Ancona Ducks

[Goat_Walker]

Quote:
I wish I could get hatching eggs from her! I almost bought a blue drake from her last fall

 

[darwish]

Just took this pic today. Young dewlap toulouse gander keeping an eye on things.

 

[Goat_Walker]

AWWW! I love the choco one with its back to us

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Bueatiful ducks Goat _ Walker! I wonder what makes some of their bills green?

 

[Goat_Walker]

Mrs. Fluffy Puffy :

Bueatiful ducks Goat _ Walker! I wonder what makes some of their bills green?

Not Mine

But gorgeous ducks non-the-less

And the green is just another natural bill color i believe. I do have some ANcona look a likes though

 

[toadbriar]

Quote:
Why can't you?





And I so love that dewlap toulouse....

 

[Goat_Walker]

Quote:
Why can't you?





And I so love that dewlap toulouse....

Ive got 12 laying hens already and if I were to get some eggs from here id end up keeping ALL the ducklings and Im already trying to downsize my flock to at least twenty or under.

 

[darwish]

I almost forgot; one of the best things about Ancona ducks is that some of them will lay spotted eggs. Which, being a spotted egg from a spotted duck, is too cute. I also have been getting the occasional black egg and the very occasional blue egg.

Also, the random markings of the Anconas makes it easy to identify individual ducks. Each duck and drake is unique.

 

[Goat_Walker]

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ANother reason why I really want some! I dont like having just one breed - like all pekins or all mallards because i cant tell them apart, lol.

 

[chickndreams]

Well, bad news for the Ancona ducks. Holderread has stopped selling them and the talk on the Duck and Goose site is that this could be the end for any kind of organized breeding efforts to get the breed accepted at shows, like the Pekin and the Calls, etc.... ALBC said that there is only one breeder with more than 50 birds (Holderreads?) .
Good News-Holderreads sold most of their adult stock to Boondocks Farm (west coast). They are using them for meat and eggs and seem to have a real interest in promoting the breed and they have a website. Sandhill Preservation and Cackle Hatchery have this breed as well.
It looks like it will take some sort of organized effort to save this rare and lovley breed. Do ducks have breed clubs, like dogs and chickens?Since they came from England, is there a breed standard there that can be used? I don't know what to do, but I will get some ducklings this year.