Ancona Ducks

[peachncrm37]

New to this forum but we just ordered our first Ancona duck eggs! So excited to incubate them and see more ducklings hatch!
So far we got 3 Pekins, 1 Khaki and 4 Rouen ducks and love them!!!
Now we wanna add Anconas and can't WAIT to see the new arrivals hatch!

Congrats!! I'm going to warn you, hatching Anconas is VERY addicting!! LOL. No two are alike which makes hatch day 10 times more fun.

 

[wildsam]

Oh yes I know!
But hatching AND owning ducks is already highly addicting! You always want more... and more... oh, they are so cute! We should get more! Lol.

Luckily he is a bit of a pushover so I went from having only 2 initially (that I hatched too) to meanwhile 8 and he loves them even more than the pheasants and chickens we have combined!
Just wish they wouldn't make such a mess and the feed is unfortunately not that cheap either... So there's to hoping that the upcoming "heat wave" will melt the snow slowly but surely (as we got above hip high snow everywhere up here in NW Wisconsin) and I can let them poor babies out to wander and forage! So sick and tired if this weather and so ready for spring and GREEN!

 

[peachncrm37]

Oh yes I know!
But hatching AND owning ducks is already highly addicting! You always want more... and more... oh, they are so cute! We should get more! Lol.

Luckily he is a bit of a pushover so I went from having only 2 initially (that I hatched too) to meanwhile 8 and he loves them even more than the pheasants and chickens we have combined!
Just wish they wouldn't make such a mess and the feed is unfortunately not that cheap either... So there's to hoping that the upcoming "heat wave" will melt the snow slowly but surely (as we got above hip high snow everywhere up here in NW Wisconsin) and I can let them poor babies out to wander and forage! So sick and tired if this weather and so ready for spring and GREEN!

OMG I know. I don't even know how I ended up with so many!!! I need to sit down and get an actual count LOL. I have ducklings hatching every week now so I lose count easily

 

[SilkieSensation]

Oh yes I know!
But hatching AND owning ducks is already highly addicting! You always want more... and more... oh, they are so cute! We should get more! Lol.

Luckily he is a bit of a pushover so I went from having only 2 initially (that I hatched too) to meanwhile 8 and he loves them even more than the pheasants and chickens we have combined!
Just wish they wouldn't make such a mess and the feed is unfortunately not that cheap either... So there's to hoping that the upcoming "heat wave" will melt the snow slowly but surely (as we got above hip high snow everywhere up here in NW Wisconsin) and I can let them poor babies out to wander and forage! So sick and tired if this weather and so ready for spring and GREEN!

OMG I know. I don't even know how I ended up with so many!!! I need to sit down and get an actual count LOL. I have ducklings hatching every week now so I lose count easily

I lose track every summer & clear everything out at the last swap in October...lol

 

[peachncrm37]

I lose track every summer & clear everything out at the last swap in October...lol

Haha! We built a huge enclosed run so I could get ducks....now we have to built an enclosed run about 5 times the size. FWC has space requirements so I am making it big enough to accommodate about 65 ducks...in addiction to the one I already have that can hold 15....surely I won't go over THAT. LOL

 

[wildsam]

Now how do you keep all the mess of all those duckies under control?! And the feed cost...
But then again, it is all worth it I think. Just wouldn't be able to come up with and remember THAT many names. Lol.

So if you ever have any hens or special needs ones and come up here sometime, make sure to take them with and drop them off here... Hehehe

 

[peachncrm37]

Now how do you keep all the mess of all those duckies under control?! And the feed cost...
But then again, it is all worth it I think. Just wouldn't be able to come up with and remember THAT many names. Lol.

So if you ever have any hens or special needs ones and come up here sometime, make sure to take them with and drop them off here... Hehehe

It's a chore lol. I am a clean FREAK. I rake out the run daily, clean their water twice daily. Add new straw/hay every other day. I'm in central Florida so they are able to forage a lot. I also have bearded dragons, so the ducks frequently get meal worms and crickets.

 

[wildnature]

I am planning for a small mixed flock of chickens and ducks. I've had 2 Mallard ducks in the past and was planning to go with more until I heard about Ancona ducks. I am interested in them, in part, because of their rare status but I don't know that I will have time and room to breed them. Does anyone here not breed them, but just keep them for pets and eat or otherwise get rid of the eggs? Or is eating Ancova eggs heresy since they are so rare?

Also, do Ancovas get along ok with chickens?

 

[SilkieSensation]

I lose track every summer & clear everything out at the last swap in October...lol

Haha! We built a huge enclosed run so I could get ducks....now we have to built an enclosed run about 5 times the size. FWC has space requirements so I am making it big enough to accommodate about 65 ducks...in addiction to the one I already have that can hold 15....surely I won't go over THAT. LOL

I started with 2 ducks, went to 9 different breeds & 100+ ducks in no time. I'm now back down to 13 ducks in 2 breeds. Too much mess!

I am planning for a small mixed flock of chickens and ducks.  I've had 2 Mallard ducks in the past and was planning to go with more until I heard about Ancona ducks.  I am interested in them, in part, because of their rare status but I don't know that I will have time and room to breed them.  Does anyone here not breed them, but just keep them for pets and eat or otherwise get rid of the eggs?  Or is eating Ancova eggs heresy since they are so rare?

Also, do Ancovas get along ok with chickens?

I only have a small flock & raise them to sell

 

[wildsam]

Woohoo!
Got our Ancona eggs today from Tombstone, AZ (via eBay) and I am sooo excited!
Wanna know how many will make it and how they will look. Not sure if I will survive the hatch time without a nervous breakdown...