Ancona ducks are one of only 6 breeds originating in the US. For a long time, it was believed to have originated in Great Britain in the early 20th century. However, more recent records show their development in New York in 1913 by W. J. Wirt.
Ancona ducks share their name and marking patterns with Ancona chickens. Most likely, the original stock they were bred from included Magpie ducks. They are not yet recognized by the American Poultry Association. There are some groups attempting to have the breed recognized by the APA. Recognition is tough, though, due to the variety of feather patterns. The APA requires a standardized phenotype by which to judge birds, and the irregular color splashes on the Ancona makes that very difficult. In addition, each color must be registered separately with the APA. Because of this, only the black and white Anconas are being considered at this time. Some breeders fear only having one color recognized will discourage the breeding of other Ancona colors, such as chocolate, blue, and tricolor. This could also discourage a diverse gene pool, as breeders attempt to avoid the other colorations. It’s a contentious issue!
Ancona ducks generally weigh around 5 pounds, and can produce an average of 210-230 eggs a year. Their eggs can come in a variety of colors! Mine produce cream and blue eggs. They are a hardy breed, making them a wonderful farm addition!
FOR SALE
There are no Ancona ducks for sale at this time. Please reach out to me about purchasing hatching eggs at $5 per egg. Unfortunately, I cannot currently ship across state lines, so local pickup only.
Permanent Residents
FW Birch Leaf
Color: Chocolate
Date of Birth: Summer 2023
Birch was the first time I purchased hatching eggs from another breeder. Unfortunately for me, my only incubator that year was running really low temperature-wise, and I only got one successful hatch out of it.
Luckily for me! Birch was a chocolate, the color I couldn’t get locally. We had black Ancona ducks, and I had some blues from someone else, but the chocolate, tricolor, and related other colors were much harder to find!
Birch, like all my drakes, is kept in his place by Bucky, making him a very docile drake. His chocolate pattern is really beautiful when it’s clean! He’s a good sized drake, and I look forward to seeing what he produces this year!
FW Scottish Delicacy (Haggis)
Color: Blue
Date of Birth: Summer 2022
Parents: Stormy x Bruce
Haggis is the only remaining child of our original breeding pair of Anconas, Stormy and Bruce. She is a very chill duck, and sticks close to the flock. I have never seen her go broody, although I believe did Stormy did a few times while she was alive. Haggis was my first hatching out of an incubator.
She’s a beautiful, hardy duck that has survived every winter thus far without frostbite, like my other Anconas. I anticipate good, solid ducklings from her and Birch.