Speckles

Since we lost Emerald, last July, Speckles has become our longest standing and our eldest girl. We got her in July 2015. Speckles was already moulting when we got her and promptly dropped all her tail feathers. I waited until September to add her photo to my “meet the flock” page as it took until then for her to get her tail completely grown back in.

This means she was about two years old or more so I would guess that she is about six years old. Anconas are supposed to be prolific layers. I have just researched them again and it says that they can lay 220 eggs a year which is an average of 18 per month.

Speckles is a very poor layer. Apart from Topaz, who only ever laid a few eggs, Speckles is our worst layer. She does lay the biggest eggs we have ever had from a bantam though. Her eggs are the size of a standard girl’s egg. Below is her egg record with us:

2015 Speckles laid no eggs as she was already moulting when we got her in July.

2016 Speckles laid 50 eggs in 6 months giving an average of 8 per month.

2017 Speckles laid 27 eggs in 5 months giving an average of 5 per month.

2018 Speckles laid 12 eggs in 4 months giving an average of 3 per month.

There is a pattern here. She is laying for a month less each year and laying half the number of eggs each year than the year before. This shows that even if she is older than I am guessing I don’t imagine she has ever been a good layer. It shows that a girl doesn’t always do what her breed is said to do.

It doesn’t matter to me because Speckles is a lovely girl and the number of eggs isn’t an important factor to me, it’s just something that I find interesting. I will be interested to see how she does this year.

Anconas are also supposed to become more white each year. I have just looked back at photos through her years with us to see how much she has changed. The main difference is that she has got fatter.

One thing that never changes with her moult is the little head feathers that stand up like a little crest. One of the things that changes the most with Speckles is her comb. When she is laying it is huge and red and in winter it’s small and pink. Her comb changes more than any other girl we have ever had. A cockerel would be proud of Speckles summer comb.I have gathered some photos of her from when we first got her until today.

August 2015

This was a month after we got Speckles when all of her tail feathers had dropped out.

September 2015

This was the photo I used on my “meet the flock” page once her tail had grown back in.

May 2016

Speckles has always liked to jump on my back. You can see her footprints where she has jumped on my back and worked her way up to my shoulder. I keep a cardigan for going in the run as it always gets footprints on it.

As soon as I bend she will jump on and she will stay on my back until I duck near the shelter or a perch for her to step off. I have no idea why she likes to do this but it is something that she has always done.

April 2017

As soon as Speckles is getting ready to lay her comb gets huge.

July 2018

Speckles with Ebony and Flame last summer.

January 2019

This is Speckles today. I think she definitely has more white than she first did.

Speckles today

I took this one to show her back and head. I think her head is whiter too. Speckles is a lovely girl.