NPIP & Biosecurity

Avian influenza has reshaped the poultry world — more than 166 million commercial birds have been culled in the U.S. since 2022, and a single Mid-Atlantic gamebird farm lost roughly 100,000 pheasants to HPAI in one 2023 outbreak. For a gamebird producer or preserve, biosecurity isn't paperwork; it's the difference between a season and a total loss. It's also the credential buyers ask about first.

What NPIP is, and why buyers ask for it

The National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP) is a voluntary federal–state–industry program that certifies flocks as free of specific diseases (pullorum- typhoid, avian influenza, and others) through routine testing and inspection. It is the gold-standard credibility marker in this industry — the reason the strongest member operations lead with "NPIP Certified" on their websites, and the credential that lets birds and hatching eggs move across state lines.

• NPIP is administered through your state's animal-health agency — requirements and testing cadence vary by state and by flock type (breeder, hatchery, gamebird farm).
• Certification typically requires periodic pullorum-typhoid testing and enrollment in the H5/H7 avian-influenza monitoring program.
• Many established producers test for avian influenza on a fixed cadence (some test their flocks every 90 days) to stay ahead of movement and sale requirements.
• NPIP status is a searchable field in the member directory — buyers filter for it.

Start with your state program. South Carolina's game-bird NPIP requirements, maintained by Clemson Livestock Poultry Health, are a good reference for what a gamebird farm's enrollment looks like: Clemson NPIP program →

Core biosecurity practices

These are the practices the association's experienced producers treat as non-negotiable. None are exotic — the discipline is in doing them every day.

• Never mix ages or species. Different ages and different birds carry and shed disease differently — keep them apart.
• Don't introduce outside birds. New birds from another operation are the fastest route to a new pathogen. If you must, quarantine hard and long.
• Work young to old, never the reverse. Feed, water, and handle your youngest birds first each day; older birds last.
• Dedicated footwear and clothing per phase. Never wear the same boots or clothes between pens, houses, or operation phases (breeder → hatchery → brooder → grow-out → flight pen).
• Footbaths and hand sanitation at every house entry, kept fresh — a dirty footbath is theater, not biosecurity.
• Control wildlife and pests. Keep out cats, dogs, rodents, and wild birds (especially sparrows and waterfowl); trim grass and clear debris around facilities.
• Clean and disinfect pens, equipment, and houses between every flock; use wire or concrete floors that can actually be sanitized.
• Dispose of dead birds immediately per state livestock and poultry regulations.
• Use an approved coccidiostat in feed, and in the Southeast seriously consider vaccinating against quail pox.

Avian-influenza precautions

• Keep a no-poultry-contact rule for visitors — many operations require 48–72 hours since a visitor's last contact with other birds.
• Wash and disinfect vehicles and delivery trucks that come onto the property.
• Minimize contact between your flock and wild waterfowl — the primary AI reservoir. Cover feed and water; keep birds out of areas ponds and migratory birds use.
• Enroll in your state's AI monitoring program (part of NPIP) so you can move and sell birds when others can't.
• If you suspect a disease outbreak, submit several birds to your state Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory immediately — don't wait.

Current H5N1 research and news is collected on the H5N1 / Avian Influenza page.

Where to get help

The association's advisers include state diagnostic labs and university poultry-science departments (Auburn, Clemson, UGA, NC State) and gamebird veterinarians — see the directory advisers. For NPIP enrollment specifically, contact your state's official state agency (the NPIP "Official State Agency" for your state).