Hatcheries must be kept in sanitary condition, acceptable to the Official State Agency. The sanitary procedures outlined in the NPIP Program Standards, or other procedures approved by the Administrator in accordance with § 147.53(d), will be considered as a guide in determining compliance with this provision. The minimum requirements with respect to sanitation include the following:

Egg room walls, ceilings, floors, air filters, drains, and humidifiers should be cleaned and disinfected at least two times per week. Cleaning and disinfection procedures should be in accordance with part 147 of this subchapter.

Incubator room walls, ceilings, floors, doors, fan grills, vents, and ducts should be cleaned and disinfected after each set or transfer. Incubator rooms should not be used for storage. Plenums should be cleaned at least weekly. Egg trays and buggies should be cleaned and disinfected after each transfer. Cleaning and disinfection procedures should be in accordance with part 147 of this subchapter.

Hatcher walls, ceilings, floors, doors, fans, vents, and ducts should be cleaned and disinfected after each hatch. Hatcher rooms should be cleaned and disinfected after each hatch and should not be used for storage. Plenums should be cleaned after each hatch. Cleaning and disinfection procedures should be in accordance with part 147 of this subchapter.

Chick/poult processing equipment and rooms should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected after each hatch. Chick/poult boxes should be cleaned and disinfected before being reused. Vaccination equipment should be cleaned and disinfected after each use. Cleaning and disinfection procedures should be in accordance with part 147 of this subchapter.

Hatchery residue, such as chick/poult down, eggshells, infertile eggs, and dead germs, should be disposed of promptly and in a manner satisfactory to the Official State Agency.

The entire hatchery should be kept in a neat, orderly condition and cleaned and disinfected after each hatch.

Effective insect and rodent control programs should be implemented.

A hatchery that keeps started poultry must keep such poultry separated from the incubator room in a manner satisfactory to the Official State Agency.

All baby and started poultry offered for sale under Plan terminology should be normal and typical of the breed, variety, cross, or other combination represented.

Eggs incubated should be sound in shell, typical for the breed, variety, strain, or cross thereof and reasonably uniform in shape. Hatching eggs should be trayed and the baby poultry boxed with a view to uniformity of size.

Any nutritive material provided to baby poultry must be free of the avian pathogens that are officially represented in the Plan disease classifications listed in § 145.10.

If a person is responsibly connected with more than one hatchery, all of such hatcheries must participate in the Plan if any of them participate. A person is deemed to be responsibly connected with a hatchery if he or she is a partner, officer, director, holder, owner of 10 percent or more of the voting stock, or an employee in a managerial or executive capacity.