Duck Breed Focus - Ancona

[sumi]

The Ancona breed was developed in the early twentieth century in Great Britain, but were not readily available in the United States until 1984. However, the Ancona duck was present in the USA in 1911 and was exhibited at major poultry shows for many years after this date. The original Ancona duck occurred only in a black & white variety and laid a pure white egg.

Ancona ducks are really beautiful birds. Their mottled plumage can be of any combination of a single colour and white, or it may be tri-colored. An adult's beak is usually yellow with greenish markings, and the feet, like the feathering, are splotchy. Anconas are generally moderately calm and friendly, and make relatively good mothers. They are very good foragers.


Details:

Purpose: Dual
Egg laying: 210-280 eggs annually
Egg colour: White, tinted, blue, green, spotted
Weight: 6-6.5lb


Pic by @TheBoonducks


Pic by @mamato3


Pic by @TheBoonducks


Pic by @toadbriar

BYC Breed review:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/ancona-350

Breed Discussions:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/422411/ancona-ducks/0_30


Do you own Anconas? Are you an Ancona breeder? If so, please reply to this thread with the your thoughts and experiences, including:

· What made you decide to get this breed?
· Do you own them for fun? Breeding? Some other purpose?
· What are your favorite characteristics about this breed?
· Post some pics of your birds; male/female, chicks, eggs, etc!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Just gorgeous ducks..

 

[tnewton]

We've had a pair of anconas for about a year, and we love them! So pretty and calm, and they get along well with our other ducks. They're both chocolate anconas, so of course they were named Chocolate and Vanilla.

I would go take a picture of them to post here, but we're in the middle of an ice storm!

 

[sumi]

I would go take a picture of them to post here, but we're in the middle of an ice storm!

Oh my goodness and here I'm complaining about our 32*F and rain!

I'd love to see your duckies when the weather goes kind again.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Oh my goodness and here I'm complaining about our 32*F and rain!

I'd love to see your duckies when the weather goes kind again.

Me too..

 

[N F C]

Beautiful ducks! I like how each one is marked a little differently. Would these be considered medium class ducks (as opposed to light or heavy)?

 

[LynS1975]

I have always owned chickens since my childhood. We had some ducks when I was a kid, but they were Mandarins and they were more for decoration. They didn't make good pets. We also had a blue swede and a muscovy, but I was too young at the time to remember them much. This past Spring a picture of a Ancona duck came up on Pinterest and I was absolutely awestruck with their beauty. One picture led me to many others and I eventually started doing some research on the breed. Everything I read about them stated that they were a rare breed, so I never thought I would see one in person. But, I decided to test my luck and check on craigslist and see if there were any listed. Of course there weren't. Even less likely, I checked the website of my local co-op to see what breeds of chicks and ducklings they were getting in this week. Low and behold! Ancona ducklings were on the list for that coming weekend! A week prior I wasn't even thinking about adding ducks to my menagerie, but now that Anconas were a possibility, I quickly started researching ducks. I kept reading that the girls are noisy and considering the proximity of my neighbors, I should probably decide against it. But I just couldn't stop thinking about them and the days were counting down to their arrival at the co-op. This could possibly be my one and only chance. On the arrival date, I was at the co-op with my crate. "Pick me out two drakes", I said to the boy working at the co-op. "They will be the quieter of the group", I told him. "I can't have any noisy girls, my neighbors will complain". I named them Jake and Merle. Two manly names to will them to be drakes. I was still worried about the noise issue. Although a part of me was hoping for a girl so I could have duck eggs. Well, fast forward about 7 months and I now have two lovely Anconas...Jake and Josie. Yes, one is a girl. She is very soft spoken howsoever and only gets "quackie" when she is happy or being demanding, i.e. when I get home from work or when the food or water bowl become empty. They are so enjoyable. I love their wagging tails and head bobs when I come out in the morning to feed them and hose down the coop. They love playing in the hose no matter the weather. They love it when it rains. They love it when I change the water in their pool. I love it when they sneak up behind me and nibble on my jacket when I'm filling their feed bowls or cleaning out their bedding.
During the summer, I entered them in the Evergreen State Fair and they placed a Best of Breed (of course they were the only Anconas entered) and the other one got Reserve and the Best of Breed winner also received a Best in Medium class. I was very proud of them.
I love my duckies! I say it with enthusiasm every day. If it wasn't for their messiness and excessive food consumption, I would have more ducks and less chickens as I think their antics are so amusing. I would recommend Anconas to anyone considering ducks. If not for their beauty, definitely for their amiable dispositions.
I am enclosing some pictures of them when they were still just kids. I will try to get some nice photos of them as lovely adults to add tomorrow.

 

[learycow]

I'm a breeder!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this breed!

I breed for show. Color, plumage, body composition, foraging ability, temperament and production (meat and eggs) are my main goals.
I have black, blue, lilac, lavender, chocolate and silver anconas that lay a variety of cream, green, and black/grey eggs.

Happy to chat and help anyone who is interested in this breed!

 

[MonTXChickens]

I do not have any of these ducks yet but I expect to get some in the Spring. I have not decided yet if I am going to try to hatch them or buy ducklings. I have reached out to a breeder that has not gotten back to me yet about her recommendations.

I think these ducks are really cool. Their colors and patterns are very unique. They are rare and endangered so getting a few will help extend this breed. Some lines have colored eggs - blue and green. (I am hoping that the ducks I get have this trait.) They are also a medium sized duck that does not fly so they will always be where they are supposed to be. I also like the egg laying capacity. They are also supposed to be tasty but I am not sure that I can actually eat them.

 

[learycow]

If anyone is looking to raise these to help the breed, I would suggest doing extensive research before buying. There are many "breeders" who are actually cross breeding (resulting offspring can look like anconas but genetically are not pure) and selling as pure. Which does NOT help this breed since there are enough bloodlines of them where cross breeding is no longer necessary to improve and help the breed along.