Ancona Duck colors

[yaddaluvpoodles]

Hi all,
Am wanting to get some Ancona ducks and have lots of questions about the colors.

Can the colors be mixed/matched together, or do they need to be segregated? For example, if you bred a black ancona to a tri color what would you get, or a blue to a black, or a silver to a brown, etc.....

I would love to see some photos of some good quality anconas. Also, I know that Holderreads, Sandhill and Strombergs sell them... anywhere else? (Just curious to see what's out there... I'm not getting that many, besides, everyone is done selling ducklings for this year)

Any private parties selling them?

Would love to learn more about them.

Thanks, Darla

 

[FenDruadin]

Hi Darla,

I don't have anconas, but I am planning to play around a little with ancona & magpie colors next year, so I've been reading up on the color genetics. I can't answer your specific questions with any expertise, but Dave Holderread's "Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks" has a section on color genetics that is VERY helpful.

If I understand correctly, you should be able to mix the colors, but you won't always get what you expect, unless you really understand what you're doing. For that matter, even keeping within a single color won't always give you what you expect--for instance, blue mated to blue will turn out some blues, some blacks, and some silvers. Black mated to silver will give you all blues. It's complicated! lol

I don't know anything about tricolor (what does that mean exactly? Sounds really cool) or browns, so I can't speak for that. I'm planning to work with blues, silvers, and blacks at first, to keep things simple (those three colors are variations on the same set of genes--so it's relatively simple, even though it sounds complicated).

Good luck finding what you want, and getting the genetics info you need. It's going to be fun.

Heather

 

[yaddaluvpoodles]

Silly me, that will teach me to do my research better!

I had several show quality magpies (black) from Holderreads a few years ago. They were wonderful. They were given to me by a woman who had just moved to a farm, spent $800 on poultry/waterfowl between Murray McMurray and Holderreads. She ended up realizing she was overwhelmed and gave tons of incredible birds away. I came in on the tail end of things. Loved my magpies, had them for a couple of years and then I moved and gave them away. Recently checked up on them and they all had become coyote food. Too bad. Outside of show photos I've never seen better looking magpies...sure wish I had them now!

Have fun with colors!
Darla

 

[CityChicker]

I had Anconas from Holderread's and absolutely loved them. They were beautiful, friendly, and probably one of the most intelligent breeds I have ever had.

The Ancona color pattern is basically bibbed extended black (like Blue/Black Swedish) mixed with runner pattern (as in Fawn and White, Pencilled, etc...). You can mix the colors and genetically, the outcome is basically the same as in Swedish.

 

[Cetawin]

Oh now you've done it. I have Anconas from Holderread's...fabulous ducks! If you mix a tri-color and a black, you should get tris, blacks and ?. On a fluke you might get the lighter colors but not likely. The Blacks have rust on the lower body and teal/green on the face. I plan on breeding my black to my lavender and my chocolates to chocolate. So, I am not sure on the outcome as of yet, they are only 12 weeks old.

Genetics are not my thing yet.

Holderread's has black, chocolate, tris, lavender, blue and silver. I have chocolates, black and a lavender.

Here are pics for you.

Here are three of them on the left up front...1 day old

my lavender at 1 day old

My only black at 1 day old

3 days old

11 days old

My black and lavender at 6 weeks old

the whole gang at 10 weeks old, including the harlequins

wanting treats

Hose time

Onyx - Black Drake

KitKat - Chocolate Drake

Sasha - Lavender Duck

Mounds - Chocolate Duck

Hershey - Chocolate Duck

Unlike Magpies, the markings are not the same on each Ancona...they are distinct to the duck. as you can see my three chocolates are all marked differently.

Get em! I highly recommend Holderread's...great service, healthy ducks that are shipped with great care and fast.

 

[Goat_Walker]

The Paints and Pintos of the duck world..

Im looking at an Ancona drake right now for my flock. Not sure yet if Im going to get him. Im not made of money and $50 for a pet drake is just a little too much

 

[FenDruadin]

OMG those are gorgeous ducks. Waahhh!! I ordered magpies from Holderread for next year. I kept going back and forth--do I want magpies? Or anconas? I literally walked up to the mailbox and changed my order TWICE. And then the mailman came and I couldn't change it any more. LOL So I'm getting magpies. I guess I can always order anconas the next year. My husband is under the impression that just because I'm breeding ducks I won't have to buy them any more. Silly man. Obviously does not understand the addiction.

 

[Cetawin]

LOL no spouse understands the addiction. I have cured the problem though. Everytime my DH says "Baby, I want to get this xxx???? Gun, scope, night vision set up etc etc" I say "Okay dear" Then later he gets the "Oh I just ordered 10 ducklings" I get "But honey we need to discuss this" I say "No we don't as I walk to the gun cabinet and point at the last monsterous purchase". He nods.

While these are my first ducks since I was a kid and I only purchased through Holderread's, I really love em. I see posts of other people having trouble with ducklings and sick and so forth....mine have been wonderfully easy so I look at that from the breeder. Good breeding make good ducks, right? I love em too pieces though and they are very spoiled, as are the 30 chickens (btw I was only going to have 6 chickens

)

 

[kswaterfowl]

yaddaluvpoodles, I answered your question on the Ancona duck message group.
K&S

 

[TK Poultry]

i had anconas a while back got rid of them to persue other interests in ducks but i had lavender fawn brown black and blue!!!