Ducks
The only ducklings we can ship to Hawaii are Muscovy ducklings. Ducklings or hatching eggs from any other breed cannot be sent to Hawaii. The state government is afraid that domestic ducks that originate from the Mallard duck will cross with Hawaii's native Koloa ducks. There is evidence that the Koloa has crossed with imported or migratory Mallard ducks but there is no evidence that any domestic ducks (Pekin, Khaki Campbell, White Layer, etc.) have crossed with the Koloa. But as domestic ducks all originate from the Mallard duck, the Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife has banned the importation of all ducks or duck eggs from non-Muscovy ducks without a special research permit.
Muscovy are allowed into Hawaii as the progeny of Muscovy and Koloa or Mallard ducks are sterile. They cannot reproduce. For more information on this cross, read our article on
Mule ducks.
Ducks are important to Hawaii, as they are the best method of controlling non-native Apple Snails in the native taro farms. John Metzer attended a roundtable session in Honolulu titled "Duck Issues for Apple Snail Control in Lo'I Kalo in Hawaii" in January of 2005. Also attending were representatives of the taro industry, the Division of Forestry and Wildlife and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
An interesting article was written in the March, 2005 issue of National Geographic on invasive species and it shows Gladys Kanoa, a past customer of ours, and her (our) ducks. She uses them to control the non-native apple snails on her taro farm.
You can download the complete
Strategic Statewide Apple Snail Control Plan for Hawaii for a comprehensive description of the snail problem in Hawaii.
To read their recommendations on how to use ducks to control snails in Hawaii, download the
Hawaii Duck Protocol.
Shipping Muscovy Ducklings
If you are interested in shipping Muscovy ducklings to Hawaii, please contact us directly at metzinfo@metzerfarms.com so we could look into this for you. Thank you.
For information from the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, phone their Quarantine Branch at 808-832-0566.