Ancona Duck Questions- Selecting my keepers from 16 new birds

[Sara Ranch]

I am really looking forward to reading Learycow's feedback on the ducks!

My four ducks totally won me over. I won't even let them be outside unless I am home, "just in case" something where to happen.

 

[firstlight]

If there are saxony that possibly crossbred, then I honestly wouldn't use ANY as breeding birds. While some crosses will be obvious, others will look like an ancona though they are a mix genetically. So if in question, do not use for breeding.

I thought you'd probably say that I suppose any responsible breeder would. I have been spoiled with muscovies not needing to worry about crossbreeding. Are "production mutts" at thing in ducks like they are for rabbits? Could I just breed for eggs and forget keeping up a standard? (sorry if I'm making anyone cringe) I'd only do that for my egg production purposes, not to sell ducks to people. Do the hybrids tend to see production depression quickly?

I forgot I DO have a muscovy sitting on a dozen true ancona eggs to hatch on the twentieth or so, so thats good.

 

[learycow]

I thought you'd probably say that I suppose any responsible breeder would. I have been spoiled with muscovies not needing to worry about crossbreeding. Are "production mutts" at thing in ducks like they are for rabbits? Could I just breed for eggs and forget keeping up a standard? (sorry if I'm making anyone cringe) I'd only do that for my egg production purposes, not to sell ducks to people. Do the hybrids tend to see production depression quickly?

I forgot I DO have a muscovy sitting on a dozen true ancona eggs to hatch on the twentieth or so, so thats good.

Haha, I'm sure there are some who will disagree with me- but you can certainly cross breed all you'd like! Especially if just for production birds. As long as you don't sell them as one breed or the other, it doesn't matter. Or you can breed and sell but just be honest with your buyers that they are mixed breeds.

With ducks, I've found that cross breeds sell well if females for eggs, and if sold cheap. Many people just want eggs and will buy up any female that lays. Regardless of what she looks like.
Males are hit or miss. Some crosses are small so don't make great meat ducks while others are large and even fast growing. So if you have a market for meat, then that's not always a bad thing either!

Hybrids then to do well as long as you use good egg laying breeds to mix. Anconas, welsh, khakis, etc are all high production breeds to begin with so tend to produce smaller, heavily laying crosses when mixed together. Vs bringing in a cayuga or pekin which aren't known to lay quite as many eggs in a year

 

[firstlight]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/albums/anconas.7427741/

I wasn't sure which pictures would be best so I made an album. that way you can pull photos you want to reference to post back to the thread.

Everything before the picture with the purple pool includes only the ducks that had at least some color on their chests. It includes 2 drakes - one chocolate and one black. and 4 black hens. The last photo is the black drake. several show the two drakes side by side. I'd love your feedback about which you prefer. I like the chocolate because he is soooo much quieter and the sexlink would be great.

The picture with the purple pool and everything after are 9 hens and 1 drake that have white bibs. Some are mostly solid colored. Others are nearly magpie colors? The drake has the blue speculum feathers though I'm not sure it shows in the photo.​

 

[learycow]

Ok, looked them over and overall, they are just an average looking flock. I honestly (I don't mean this in a mean way, we all have to start somewhere!) don't see a single bird that I would breed with. Nothing that stands out to me as a definite keeper.

That dark bird with a bib would definitely be a cull as she doesn't show the desired ancona markings (But I think you know that!).

Most look to have really long necks, funny shaped heads, very poor bill to head attachment, and as a flock they really look to vary in size too much.

While some do look to be marked ok (the ones with roughly 1/3 color and 2/3 white) they have very poor overall conformation and carriage. Which is very typical of a commercial flock or production birds (like if you ordered from a hatchery such as Cackle).

In my honest opinion, if you want these for production means then they should be fine. But if you want birds to breed to make better anconas, or to work with anconas as more than just egg and meat ducks, I would recommend buying some from a breeder who already has a well established flock. While a "perfect" flock can and will still produce badly marked and conformed birds, at least you have a better chance of starting with some genetics that are already worked. Less traits to have to cull for right from the start.


feel free to message me anytime about the breed. I've been working with anconas for a number of years now and am working with a group to get them recognized for showing and put in the book of standards. I breed all colors (minus tricolors and have done well to breed out solid whites). So I'm happy to help as this breed is a passion of mine!

 

[firstlight]

I know for a fact some of the birds are from cackle so that doesn't surprise me. Good eye. I've always been happy with their birds for backyard purposes only and totally knew that going in. I do appreciate your honest feedback. It makes it easy to keep the gals that are producing well and cull the rest.

I was looking for white layers or 300s but I am still so happy I just happened to find these locally instead. For less than five a bird they fit our needs great and are still pretty to watch in the pasture. If I stay hooked and they taste good I'll be looking for breeders soon enough lol.

Now I really want to do this again with my muscovies once everyone is up in condition from their broody ways. I really need to pair down but its so hard now that I'm attached- I think they are really exceptional compared to other people's birds I've seen. I prob need a swift kick in the rear to get real about some of those gals. We truly use them dual purpose and were just lucky that they seem to be an exceptional laying strain and we somehow landed the biggest drake I've ever seen just as a rando add genetic diversity duckling. Sometimes I'm tempted to separate them into a meat strain and layer strain and really try to push the boundaries. Maybe someday there will be as many scovie breeds as ducks

 

[learycow]

for $5 a bird, that's a STEAL! And for eggs, who cares what they look like right?!

 

[firstlight]

they don't lay ugly eggs that is for sure!

 

[DuckGal2]

I am not here to argue, I am here to enlighten -- Why does it matter what learycow's opinion is on your Ancona ducks? After all, it is only his/her opinion and his/her made up standard, a quote "tweaked" version of Dave Holderread's standard which is superior. Direct descendents of his flock still exist in Oregon and I am proud to say I have a few of them too. Tricolors are in Holderread's standard and just because he doesn't raise them anymore doesn't mean we should all ditch his wisdom. Learycow is trying to improve something that cannot be improved.
I and other breeders purposely keep a few Tricolors in our flocks. They are beautiful in their own right and do not detract from the spotted look. My Tricolor hen produced a gorgeous mostly white son with a dash of black on his tail and head and one spot on his side. Very pretty boy. Of the few eggs I hatched from her before the raccoon ate her none were Tricolor. Tricolor is merely the absense of the spread black gene, so when you cross those Tricolors with a black spotted/pied duck 50% will still be black spotted/pied. I have pale fawn and blue fawn Tricolors I am hoping to get babies from this coming year. My focus is the spotted colors of course, but I will not weed out the Tricolors nor will I let anyone tell me my birds are inferior because their opinion is different. Until that "opinion" becomes an APA accepted standard no one should blindly listen to learycow unless they too agree with him/her.
Anconas are so popular I know they won't go extinct now. They are a unique breed in which it does not need a show standard in order to survive.

Signed S.B ~