Ancona Ducks have white feathers, covered with spots that can be black, chocolate, silver, blue or lavender. They have yellow bills with dark green or black spots, and orange shanks and feet.
They grow quickly up to a weight of 6 to 6 ½ pounds (around 3 kg.)
They are relatively peaceful ducks and don’t fly much, preferring to stay close to home.
They are good in gardens, feasting on insects and particularly large slugs that can plague gardens. They also eat greens.
Ancona Ducks are good for both eggs and meat.
The females are good layers, up to 210 to 280 eggs a year. The egg shells can be cream-coloured, white or blue.
The ducks have good flavoured meat, which is less fatty than that from many other ducks.
History Notes
Ancona Ducks were developed in England in the early 1900s, possibly from Runner ducks and Huttegem ducks.