Ancona Hatching Eggs

It’s currently hatching season 2024! We are shipping fertilized Ancona hatching eggs based on availability and our wait list. Eggs are also available for local pickup.

Ancona Egg Waitlist

If you're ready to hatch your own flock of beautiful, rare heritage breed Ancona ducks, we are one of the few small-scale 100% organic breeders in the United States.

We offer possible Black, Chocolate, Lavender, Lilac and Silver colored feathering. We have never hatched any crested or tricolor Ancona. We are not a hatchery, so we can focus on breeding sustainable, hardy, healthy birds. We pride ourselves on offering heirloom organic fertile eggs that are all non-GMO pasture-raised. If you are interested in hatching from shipped eggs, please carefully read our policies.

We regularly spot-check our eggs for fertility and keep our flocks small enough to ensure 95% fertility on average. [*Please note that fertility does NOT necessarily translate to successful hatch rates. Please read our Shipping Disclaimer below.]
All of our eggs are thoroughly inspected for proper air cell positioning, dents or hairline fractures prior to shipping. We have had great success packaging our eggs using foam pipe insulation. Each egg is nestled as tightly as possible in the upright position with ample "this way up" labeling on the box. Using this method, we have never had an issue with anyone receiving broken eggs!
If you have never hatched from shipped eggs before, please know that it is not an exact science and shipped eggs should not be handled or hatched like unshipped eggs. Please make yourself aware of proper procedures and handling prior to placing your order. Once you receive your eggs, we always recommend allowing eggs to sit upright (air cell facing upwards) for at least 24 hours to allow the air cells to settle into proper position. Due to inevitable jostling from shipping, we also highly recommend upright incubation when possible.

For hatching conditions, we closely follow Holdereids hatching guidelines, which change based on the seasons. We also use and recommend the Nurture Right 360 Incubators.
Feel free to check out our blogpost for more details.

We're always happy to answer any of your incubation questions!
PLEASE NOTE: Due to many uncontrollable variables, no seller can ever offer guarantees or average estimates on hatching rates of shipped eggs. Once eggs leave our property, they undergo a wide variety of conditions on their journey. Variables include but are not limited to: overall travel distance, temperature fluctuations, barometric pressure changes, package handling, varying incubation techniques...etc.

All of our eggs are shipped as fresh as possible, never more than 3 days old. Depending on our current laying rate, inclement weather, local orders, weekends or holidays, your order may not be ready to ship immediately upon placing your order. If we are behind, we will always do our best to communicate an estimated ship date. Please feel free to message us with questions or let us know prior to ordering if you need to receive your eggs by a certain date.

All of our packages are shipped via Priority Mail. Should your package arrive damaged in any way, let us know and we'll see how we can help, but you will need to file a claim directly and immediately with USPS to receive reimbursement.

Ancona ducks look like little cows. A wide variety of color and white are all accepted by show judges and breed associations, providing distinct areas of “broken color” are visible on the underbelly, head, sides, and back of the duck.

Conservation Status: The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy designated Ancona ducks as critically endangered in 2015. In 2000, there were only 125 known breeding Ancona ducks in the United States.

History: An article found in the 1913 Water Fowl Club of America Yearbook indicates a farmer from Knowlesville, New York – W.J. Wirt of Ridge View Farms, announced the creation of the Ancona duck breed. Wirt reportedly bred together several types of American standard duck breeds to create the Ancona. Not long after the article appeared, Ancona ducks were taking blue ribbons at the Willdum Duckery of Rowley show in Boston. Hence, the Ancona has now been declared to be an American breed.

Popular Use: Dual purpose for meat and eggs. Also valued as a show breed. Unlike many heritage breeds of livestock, Ancona ducks have a fast growth rate.

Egg Color: Cream, white, pale blue or green. Colored eggs are not a desirable trait for Ancona breeding stock and we do not breed toward that quality.

Egg Size: 2.5–3.7 oz. (57–85 g).

Productivity: 210–280 eggs per year. As the Ancona hen ages toward full maturity and beyond, her eggs increase in size.

Weight: Drake 6-8 lb.; duck 6–7 lb.

Temperament: Hardy, calm and friendly.

Adaptability: Ancona ducks are a heritage breed (carefully selected for purity and specific traits over generations) resulting in excellent maternal instincts, ease of mating, parasite and disease resistance, as well as quality fertility, longevity, and foraging prowess. They are also known to be very cold hardy.

Ancona Waitlist