Nantahala Farm & Garden
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I no longer sell Ancona duck eggs. If you sell Ancona ducks or eggs, contact me and I'll add you to this list. You can find people with ducks or hatching eggs here:
The Livestock Conservancy: Rare Breeds
The Livestock Conservancy: Ancona Duck
Ancona Duck Breeders Association
Ancona Ducks- ISO and Where to Find
Heritage Ancona Ducks- Facebook: Follows Dave Holderread's breeding guidelines. See “Storey’s Guide to Raising Ducks”. This is a non-APA (American Poultry Association) Ancona group. There is no APA-accepted standard for the Ancona. We strive to preserve the original "Holderread" lines. We do not agree with the proposed standard. It would require culling Anconas which have any plumage colors other than black and white, and culling Anconas which lay any egg color other than white. Decreasing the gene pool and genetic diversity in an already-rare breed is a recipe for a disastrous decrease in health and vigor.
Ancona Ducks- Facebook: Wants American Poultry Association breed standardization of only black/white feathers with white eggs. Anconas have many varieties. Each color is a separate variety. The same holds true for all breeds of poultry. Many breeds having many varieties accepted by the APA. Each variety is a separate project and has to be admitted individually. Tri-color Ancona ducks will not be allowed.
North American Duck Alliance, na.anconaduckalliance@gmail.com

Worth It Farms: Ancona Ducks for Sale, Atlanta, Georgia, WorthItFarms@gmail.com
Victoria Couch in North Carolina, victoriacouch77@gmail.com
Mary Z. Ruby, The Ruby Roost, Marshall, North Carolina, mzruby@msn.com
Junifer Johnson, Lance-a-lot Ducks, York, Nebraska, lancealot.ducks@gmail.com
Jackie Mobley, Five Pine Farm, Green Mountain, North Carolina, jmob873@gmail.com
Sofia Bent, Logsden, Oregon, chickenduckpalace@gmail.com
Delaney McMaster, Taylors, South Carolina, dgmcmaster@hotmail.com
Audrey Geier, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, audrey.geier@gmail.com
Emily Rothrock, Louisburg, North Carolina, emily.l.rothrock@gmail.com
Ana Nelson, Dade City, Florida, www.vitoriafarms.com, 352-769-2869, vitoriafarms@gmail.com
Michelle Jones, Western North Carolina, duckandpepperfarm.com, 910-262-0395, ancona@duckandpepperfarm.com
Angie Cordray, Ancona Acres, Missouri, yardroc@grm.net
Jennifer Miller, Fredon Township, New Jersey, millerfarm7@gmail.com. Flock is NPIP H5/H7 AI clean.
Cindy Loos, Weiser, Idaho, 208-549-3928, toadilycreative@msn.com. Hen raised ducks. Excellent mothers.

Breeding stock: Black, Chocolate, Blue, Lavender, Lilac, Silver, TriColor
Ancona Duck Hatching Eggs
Ancona Ducks #1
Ancona Ducks #2
Ancona Ducks #3
Ancona Ducks #4
Ancona Duck Colors: Part 1
Ancona Duck Colors: Part 2
David Holderread, Ancona Breeder
About Green & Blue Duck Eggs

Feed Comfrey to Poultry
Shipping Hatching Eggs
Types of Incubators
Make A Poultry Incubator
How to Incubate Eggs
Duck Eggs Hatched by Chickens
Duck Eggs Hatched by a Goose
How to Help Hatching Babies
How to Brood Poultry

Ancona Duck Colors & Genetics
Part 1
Black and White
Chocolate and White
Buff and White

 
Ancona Colors & Genetics, Part 2

David Holderread, Ancona Breeder
Mallard Ducks

All domestic ducks except the Muscovy started genetically with the Mallard or wild duck (Anas platyrhynchos). The Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) is in a different genus.

The photo on the left is Mallard ducks: female is top left, male is bottom right. The photo to the right is Indian Runner ducks.

Wild mallard ducks will on rare occasions lay very light-green eggs, though usually they are white.

Runner Ducks

The Ancona duck has Runner duck in it. Any color found in Runner ducks can be found in Ancona ducks. Colors other than the ones listed below are possible.

Some colors are Fawn, Black, Buff, Chocolate, Silver, Cumberland Blue, Blue Dusky, Apricot Dusky, Apricot Trout, Blue Trout, and Gray.

"The Runner cannot help but lay large, white and green shelled eggs of a most delicious flavour." -Levi D. Yoder, Natural and Artificial Indian Runner Duck Culture, Pennsylvania, 1910.

Definition of "Duck"

The precise meaning of the word "duck" in a sentence can be confusing.

"Duck" is sometimes used to mean all ducks, both male and female. At other times it means only the female waterfowl, such as mating a duck and drake. To avoid confusion, I use "female duck" when the gender is important.

This photo is an Ancona drake (on left) and female duck. Drakes have a curly tail.

Storeys Guide to Raising Ducks

For more information about duck genetics, read "Storeys Guide to Raising Ducks" by Dave Holderread. Chapter 10 is "Understanding Duck Colors".

"For any given trait the original form found in the wild ancestors of domestic ducks is known as the wild type. Keep in mind that Gray is the official name in North America for any duck that is colored exactly like a wild Mallard." -page 112

"Alternative forms of a gene are called alleles. If a gene has one recognised mutation form, then it is said to have two alleles (the wild type plus the mutation form). If a gene has two recognised mutation forms, then it is said to have three alleles (the wild type plus the two mutation forms)." -page 112

"If a duck carries a matched pair of genes at a particular locus, it is said to be homozygous for that location. If it carries different alleles at a locus, it is called heterozygous." -page 112


Most Common Ancona Duck Color is Black

Black is the foundation (base) of all the other Ancona colors. It is dominant.

Mallard female duck (gray=wild type) with 1 Extended Black allelle and no Blue or Chocolate alleles= all black. It is heterozygous. (All Ancona ducks are heterozygous.)

The first photo is 3 Black Ancona ducks. The next photo is a Black Ancona duckling.

"It was an absolute pleasure doing business with you. I hope your farm has great success. I'm so glad I found you on the Internet. Thank you for doing such important work and keeping the Anconas alive!" -Jeff, Norridgewock, Maine

Magpie and Ancona Duck Genetics

Mallard female duck with 2 Extended Black allelles with white spot pattern genes= Magpie duck. It is homozygous for that gene.

A Magpie duck has large areas of black on its back, sides and rear. The rest is white. See photo of drake to the right.

This photo to the left is a Black female and a Tricolor female with their ducklings from a Tricolor male.



Second Most Common Color is Chocolate

Mallard drake with 1 Extended Black allelle + 1 Chocolate allelle= looks Black but carries Chocolate.

Mallard drake with 1 Extended Black allelle + 2 Chocolate allelles= Chocolate.

Mallard female duck with 1 Extended Black allelle + Chocolate allelle= Chocolate.

The female has 1 loci for a Chocolate allelle. A drake has 2. So she can only inherit Chocolate from her father. It is recessive and sex linked.

The first photo is the tail feathers of a Chocolate male duck. See Lavender below for a photo of 2 Chocolate ducks.

The next photo is a Chocolate duckling in the front, and a Black duckling in the back.

"Our six year old granddaughter has been wanting ducks since she was two. This will be a dream come true." -Kim, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Buff Ancona Duck

There is a light Chocolate Ancona duck that is the Chocolate gene combined with the Buff gene. Buff is rare.

This photo is a Buff female duck.

Mating Chocolate Ducks

If a Chocolate drake mates with a Black duck (female), all female offspring are Chocolate. All male offspring are Black. This means you can determine the sex of ducklings when they hatch.

If a Black drake mates with a Chocolate duck, all offspring are black. The male offspring will carry the sex-linked recessive Chocolate gene. The female will not.

This photo is a Chocolate drake.

Black & Chocolate Duck Matings

Black drake x Black duck= 75-100% Black offspring. Those not Black are Chocolate.

Chocolate drake x Chocolate duck= 100% Chocolate offspring.

Black drake x Chocolate duck = 50-100% Black offspring. Those not Black are Chocolate.

Chocolate drake x Black duck = 50% Black + 50% Chocolate offspring.

"One of the eggs (the blue one) already has a beating heart!!" -Anya, Durham, North Carolina



Ancona Duck Colors & Genetics, Part 2

David Holderread, Ancona Duck Breeder
 

 

I no longer sell Ancona duck eggs. If you sell Ancona ducks or eggs, contact me and I'll add you to this list. You can find people with ducks or hatching eggs here:
The Livestock Conservancy: Rare Breeds
The Livestock Conservancy: Ancona Duck
Ancona Duck Breeders Association
Ancona Ducks- ISO and Where to Find
Heritage Ancona Ducks- Facebook: Follows Dave Holderread's breeding guidelines. See “Storey’s Guide to Raising Ducks”. This is a non-APA (American Poultry Association) Ancona group. There is no APA-accepted standard for the Ancona. We strive to preserve the original "Holderread" lines. We do not agree with the proposed standard. It would require culling Anconas which have any plumage colors other than black and white, and culling Anconas which lay any egg color other than white. Decreasing the gene pool and genetic diversity in an already-rare breed is a recipe for a disastrous decrease in health and vigor.
Ancona Ducks- Facebook: Wants American Poultry Association breed standardization of only black/white feathers with white eggs. Anconas have many varieties. Each color is a separate variety. The same holds true for all breeds of poultry. Many breeds having many varieties accepted by the APA. Each variety is a separate project and has to be admitted individually. Tri-color Ancona ducks will not be allowed.
North American Duck Alliance, na.anconaduckalliance@gmail.com

Worth It Farms: Ancona Ducks for Sale, Atlanta, Georgia, WorthItFarms@gmail.com
Victoria Couch in North Carolina, victoriacouch77@gmail.com
Mary Z. Ruby, The Ruby Roost, Marshall, North Carolina, mzruby@msn.com
Junifer Johnson, Lance-a-lot Ducks, York, Nebraska, lancealot.ducks@gmail.com
Jackie Mobley, Five Pine Farm, Green Mountain, North Carolina, jmob873@gmail.com
Sofia Bent, Logsden, Oregon, chickenduckpalace@gmail.com
Delaney McMaster, Taylors, South Carolina, dgmcmaster@hotmail.com
Audrey Geier, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, audrey.geier@gmail.com
Emily Rothrock, Louisburg, North Carolina, emily.l.rothrock@gmail.com
Ana Nelson, Dade City, Florida, www.vitoriafarms.com, 352-769-2869, vitoriafarms@gmail.com
Michelle Jones, Western North Carolina, duckandpepperfarm.com, 910-262-0395, ancona@duckandpepperfarm.com
Angie Cordray, Ancona Acres, Missouri, yardroc@grm.net
Jennifer Miller, Fredon Township, New Jersey, millerfarm7@gmail.com. Flock is NPIP H5/H7 AI clean.
Cindy Loos, Weiser, Idaho, 208-549-3928, toadilycreative@msn.com. Hen raised ducks. Excellent mothers.

Breeding stock: Black, Chocolate, Blue, Lavender, Lilac, Silver, TriColor
Ancona Duck Hatching Eggs
Ancona Ducks #1
Ancona Ducks #2
Ancona Ducks #3
Ancona Ducks #4
Ancona Duck Colors: Part 1
Ancona Duck Colors: Part 2
David Holderread, Ancona Breeder
About Green & Blue Duck Eggs

Feed Comfrey to Poultry
Shipping Hatching Eggs
Types of Incubators
Make A Poultry Incubator
How to Incubate Eggs
Duck Eggs Hatched by Chickens
Duck Eggs Hatched by a Goose
How to Help Hatching Babies
How to Brood Poultry


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