Ancona duck ratio

[JaredandLauren]

I have 11 chickens and want to add two Ancona ducks to my flock (not in the same space though-the ducks will have their own run and house). If I were to get a drake and a hen do you think they would be okay? I have read that one male to one female ratio could be detrimental to the female but I’ve also read that Anconas are gentle so maybe the drake wouldn’t be so rough towards the hen? Thoughts?

 

[Ratchnick]

I think in general pairs do ok.

 

[JaredandLauren]

I think in general pairs do ok.

There’s a place near me that sells Ancona ducklings but only as straight run ..I would be risking them being a male and female so I wasn’t sure if this combo would be alright. I wanted to avoid ordering online and having them shipped but if one make to female is risky then I may just order online

 

[EverythingDucks]

I would go with either two females, a drake and three females (at least), or two drakes.

Once they reach sexual maturity the drake will over mate the female. Some drakes are better behaved than other so it depends on the individual. You could wait to see but it would probably be a lot easier to get them all at the same time and age so they're raised together.

It's best to have four females per drake, three at the minimum.

 

[Ratchnick]

There’s a place near me that sells Ancona ducklings but only as straight run ..I would be risking them being a male and female so I wasn’t sure if this combo would be alright. I wanted to avoid ordering online and having them shipped but if one make to female is risky then I may just order online

You could get just two, you could vent sex them, or make a plan to deal with the drakes. You will miss breeding season this year so you will probably have a year to figure out who you want to keep.

 

[JaredandLauren]

You could get just two, you could vent sex them, or make a plan to deal with the drakes. You will miss breeding season this year so you will probably have a year to figure out who you want to keep.

Good point! Thank you!