Jeff and I moved to our little farm in West Lorne in 2017, and realized we wanted animals, but weren’t sure what type we wanted. We have a very large pond, surrounded by forest, which makes it ideal for ducks.
We started our duck collection in 2018, with 7 mixed-breed Pekin/Rouen ducks that were gifted to us from our neighbour. Fast forward to 2020 – we now have 41 Ancona ducks, happily living on our pond. Those 7 original ducks ended up being 5 ducks (two were lost to predators) and now they are happily living on a 1 acre pond just outside of Woodstock.
Why Ancona Ducks?
Anconas are considered an excellent all-purpose duck – although not an extremely large breed duck – they average 5 lbs. They are voracious foragers. Having ducks who are excellent foragers is important when living on a 48 acre woodlot. They are amazing at keeping the ticks and other bugs in check.
They have a gentle and friendly temperament with people. And they make excellent mothers. This past year, we had all five of our original ladies try to go broody. We only allowed three of them to sit on their nests – with two of them successfully raising their young.