Ancona Ducklings?? To Buy or Not To Buy-That is the question!!

[Megan Amber]

Soooo I was thinking about purchasing some Ancona ducklings this spring but wanted to hear what people thought about them first! Everything from behavior-disposition-feed consumption-egg laying-all of it!! Also deciding whether or not to incorporate them into my existing flock and have a mixed group, or if I want to separate them. Thanks a bunch ahead of time!!

Megan

 

[Goose and Fig]

They are great ducks. And pretty- you can have several and be able to tell them apart because the markings will be different. My girls are louder than my runners, but about the same as my welsh harlequin females. Eggs are really big once they start laying regularly. I have just had them for a year but I am sold on the breed.

 

[learycow]

I would highly recommend them.
You can get them from breeders who breed specifically for what you are looking for. Disposition, egg production,, foraging ability, meat quality/size, etc. So I would definitely do some research and find one that breeds for what you want.

They do great with other ducks so having them separate or all together would depend on what works best for you and your situation.

Mine tend to lay year round (they usually take Jan-Feb off since it gets pretty cold here in ME). I get white, green, and black/gray eggs from them.
I breed mine to forage as much as possible so they only eat a lot of feed in the winter months when there's not much for them to forage. Other than that, they are outside foraging year-round and definitely fill themselves up on buggs/grass/seeds etc when its the right season.

If raised as babies and handled a lot, they are super friendly. I have taught mine to come for treats when i call them and I taught them to go in at night. Most of them use the low nest boxes that I have but I still have 1-2 that like to lay on the ground outside.

Hope this helps a little!

 

[Megan Amber]

Thank You both for your replies. It has helped a ton! You even answered questions I forgot to ask! Thanks again.

 

[ChristineR]

I love my Anconas for all of the reasons mentioned above. I really like their unique markings and the ones that I hatched myself are very friendly.

I have ducks from two different sources. The ducks I hatched myself lay eggs that are quite a bit bigger than the eggs from the ducks I bought locally. There's also a significant difference in size between the two lines of birds.

So, yeah, I agree with the above post about doing your research. Find a breeder that breeds for the traits most important to you. You can buy a pamphlet about the Ancona breed from Holderread Waterfowl. It's worth the couple bucks.

 

[nicasioeggs]

I absolutely LOVE Ancona Ducks. They are great foragers, smart, and not TOO loud (for a duck).

And when they mingle with the chickens, they aren't too bossy!!!

I actually have Ancona Ducklings hatching now...I will be selling some. But I'm in Northern California. They hatch under a broody chicken, as the Ancona Ducks go broody , but don't turn them underneath them often enough..so the eggs don't usually make it to hatching.

Good luck to you!! Let me know if you have any other questions on these amazing ducks...oh..and they are super HARDY! If they get injured , they heal so fast!

Ritsa

www.nicasioeggs.com

 

[Megan Amber]

Thanks Ritsa! I will and thanks for the helpful reply!