Squaretoes Farm is named after our Ancona drake Mr. Squaretoes, given to us by the stewards of the breed, Boondockers Farm. We will have ducklings in very small numbers and plan on expanding those numbers in the future when we have a large farm. Until then, we plan to share our ducks with friends, family and neighbors. We welcome you out and encourage you to contact the Boondockers Farm or Carol Deppe to secure some ducklings for your farm be it urban or rural.
Ancona Duck
Origin: Great Britain
Weight: 5-7 pounds
Color Varieties: Black, Blue, Chocolate, Lavender, and Tricolored
Plumage: Their pattern is broken with irregular white spots and patches similar to a Pinto pony. Seldom will any two be alike; the bill and feet are often spotted.
Status: A critically endangered rare breed duck that was developed in the Great Britain most likely from the Belgian Huttegem duck and Indian Runners.
Practical Qualities: They are the best foraging dual purpose ducks, often neglecting their feed for the tastier and peskier insects in your yard. They have an excellent carcass and are coveted by many local restaurants. They lay 210-280 eggs per year outlaying a lot of the heavier laying chickens. The eggs can be white, cream, green, blue, or spotted. They eat very large quantities of slugs, snails and other insect pests. They love fruit and vegetable scraps if they’ve been started on them early in life. They are currently awaiting the chance at being added to SlowFood’s Ark of Taste for their uniqueness to the region of the PNW.
This is simply a very short breed description card. It is a condensed version of all available information on the breed which further links for can be found through Potlicker.org. The cited information provided can be credited to the following sources: Dave Holderread, Boondockers Farm, Carol Deppe, The ALBC, The APBPB, The OPB did a really lovely piece on the folks involved with saving and preserving the lineage of a fine duck.
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