Ancona ducks?

[nissa_loves_cats]

I have some Ancona duck eggs available on ebay right now if you are interested..... It's http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250602314444 plus there is a second auction. My original stock came from Cackle Hatchery.

My girls are behaving very good and laying in their nest now, in spite of the distraction of having my silkie chicken breeding pair sharing their pen until I can build new ones.

 

[duckyfromoz]

I sure wish we had some breeders out here in Australia... They are such beautiful ducks.

 

[poultrypatch]

I had ordered Anconas from Holderreads back in Jan.. was notified abt 6 wks later that they are no longer available as they have sold all of their Ancona stock ! I was upset !
I still had an order with them for 20 other duckies for the 2nd to 3rd wk in March...NOW.
Today I rec'd another email from Holderreads ! I will NOT rec' my ducks until EITHER April, the 2nd, 3rd or 4th WEEK !!!! They stated that they won't be available !!! Why not ??? I mean why not ???? I ordered them early enough ???? or could it be because they can sell them over the next couple of weeks for Easter at an extra $1.00 EACH ?????
I'm VERY disappointed with Holderreads and will NEVER order from them again. I'm undecided whether or not to cancel the order. I mean, ONLY 20 ducks, 4 different breeds !
I have ordered chicks and ducks from Ideal twice and am VERY happy with them....no line of crap about how they're not available, etc, etc, etc.
Personally I will be very surprised to ever rec' my ducks.
Liz
Rochester, MA

 

[Wifezilla]

Wow. Sorry you are having such a bad time. I have no complaints about the ducks I got from Holderreads. The quality of their Welsh Harlequins is amazing.

 

[ancona91]

Hello, Liz!!!
Sorry to hear that you're having such a problem getting your ducklings!!! Usually they're excellent to work with.....I've always been very pleased with their service and the very high quality of their ducks. My thought is that perhaps some of their hatches of Anconas didn't go well, putting them way behind schedule on their orders for them. You did order them plenty early enough.....but, as we all know, sometimes hatches don't always turn out as we'd like them to. I'd email them and ask why there's such a hold-up......they're very wonderful people.
A similar thing happened to me last year with Cackle Hatchery. I had ordered 15 Crested ducklings many months in advance. I never received them.....due to bad hatches, which totally messed up their orders. I finally got a refund months later. Other than that, I'd gladly order from them again. I've been happy with their chicks and ducklings.
Sincerely, Kathy

 

[ancona91]

Quote:
Hello, duckyfromoz!!!!
Wish I could send you some of these eggs!!!! Are you sure nobody there in Australia has any Anconas??!! I'd check into it further!!! You raise Runners??! I have 2 Fawn & White Runners........the're so friendly and comical!!! How many have you hatched?!? And what colors??!
Regards, Kathy

 

[MagsC]

I dont have Ancona ducks YET but have 8 eggs in the incubator. Anconas ARE beautiful!

 

[Sweetfolly]

Quote:
It is very clearly stated on Holderreads website that their first hatch is the week of April 5th for this year. That's the earliest that anyone will be receiving ducklings/goslings from them.

And even ordering in January isn't really "early" for Holderreads - I had my order in with them for this spring back in August of last year, which is when they began taking 2010 orders. Orders are filled first-come, first-serve, and the orders can pile in fast.

I really hope you hold out for Holderreads ducklings - they're going to be so much better quality than anything you'll get from Ideal. Because Holderreads has a higher standard of quality and welfare for their stock, ordering from them isn't quite the same as ordering out of a catalog from a hatchery and expecting them to reel out the number of ducklings that you want on an exact and specific date. Good things come to those who wait patiently.

It does stink that Holderreads doesn't breed Anconas anymore, but there are still plenty of BYC members lurking around who have Anconas from Holderreads stock - find them, and contact them about having some eggs shipped to you.

Okay, I'm through ranting now.

 

[CityChicker]

Quote:
That is because you got them from me, not them! LOL. Yes, the quality is good, but Holderread's are not a "hatchery" per se and you have to deal with the associated issues of dealing with a bird business that does not randomly breed whatever they can breed together for high volume.

I have dealt with them since I was a child and I am now 39, so that is a lot of years and I am obviously not a "naysayer". I have gotten some beautiful birds from them, but I have also gotten some shall we say not so good birds from them (still better than a hatchery though). They have at times made me extremely happy and at times irritated me to no end. That is just the nature of the beast. You cannot deal with any company for any significant length of time without having a few bumps along the way.

Going back to your Welsh Harlequins though, Wifezilla....keep in mind, they are not even what I ORDERED! LOL. They were not even my 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th choice. Not only that, but if I really wanted to try a new breed, I wouldn't have started with 10 of the same thing! Those WH were my consolation prize for them not being able to fill ANY of my almost $1,000 order. So, they may be great to you, but you did not get them "from Holderread's". LOL. Don't get me wrong, those are beautiful WH and I was very happy with the quality, but the fact that they are not what I ordered is the large part of why you have them in the first place. I can see how not getting what you ordered would greatly disappoint some people that are not accustomed to dealing with them.

Editing to add- Before anyone misunderstands, they did ask me if I wanted some WH, so I did agree to some WH. That is on me. All that said, I would continue to order from them as I have for years. You simply cannot beat the quality and the price for their day old birds. That said, when dealing with them, PATIENCE is absolutely a requirement. They are not a bird factory.

 

[pirtykitty]

Here is a link to the place that bought all of Holderreads breeding stock of anacona ducks :

http://boondockersnaturals.com/default.aspx