Louisiana's poultry compliance program runs almost entirely through the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, and its rules carry three structures worth knowing before anything else. First, disease reporting is a two-step chain: an owner who suspects a contagious disease contacts a veterinarian immediately, and the veterinarian reports a diagnosis to the state veterinarian within 24 hours. Second, commercial poultry producers hold continuous LDAF approval for their mortality disposal method, and an excessive-mortality event can trigger an immediate burial waiver process with a state veterinarian notification and an on-site inspection. Third, the state's exhibition rules name swap meets and trade days alongside fairs and shows, with different test windows for Louisiana-origin and out-of-state birds.
Animal Health Layer: LDAF Board of Animal Health
- Imports - poultry and hatching eggs entering Louisiana must originate from an NPIP pullorum-typhoid negative flock or have a negative test within 30 days, under LAC 7:XXI.531, carrying VS Form 9-2 or 9-3 or a CVI. Poultry moving directly to a recognized slaughter establishment may enter on a waybill containing the consignor, bird count, and slaughter-establishment identity and address.
- Fairs, shows, trade days, and swap meets - Louisiana-origin poultry entering a fair, show, trade day, or swap meet must have NPIP pullorum-typhoid proof or a negative test within 60 days; out-of-state non-NPIP breeding-age birds require a negative test within 30 days, under LAC 7:XXI.533. Birds require leg, wing, group, or lot identification recorded on the CVI, and a sanctioned APA or ABA show may use coop-in inspection by a licensed accredited veterinarian instead of a CVI, though proof of negative pullorum-typhoid status is still required.
- Mortality - every commercial poultry producer must obtain continuous LDAF approval for its disposal method under LAC 7:XXI.1105 and R.S. 3:2131, with dead poultry removed from live poultry within 24 hours, held in covered containers, and disposed by an approved incinerator, rendering, composting, or authorized emergency-burial method. The catalog records the emergency trigger precisely: when mortality in 24 hours exceeds 1 percent of broilers or 0.5 percent of pullets or breeders older than four weeks and on-site burial is needed, the state veterinarian must be notified immediately and LDAF must inspect and approve the burial site before the waiver is completed.
Eggs and Processing: Egg Commission and Meat Inspection
Under the Louisiana Egg Marketing Law and LAC 7:V.921-929, a person who produces, distributes, or processes eggs must hold an Egg Marketing License, with the license year running September 1 through August 31, and eggs offered for sale subject to inspection, consumer grade and weight standards, age limits, and origin-invoice requirements. Packers, producers, processors, and wholesalers must report egg volume monthly and report or pay applicable assessments and inspection fees no later than the fifteenth of the following month under LAC 7:V.923, with a producer or broker selling nest-run eggs not paying the assessment or inspection fee while the packer does, and all egg handlers still filing the monthly volume report. For poultry processing, a producer relying on an exemption must apply to LDAF and obtain an exemption letter before operating under R.S. 3:4208, with the selected exemption controlling annual volume, source birds, buyers, sanitation, labeling, and distribution limits; LDAF currently accepts less-than-1,000 and less-than-20,000 bird applications, and eligibility cannot be established from bird count alone.
Environmental Layer: LDEQ LPDES
A CAFO that discharges regulated wastewater must obtain LPDES coverage from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality under LAC 33:IX.2501, 2505, and 2703, with a nutrient management plan in the application. The catalog records the large poultry thresholds: 55,000 turkeys; 30,000 layers or broilers with liquid manure; 125,000 non-layer chickens, 82,000 layers, or 30,000 ducks with non-liquid manure; and 5,000 ducks with liquid manure. A no-discharge AFO is not required to obtain coverage solely because it reaches a large threshold, though LDEQ may designate an operation and any discharge can change the result.
Where Poultry Log Fits
Poultry Log's Louisiana catalog carries these requirements with official source links and form templates, in the same workspace as the daily records that feed them. The excessive-mortality waiver connects to the mortality and cull tracking guide, the egg monthly reports to the wholesale egg dealer records guide, and the LPDES thresholds to the CAFO permit guide. Confirm current requirements with LDAF and LDEQ; completing a checklist does not certify legal compliance. Start free at poultrylog.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does a Louisiana poultry farm need a burial waiver?
Under LAC 7:XXI.1105(C), when mortality in 24 hours exceeds 1 percent of broilers or 0.5 percent of pullets or breeders older than four weeks and on-site burial is needed, the state veterinarian must be notified immediately and LDAF must inspect and approve the burial site before the waiver is completed. Ordinary mortality follows the approved routine method with continuous LDAF disposal approval.
What testing do Louisiana exhibition poultry need?
Under LAC 7:XXI.533, Louisiana-origin poultry entering a fair, show, trade day, or swap meet need NPIP pullorum-typhoid proof or a negative test within 60 days; out-of-state non-NPIP breeding-age birds require a negative test within 30 days. A sanctioned APA or ABA show may use coop-in inspection by a licensed accredited veterinarian instead of a CVI, but proof of negative pullorum-typhoid status is still required.
How do Louisiana egg assessments work?
Packers, producers, processors, and wholesalers report egg volume monthly and pay applicable assessments and inspection fees by the fifteenth of the following month under LAC 7:V.923. A producer or broker selling nest-run eggs does not pay the assessment or inspection fee while the packer does, but all egg handlers still file the monthly volume report.