Cackle's Ancona Ducks?

[Ahab]

As anyone ordered Ancona ducks from Cackle? Experiences? Impressions?

 

[purelypoultry]

I have not ordered from them but I have seen them. They seem pretty decent ducks. I have been told they lay pretty well.

 

[StevenW.]

I've ordered them!!! Will always prefer Cackle Hatchery over all the other Hatcherys

 

[Ahab]

Quote:
Thanks. And how were they? To type? Broody? Foragers?

 

[Widget]

I ordered five Anconas from them last year via my local feedstore. All five survived and are doing great. That's saying alot since I had a fox wipe out almost everything else including seven muscovies who were twice as big as the Anconas. I ended up with two males and three females. I was getting about two eggs a day until about a month ago.

 

[Ahab]

Thanks. I ran the numbers on the various purveyors of anconas I could find, and Cackle is definitely the most reasonably priced. Too often there's a reason for a low price, but Cackle enjoys a relatively benign reputation here on the board, at least for its chickens, as a provider of decent-quality birds for backyard flocks (not talking about show birds or exceptional breeding stock).

Too bad Holderread got out of them. His birds were (show-stock excepted) reasonably priced as well--especially considering their quality.

 

[Widget]

I agree with Holderreads. But then again that's one less breed I have to choose from this spring.

As it is I know I will be ordering some Saxony and Indian Runners from there. And perhaps some Australian Spotted or Mini Appleyard. Can't decide which of those two breeds I like better.

 

[AuroraSprings]

We order 7 from Cackle (3 survived the witty fox attacks). One hen was the first to start laying this year and is about to hatch her first batch. I have noticed they are a much wider, larger bird than the others - who originally came from Holderread's. But ours have been selectively bred to move and forage in a free-range fashion. This is the first year I've had them penned. Now they are all about the same size. The Cackle birds slimmed and trimmed a bit and the Holderreads' have bulked up. Also, Cackle = black & white, our Holderread's = every color imaginable!