What Is the Duck Limit in Texas? Bag, Species, and Zones

The duck limit in Texas is six birds per day, counted as an aggregate that includes mergansers. Within that six-bird ceiling, several species carry their own tighter caps, and those sub-limits are where most hunters run into trouble long before they’ve filled the full bag.

Species Caps Inside the Six-Duck Daily Bag

You can take any mix of ducks up to six per day, provided you also stay under each species-specific limit. For the 2025–2026 season those caps are:

Mallards: no more than five, and no more than two of those may be hens.
Pintails: no more than three. This is higher than past seasons, so hunters used to a one-bird pintail rule should take note.
Wood ducks: no more than three.
Redheads: no more than two.
Canvasbacks: no more than two.
Scaup: no more than one.
“Dusky” ducks: no more than one. The category covers mottled ducks, Mexican-like ducks, black ducks, and their hybrids.

Dusky ducks are closed entirely during the first five days of the regular season in each zone. If you’re out on opening weekend anywhere in the state, leave the mottled ducks alone.¹

A practical example: shoot two hen mallards, two canvasbacks, and a scaup, and you still have one slot left in your six-bird bag — but your canvasback and scaup limits are already full, and you’ve used both your hen mallards.

Coots Are Counted Separately

Coots don’t count against the six-duck total. Their daily bag is 15 birds, with a possession limit of 45.¹

Possession Limits

The possession limit for ducks is three times the daily bag. With six per day, you can possess up to eighteen ducks at any one time, whether they’re at home, in transit, or stored at a lodge or processor.¹

The three-times multiplier also applies to every species sub-limit. Canvasbacks are capped at two per day, so you can possess no more than six canvasbacks total. Scaup, at one per day, cap out at three in possession. Mallards cap at fifteen, with no more than six hens. And so on down the list.

Hunting Zones and Season Dates

The six-duck limit only applies during an open season, and Texas splits the state into three zones with different calendars. A date that’s legal in one zone may fall inside a closed split in another.

High Plains Mallard Management Unit (roughly west of a line running from Del Rio north along U.S. Highway 277 to Abilene, then northeast to Vernon): October 18–19, 2025, then October 24, 2025 through January 25, 2026.
North Zone (east of the High Plains unit and north of U.S. Highway 90 from Del Rio to San Antonio, then Interstate 10 to the Louisiana border): November 8–30, 2025, then December 6, 2025 through January 25, 2026.
South Zone (south of that U.S. 90 / Interstate 10 boundary): November 1–30, 2025, then December 13, 2025 through January 25, 2026.

Each zone’s season is split into two segments with a closed gap in the middle. Hunting during that gap is illegal even if another zone is open.²

Legal shooting hours run from one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.¹

Youth and Veteran Days

Each zone offers two special waterfowl days for hunters under 18 and for veterans and active-duty military: October 11–12 in the High Plains unit, October 25–26 in the South Zone, and November 1–2 in the North Zone. Youth hunters must be accompanied by an adult at least 18 years old; that adult may not hunt ducks on those days.²³ The daily bag during these days follows the same six-duck limit and species caps as the regular season.

Early Teal Season Has Its Own Rules

Before the regular duck season opens, Texas runs a statewide teal-only season from September 20 through September 28, 2025. During this window, only teal may be taken. Passing shots at other ducks are off-limits, even if they drop into your spread.²

Before You Can Fill That Bag

The limits only mean something if you’re licensed to hunt. Texas requires a hunting license (resident licenses cost $25),⁴ a Migratory Game Bird Endorsement if you’re 17 or older, HIP (Harvest Information Program) certification each year, and the federal Duck Stamp for anyone 16 or older. The 2025–2026 federal stamp is $25.⁵ All four are mandatory, and game wardens check routinely.⁶

1
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Mills 2025-2026 Hunting Seasons
2
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. 2025-2026 Hunting Season Dates
3
Federal Register. Migratory Bird Hunting – Final 2024-25 Frameworks for Migratory Bird Hunting Regulations
4
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Hunting Licenses
5
USPS. Spectacled Eiders 2025-2026 Federal Duck Stamps
6
Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. License, Permit and Endorsement Requirements – Migratory Game Bird