Ancona Ducks

[Sally Sunshine]

Sally im planning to build a nice size shed for my ducks.. not exactly sure of everything and how im going to incorporate the run but ill have to draw a few things out

Please share the build with us!! Cool!

 

[AuroraSprings]

Love that first duck house CelticOaks!

For a male to female ratio, we keep 3/4 female per male. They can handle as many as six, but we have to keep fertility high. Luckily, even a one to one ratio isn't that big of a deal since its a female lead breed.

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

Love that first duck house CelticOaks!

For a male to female ratio, we keep 3/4 female per male. They can handle as many as six, but we have to keep fertility high. Luckily, even a one to one ratio isn't that big of a deal since its a female lead breed.

Thanks, we are converting all of our ducks to those this year. So much easier with our heat. I collect duck house images to share with customers so they have ideas to go from for housing lol

 

[DxSOR25]

Okay here's a question.. This week I will be reveiving my eggs in the mail.. How long should I take the eggs out and let get to room temperature before setting them in the incubator?

 

[Coyote Night]

Okay here's a question.. This week I will be reveiving my eggs in the mail.. How long should I take the eggs out and let get to room temperature before setting them in the incubator?

I suggest 12hrs on shipped eggs

 

[tadpole98]

I am getting some anconas in march/april.

lol but i need a duck house first..

 

[barrettdrka]

We are incubating 24 ancona duck eggs currently-- due in about 10 days. We got half of our supply from a guy in AL and the others from a lady in NC. We have raised saxony and indian runners, but we are excited to see what this experience brings us!

 

[birdnbeast]

i will have about 12 eggs next week to incubate.. hope i could get a good rate.. so what is everyones idea of the best starter flock in terms of how many to keep and what ratio males to females?

I know most folks tend to do "flock breeding" like chickens -- one male and 3-6 females. Less feed, less space needed, more eggs/babies, etc.....
I don't do that. We spent a couple of years watching ducks that had free choice (just whenever we could 'observe' and not effect the dynamics at all) and it seemed that couple pair bonds was their choice. I haven't watched muscovy just mallard and related domestics, and mallard and other wild ducks. When evening would start to fall the pairs would come together so that even if one was still on the water the other one was closest on the bank. It was obvious who was who's mate. The only time it was agitating was when extra, unpaired, males would try to come into the flocks.

Since I don't have my ducks for commercial purpose and can't have full free-range anyway we have pairs 7 prs of ancona and 1 pr of runners. One set of two pairs live together during the day in a movable run but brought in at night. They were picked as youngsters from unrelated (as much as can be) parents so I didn't care which male the female picked and have lived as a set of 4 from babyhood.

That's what works for us. But like I said, we are very small scale so don't need a whole bunch of layers laying everyday. Everybody's mileage may vary =:~)

 

[ducklover87]

This is my first time ever getting Ancona ducks and I was wondering where is the best place to purchase them?

 

[AuroraSprings]

Ducklover: It depends on what you want. Do you want eggs or ducklings? Colorful eggs or white ones? More meat type or more egg layer type or a happy medium? Do you want a variety of colors or only one specific color? Are you more interested in saving the breed and breeding for conservation or do you just want a few in your backyard?

Several folks on here sell eggs or ducklings, including us. But, everyone has different breeding goals, so you will want to find one that matches what you want.