questions about Ancona Chickens

Are Anconas good layers?
Yes. Expect about 260 large white eggs a year.

Are they friendly?
They're active and flighty, not lap chickens.

Can they fly?
Yes, fairly well. A covered run or tall fence helps.

Do they go broody?
Rarely.

Pairs well with:

• White Leghorn: another top white-egg layer
• Assorted Polish: another white-egg breed with personality

Lively, striking and productive — reserve your Ancona chicks today.

Shipping and ordering

• The partner box ships at our regular chick rates, and it ships free when you also order 6 or more Chesapeake chicks to be shipped. Partner-hatched chicks aren't available for local pickup. To pick up your Chesapeake chicks, place a separate shipped order for partner-hatched chicks.
• Minimum order: 6 chicks total from our hatching partner. Mix and match any of our partner-hatched chicken and bantam breeds to reach the minimum, as long as they all ship the same week.
• Partner-hatched chicks ship in their own box, separately from our Chesapeake-hatched chicks, and the two don't count toward each other's minimums. If you order both, you'll receive separate boxes with separate tracking.
• Breeds and sexes are packed together and are not marked. If you need to tell birds apart, choose breeds that look different as chicks.
• Hatched by our hatching partner and shipped directly to you by USPS during the ship week you choose. Tracking is emailed to you once your chicks ship.
• Street address required (no P.O. boxes). Your post office will call when your chicks arrive.
• Live-arrival guarantee: if any chicks arrive deceased, email chicks@chesapeake-hatchery.com within 72 hours of delivery with your order number and the number of losses.