Short answer
Yes. Ducks and geese are not birds of prey, so they are halal in all four schools when slaughtered the Islamic way, with Allah's name. Duck eggs are halal too.
Duck and goose are halal (mubah), like chicken, when slaughtered by zabiha. Only birds that hunt with talons, and repulsive birds such as the carrion crow, are excluded.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
The Sunnah forbids birds that seize their prey with talons, such as eagles, hawks and owls. Ducks and geese are water birds that feed on plants, grain, insects and small water creatures, and they have webbed feet, not talons. They fall within the good foods that Allah made lawful, and the four schools agree on this.
As with any bird, the meat is halal only if the duck was slaughtered by cutting the throat with Allah's name. Ducks shot by hunters with a gun are not halal in the Hanafi school unless they are reached alive and slaughtered (see kangaroo, which explains the ruling on bullets). Supermarket duck in the West is usually not zabiha, so look for a halal supplier.
Things to check in duck dishes:
- Peking and roast duck in Chinese restaurants are often glazed with rice wine or cooked alongside pork.
- Duck confit is preserved in duck fat, which is fine if the duck is halal, but some recipes add pork fat or wine.
- Foie gras comes from force-fed ducks and geese. It is halal if zabiha, but many scholars and animal welfare groups object to the force-feeding as cruel.
- Duck eggs and salted duck eggs are halal; balut is not (see balut).
See also chicken and which animals are haram.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-Waaqia 56:21
وَلَحْمِ طَيْرٍۢ مِّمَّا يَشْتَهُونَ ﴿٢١﴾
And the meat of fowl, from whatever they desire.
Bird meat is named among the good foods of Paradise, and fowl is lawful in this world.
Quran, Surah Al-Maaida 5:4
يَسْـَٔلُونَكَ مَاذَآ أُحِلَّ لَهُمْ ۖ قُلْ أُحِلَّ لَكُمُ ٱلطَّيِّبَٰتُ ۙ وَمَا عَلَّمْتُم مِّنَ ٱلْجَوَارِحِ مُكَلِّبِينَ تُعَلِّمُونَهُنَّ مِمَّا عَلَّمَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ ۖ فَكُلُوا۟ مِمَّآ أَمْسَكْنَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَٱذْكُرُوا۟ ٱسْمَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ ۖ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَرِيعُ ٱلْحِسَابِ ﴿٤﴾
They ask you, [O Muhammad], what has been made lawful for them. Say, "Lawful for you are [all] good foods and [game caught by] what you have trained of hunting animals which you train as Allah has taught you. So eat of what they catch for you, and mention the name of Allah upon it, and fear Allah." Indeed, Allah is swift in account.
Wholesome animals are lawful by default.
Sahih Muslim 1934
Sahih... نهى عن كل ذي ناب من السباع وعن كل ذي مخلب من الطير ...
"He forbade every predator with fangs and every bird with talons."
Only birds that hunt with talons are excluded; ducks are not.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Dhaba'ih, on what may be eaten. Birds without hunting talons are lawful, such as ducks and geese.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.