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Maryland Department of Agriculture

Permits to Sell Live Poultry, Hatching Eggs or Operate a Hatchery

General requirements 

General requirements for small flock permit to sell live poultry, hatching eggs or operate a hatchery in Maryland (COMAR 15.11.11.04)

  • Beginning in January 2017, participating flocks must be tested annually by a Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) Animal Health (AH) inspector for Pullorum-Typhoid (PT). 
  • The flock, pens/housing, hatchery and equipment must pass an annual inspection.
  • All Maryland poultry sellers must have a current Maryland Poultry Premises Registration number issued by MDA Animal Health.
  • The permittee agrees to the following: 
    1. Participate in the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP). 
    2. The first time a flock is tested for Pullorum-Typhoid Clean status, 100% of the poultry up to 300 birds present on the farm must be Pullorum-Typhoid tested.  Each bird tested shall be identified with an Official NPIP State numbered leg or wing band. Retesting will be done annually. Please note there are age restrictions for official Pullorum-Typhoid tests for NPIP. 
    3. Inspection of flock, bird housing, hatchery and records. 
    4. New birds added to the farm (breeding or miscellaneous) must be tested PullorumTyphoid negative before adding to the flock if they are not coming from a U. S. Pullorum-Typhoid Clean flock. Proof of Pullorum-Typhoid Clean status or testing must be kept as records and available to show at the annual inspection.
    5. Poultry equipment, poultry houses/pens and the land in the immediate vicinity shall be kept in sanitary condition. The participating flock (tested birds), their eggs and all equipment used in connection with the PT tested flock shall be separated from non-participating birds (no beak to beak touching through pens).
    6. All flocks shall consist of healthy, normal individuals, characteristic of the breed, variety, cross or other combination, which they are stated to represent.
    7. Hatcheries, including brooder rooms, shall be kept in sanitary condition.
      1. Entire hatchery shall be shall be kept in a neat, orderly condition and free from accumulated dust. 
      2. Incubator walls, floors and trays shall be kept free from debris, such as broken eggs and eggshells.
      3. Hatchers and trays shall be cleaned and disinfected after each hatch. Hatchery residue (eggshells, pips, etc.) shall be disposed of promptly and in a manner satisfactory to the MDA State Inspector. 
      4. Tops of incubators and hatchers shall be kept clean and not used for storage. 
      5. No other animals are allowed in the incubator / hatcher rooms. 
    8. All poultry offered for sale shall be normal and typical of the breed, variety or cross. Hatching eggs shall be sound in shell and typical for the breed, variety or cross. 
    9. Records, which include buyer/seller name and address, dates of purchases and sales of birds or hatching eggs shall be maintained for 3 years and will be subject to inspection by the NPIP State Inspector. 
    10.  Hatching eggs, babies or older birds crossing state lines (interstate movement) require NPIP 9-3 movement forms. Adult birds also need to be banded with Official NPIP State bands and the band numbers recorded on the NPIP 9-3 movement form.  Baby poultry are excluded from the banding requirements due to their small size. information. 
    11. Contact the Maryland NPIP Coordinator Dr. Marilyn White or Maryland NPIP Administrator Barb Kunie at 410-841-5810 or [email protected] for more 
    12. Additional information on NPIP can be found at www.poultryimprovement.org.  

NPIP requirements

MD NPIP requirements for Avian Influenza (AI) clean breeding flocks & hatcheries:

  • Some states also require NPIP AI Clean status in order to accept poultry, such as NC, GA, FL, VA, PA, TX, etc. In order to also be classified as NPIP AI Clean, the flock must follow all the requirements listed above for NPIP Pullorum-Typhoid Clean, and 
  • Test their flock every 180 days for avian influenza.  The maximum number of birds sampled is up to 30 birds per species type (e.g. chickens, turkeys, guineas, etc.). 

Maryland permits to sell live poultry & hatching eggs 

In addition to the NPIP requirements, Maryland requires the issuance of a Permit to Sell Live Poultry or Hatching Eggs or Operate A Hatchery both intrastate (within Maryland) and interstate (across state lines including the District of Columbia).

The requirements to qualify for a Permit to Sell are found in Maryland Code of Regulations Section 15.11.11.04. These regulations require meeting all of the NPIP requirements for U.S. Pullorum-Typhoid Clean and may have addition requirements to achieve Maryland Equivalent Status.  

Please contact Dr. White or Ms. Kunie for additional information. 

The State of Maryland has provided an exemption for the requirements for a Permit to Sell for infrequent sellers who sell their birds at a Maryland Authorized Livestock Auction Markets including Grantsville Livestock Auction Market, TriCounty Livestock Auction Market, Westminster Livestock Auction Market and Four States Livestock Auction Market. No other exemptions are permitted. 

Permit to Sell Live Poultry or Hatching Eggs