Guidance

Salmonella: test your breeding turkeys

When and how to test for salmonella if you breed turkeys, and what happens if a flock tests positive. Testing is part of the salmonella national control programme (NCP).

From:
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Welsh Government, The Scottish Government and Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Northern Ireland)
Published
8 February 2016
Last updated
11 November 2025 — See all updates

When you must test for salmonella

You must test for salmonella if you keep 250 or more breeding turkeys over the course of a 12-month period.

You must sample each of your individual flocks at set intervals. A flock is a group of birds that shares the same air space, for example a turkey house or range.

Officials can also collect samples from your flock (known as official sampling). That sample can replace the one you were due to take.

Testing is required by law and is an essential part of the national control programme (NCP) to reduce salmonella in poultry and protect animal and public health.

You do not need to test for salmonella if you produce eggs or poults (young turkeys) for scientific or research purposes only (that are not for human consumption).

Before you test for salmonella

Register places where you have a hatchery or keep poultry

In Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) you must register each premises where you keep poultry (even if you only keep a single bird).

In England and Wales, register as a bird keeper with APHA. You must register your hatchery if it has the capacity to incubate 1,000 or more eggs at the same time.

In Scotland register on the Scottish Kept Bird Register (SKBR).

In Northern Ireland you must register all poultry flocks on the Northern Ireland Poultry Register. This includes a single backyard bird. The only exception is if it is a pet bird that lives in the owner’s house.

Moving breeding turkeys to your premises

You must tell APHA or DAERA at least 2 weeks before the date you expect every breeding flock of at least 250 birds to arrive at your holding.

If your premises are in Great Britain, contact CSCOneHealthSalmonella@apha.gov.uk.

If your premises are in Northern Ireland, contact DAERA.

Tell APHA or DAERA the number of flocks on the premises and the name, address and telephone number of:

  • the premises
  • the occupier of the premises
  • the person who owns each breeding flock on the premises

For each flock, include:

  • a way to identify it
  • the number of birds
  • its status in the breeding pyramid
  • the date that the flock will move
  • the likely end of production or de-population

Importing hatching eggs or day-old poults from other countries

Check imported hatching eggs or day-old poults have been sourced from flocks that are free from salmonella and that they are tested for salmonella.

Exporting hatching eggs or poults

A vet or a government official may have to collect some samples (NCP or otherwise) if you:

  • export hatching eggs
  • supply a hatchery that exports hatching eggs for breeding purposes
  • supply a hatchery that exports day-old poults or older birds for breeding purposes

They will decide on the sampling programme and train the staff who take the samples. Your vet will let you know if other tests are needed when exporting – read the Poultry Health Scheme Handbook for further details.

If you’re sending hatching eggs or poults to Northern Ireland then, they must be treated just as any other exports under the Windsor Framework.

Ask your vet or a NCP-approved laboratory for advice

If your flock is in Great Britain, you must use a laboratory approved by APHA.

If your flock is in Northern Ireland, you must use a laboratory approved by DAERA.

Your vet or laboratory approved to undertake NCP testing can help you:

  • create sampling plans
  • train staff to take the samples correctly
  • get the sampling kit you need
  • work out how many flocks you have

You must take samples from all the flocks at your premises. These samples must include all subdivisions within houses and all houses or mobile units sharing the same range area. There are guidance documents available from APHA regarding the definition of a flock in complex housing systems.

If you need help to work out how many flocks you have, ask your vet.

If you still need help to work out how many flocks you have, ask APHA or DAERA.

When to collect samples

You must take samples:

  • on the day the poults hatch or arrive from a hatchery
  • when the flock is 4 weeks old
  • 2 weeks before you move the flock to the breeding unit
  • at regular intervals throughout production

Collect samples on the day the poults hatch or arrive from a hatchery

You can choose a different method each time you have to take samples. You must use one of these methods:

Collect samples from poults at 4 weeks of age and again 2 weeks before moving them to the breeding unit

To take the samples, use one of these methods, take:

Collect regular samples from your adult breeding flocks on farm or at your hatchery

Once you have moved the birds into the breeding unit, you must either collect NCP samples on your farm every 3 weeks (unless officials advise you otherwise) or have a NCP sample for your flock collected at the hatchery every 3 weeks.

You may sample turkey breeder flocks on farm every 4 weeks instead of every 3 weeks if both:

  • the administration (Defra, DAERA, Scottish or Welsh Government, depending on where you are based) allows - this is dependent on them achieving the breeder turkeys NCP target for their respective country
  • you have not had a regulated salmonella on the holding in the previous year

If you have had a regulated salmonella case in the previous year, sampling would continue at 3 week intervals for 12 months. This starts from the date you disinfect the house where the positive flock lived.

APHA or DAERA will inform producers and industry bodies within their country if they implement or withdraw this option.

You can take some samples from your flock at hatchery and others on farm.

If you sell hatching eggs to hatcheries or farms that are based in or supply other countries (including Northern Ireland), you must collect samples on the farm. If officials collect samples during this period, you can delay your next test and schedule it from the date of the official sampling rather than from your own most recent sample collection.

Collect samples from your farm to test your adult breeding flock

You can use one of these methods for sampling adult birds on farm:

Collect samples from your hatchery to test your adult breeding flock

You can choose one of these types of sample:

  • a total of 1 square metre (m2) of liners that are visibly soiled, taken from 5 hatcher baskets
  • fabric swabs with a total surface area of at least 900 square centimetres (cm2) from 5 places in the hatcher – this should include at least one sample from the floor of the hatcher
  • fabric swabs with a total surface area of 900cm2 from the whole surface of the area directly beneath the eggs of at least 5 different hatcher baskets
  • 10 grams (g) of broken eggshells from 25 different hatcher baskets (250g in total)

If there are more than 50,000 eggs from one of your flocks in the hatchery, you must get the hatchery operator to take 2 sets of samples for that flock.

When arranging for the hatchery operator to collect samples from one of your flocks, make sure they include at least 80% of the eggs from that specific flock. To do this, they must collect samples from enough hatchers containing eggs produced by the flock.

Pre-slaughter sampling of breeding turkeys

You must send the result of these tests with the birds when you send them to slaughter, so allow enough time to get the results back from the laboratory when you’re planning when to collect your samples.

This means for birds that will be slaughtered at:

  • 100 days of age or less, you must collect samples in the 3 weeks before slaughter, unless they are organic turkeys
  • 101 days old or more (or are younger but organic), you must collect samples in the 6 weeks before slaughter

The pre-slaughter testing can also be on farm or at hatchery.

Avoid taking samples after giving antibiotics

A vet may prescribe antibiotics (also known as antimicrobials) for various purposes, but not as a specific method to control salmonella in poultry.

Whatever the age of your birds, avoid taking NCP samples while giving your breeding turkeys antibiotics that affect salmonella. Also avoid this in the 14 days after dosing ends.

Consult your vet for advice if you need to take NCP samples within 14 days of the last dose of antibiotics administered to your turkeys.

For hatchery sampling, the eggs to be sampled can also give a misleading test result if the flock were under antibiotic treatment in the 14 days before the eggs were laid. Consult your vet for advice if this is the case.

Not all antibiotics affect NCP testing.

APHA or DAERA could consider your flock to be positive for salmonella if the laboratory suspects that there may be disinfectant, inhibitory substances, antibiotics or other attempts to reduce detection of salmonella affecting your samples.

To find out when you can sample after giving antibiotics, ask the vet who prescribed them.

If you think a proposed antibiotic treatment may compromise your upcoming NCP salmonella testing, you should collect your NCP samples before starting to administer the medication. Take care that any subsequent NCP samples are also re-scheduled to reflect the new sampling date.

How to collect samples

You can collect:

Prepare to collect samples of all types

Gather all the equipment you need before you go into the hatchery or turkey house to prevent contamination before, during and after sampling.

Take care to avoid cross-contamination from other animals (especially other poultry, pigs, sheep, horses, cattle, pets or wild birds).

How to take an eggshell sample

You can use this method to test poults on the day they hatch.

1. Put on 2 new pairs of plastic gloves - do not use hand sanitiser and make sure you do not contaminate them with disinfectant as it could affect your sample.

2. Take at least 10g of broken eggshells from 25 hatcher baskets containing eggs from the flock to be sampled.

3. Crush and mix them thoroughly in a strong plastic bag.

4. Make sure that the bag and your gloves are not damaged to avoid any contamination that could lead to a false positive result.

5. Once mixed together, put 25g (10% of your 250g sample) of the crushed mixture into a leakproof sample container to send to the laboratory.

How to take a hatcher basket liner sample

You can use this method to test poults on the day they hatch.

1. Before sampling, check that the laboratory you plan to use can accept your liners. Some laboratories will not be able to accept certain types of hatcher liners.

2. Put on a new pair of plastic gloves – do not use hand sanitiser and make sure you do not contaminate them with disinfectant as it could affect your sample.

3. Choose at least 1m2 of hatcher basket liners from 5 hatcher baskets that have contained eggs from the flock you need to sample.

4. Put the liners from different flocks into separate plastic bags to send to the laboratory.

You must send 10 poult box liners for each flock and hatchery source with all the contents. The contents should include unhatched eggs, eggshells and all poults found dead on arrival. This can be up to 60 carcasses from each hatchery. Check before sending if your chosen approved laboratory has capacity to test dead poults.

How to take a fluff and dust sample from the hatcher

You can use this method to test poults on the day they hatch.

1. Put on a new pair of plastic gloves – do not use hand sanitiser and make sure you do not contaminate them with disinfectant as it could affect your sample

2. Use a fabric swab that has an area of at least 900cm2.

3. Moisten the swab with tap water or still bottled water – do not use sparkling water or water treated on the farm with antibacterials or acid.

4. Carry out the swabbing as soon as the poults have been removed and before you start cleaning.

5. Swab fluff and dust from 5 different places, including the floor of a hatcher that contained eggs from the flock to be sampled.

6. Alternatively, you can swab from the whole area of the bottom of at least 5 different hatcher baskets that contained eggs from the flock to be sampled.

7. Make sure the swab is completely covered with fluff and dust on both sides.

8. Put the swab into a leak-proof sealable bag to send to the laboratory.

How to take 5 pairs of boot swab samples

You can use this method to take samples from:

  • poults at 4 weeks
  • turkeys 2 weeks before moving them to the breeding unit
  • adult birds

Take samples from the existing bedding (litter). Do not put new bedding down before sampling.

You will need:

  • disposable plastic overboots – plastic over-boots prevent any contact between disinfected or contaminated boots and boot swabs which could affect your sample
  • 5 pairs of boot swabs – these must be absorbent enough to soak up moisture – you can also use tubegauze socks or pre-moistened commercial swabs (it is best to use commercial sampling kits with sterile, pre-moistened swabs and then you do not need to carry water)
  • tap water or bottled still water for moistening boot swabs (if not pre-moistened) – do not use sparkling water or water treated with antibacterial agents or acids
  • disposable plastic gloves – do not use hand sanitiser and make sure you do not contaminate them with disinfectant as it could affect your sample
  • leak-proof sealable bags or sample pots
  • packaging for sending your sealable bags or sample pots to the laboratory

You should:

  • only sample the inside of the house
  • avoid sampling the areas just inside of doors and pop holes as they may have been contaminated by material from outside
  • take boot swab samples from the existing litter - do not put new litter down in the 2 days before sampling
  • moisten the swabs with water before you take samples – you can do this by putting the swabs into a grip-seal bag, pouring water onto them inside the bag and then shaking the bag

You can just collect boot swabs or a combination of boot swabs and dust samples.

If just collecting boot swabs, you must take 5 pairs of boot swabs from each flock.

To take 5 boot swab samples:

1. Divide the house into 5 equal parts for sampling and use one pair of boot swabs in each part.

2. If not already moist, moisten the boot swabs with tap water or bottled still water.

3. Put on plastic over-boots and new plastic gloves after walking through disinfectant foot-dips and after entering the bird area. Wear plastic over-boots to prevent any contact between disinfected or contaminated boots and boot swabs. The presence of disinfectant or other bacteria on the swab may prevent identification of salmonella by the laboratory or result in a false positive test result if boots are already contaminated by salmonella.

4. Take at least 100 steps in each pair of boot swabs, sampling a fifth of the house with each pair.

5. Shuffle your feet on the floor as you are walking, to pick up as much material as you can.

6. If the house is divided into several pens, make sure every pen is included in the sampling.

7. Include all pens or mobile units used by the flock in the sampling. On most farms with multiple mobile units per flock, hand-held swabs for collecting faeces are the best sampling option to use to avoid inadvertent contamination while sampling.

8. When you have finished sampling, take the boot swabs off and carefully turn them inside out, so that the faeces you have collected stay on them.

9. Put the first 2 pairs of boot swabs you collect plus one of the third pair together in one bag or container and the remaining boot swabs in another bag or container.

10. Label each container carefully, to send to the laboratory.

How to collect combination boot swabs and dust swab samples

When collecting a combination of boot swabs and dust samples, take one pair of boot swabs from each flock.

You can use this method to take samples from:

  • poults at 4 weeks
  • turkeys 2 weeks before moving them to the breeding unit
  • adult birds

Take samples from the existing bedding (litter). Do not put new bedding down before sampling.

You will need:

  • disposable plastic overboots – plastic over-boots prevent any contact between disinfected or contaminated boots and boot swabs which could affect your sample
  • one pair of boot swabs – these must be absorbent enough to soak up moisture – you can also use tubegauze socks or pre-moistened commercial swabs (it is best to use commercial sampling kits with sterile, pre-moistened swabs and then you do not need to carry water)
  • tap water or bottled still water for moistening boot swabs (if not pre-moistened) - do not use sparkling water or water treated with antibacterial agents or acids
  • disposable plastic gloves – do not use hand sanitiser and make sure you do not contaminate them with disinfectant as it could affect your sample
  • leak-proof sealable bags or sample pots
  • packaging for sending your sealable bags or sample pots to the laboratory

You should:

  • only sample the inside of the house
  • avoid sampling the areas just inside of doors and pop holes as they may have been contaminated by material from outside
  • take boot swab samples from the existing litter – do not put new litter down in the 2 days before sampling
  • moisten the swabs with water before you take samples –you can do this by putting the swabs into a grip-seal bag, pouring water onto them inside the bag and then shaking the bag

To take one pair of boot swab samples:

1. If not already moist, moisten the boot swabs with water before you take samples - the water must be sterile and not contain any antibiotics (antimicrobials) or sanitisers. You can moisten the boot swabs by putting them into a grip-seal bag and pouring water onto them inside the bag, then shaking.

2. Put on plastic over-boots and new plastic gloves after walking through disinfectant foot-dips and after entering the bird area. Wear plastic over-boots to prevent any contact between disinfected or contaminated boots and boot swabs. The presence of disinfectant or other bacteria on the swab may prevent the laboratory from identifying salmonella or result in a false positive test result, if boots are already contaminated by salmonella.

3. Take at least 100 steps in the boot swabs – walking round the entire house. Make sure every part of the house is sampled.

4. Shuffle your feet on the floor as you walk to pick up as much material as possible.

5. If the house is divided into several pens, make sure that every pen is sampled.

6. Include all pens or mobile units used by the flock in the sampling. On most farms with multiple mobile units per flock, hand-held swabs for collecting faeces are the best sampling option to use to avoid inadvertent contamination while sampling.

7. When you have finished sampling, take the boot swabs off and carefully turn them inside out so that the faeces you have collected stay on them.

8. Put the pair of boot swabs together in one bag or container.

9. Label the container carefully, to send to the laboratory.

To collect the dust swab sample, you will need:

  • one or more swabs – the total combined surface area of the swabs must be at least 900cm2
  • tap water or bottled still water for moistening swabs – do not use sparkling water or water treated with antibacterial agents or acids
  • disposable plastic gloves
  • leak-proof sealable bags or sample pots
  • packaging for sending your sealable bags or sample pots to the laboratory

Avoid collecting dust swabs from feeding systems or inlet vents. Package dust swab samples separately from your boot swabs.

To collect the dust swab sample:

1. Put on new plastic gloves – do not use hand sanitiser and make sure you do not contaminate them with disinfectant as it could affect your sample.

2. Open out the hand-held dust swabs.

3. Pre-moisten the dust swabs using tap water or bottled still water – do not use sparkling water or water treated with antibacterial agents or acids. You can moisten the swabs by putting them into a grip-seal bag and pouring water onto them inside the bag, then shaking.

4. Swab at least 20 different places around the house including ledges, partitions, ventilation baffle and anywhere else dust has settled. Do not take samples from feeding systems.

5. Make sure that both sides of the swabs are completely covered with dust.

6. Package the swabs carefully (do not dislodge dust) into a different leak-proof sealable bag or pot to that used for the boot swabs to send these samples to the laboratory.

How to collect hand-held faecal swabs

Only take hand-held faecal swabs if you cannot use boot swabs and have fewer than 100 turkeys in the house at the time of sampling.

You should use:

  • at least 2 hand-held swabs – the total surface area of all the swabs you use must be at least 900cm2
  • tap water or bottled still water for moistening swabs – do not use sparkling water or water treated with antibacterial agents or acids
  • disposable plastic gloves
  • leak-proof sealable bags or sample pots
  • packaging for sending your sample bags or pots to the laboratory

To take a hand-held faecal swab:

1. Put on new plastic gloves – do not use hand sanitiser and make sure you do not contaminate them with disinfectant as it could affect your sample.

2. Open out the hand-held faecal swabs.

3. If not already moistened, moisten the fabric swabs with the tap water or bottled still water. Moisten the swabs by putting them into a grip-seal bag and pouring water onto them inside the bag, then shaking.

4. Thoroughly swab the pen area, the floor and any perches in several different areas where faeces have built up.

5. Make sure that both sides of the swab are completely covered in faeces.

6. Put the swabs carefully (so the collected faeces stays in place) into 2 sealable bags or pots to send to the laboratory.

What to do with the samples

Label samples

You must label each sample. On each label, you must include the flock identification. This is the flock’s house name or number, month and year the flock moved into the house.

Your lab will tell you how to submit your samples. On the label, or the laboratory’s submission form or IT system, provide the:

  • unique identifier of the sampled flock
  • types of sample taken
  • date you took the samples
  • registration number or County Parish Holding (CPH) number, or in Northern Ireland, the DAERA flock number
  • name and address of the flock’s premises
  • age of the flock (for a multi-age flock use the date when you moved in the oldest birds)
  • number of birds in the flock
  • contact details of the person sending the sample

If you used a fabric boot swab as a hand swab, make sure this is accurately labelled so the laboratory can correctly identify the sample type in its report.

For hatchery samples, add the name of the hatchery and the hatcher machine number.

Send samples to a NCP-approved laboratory

If your flock is in Great Britain, you must send your samples to a laboratory approved by APHA for testing.

If your flock is in Northern Ireland your samples must be sent to a laboratory approved by DAERA for testing.

You should send your samples on the day you collect them, and they must be sent without undue delay. If they are not sent promptly, they must be refrigerated, ideally between 2 to 8°C. You must not freeze samples.

You can send biological samples in the post but make sure you use appropriate packaging. Refer to the Dispatch Methods for UN3373 Category B Samples for further information (which is written in relation to posting human samples but applies equally to NCP samples).

Check that the laboratory can start testing your samples within 48 hours of receiving them and within 4 days of sampling. Some laboratories may not be able to process samples received late in the week, on weekends or public holidays.

You’ll need to send more samples if:

  • you do not send enough samples
  • the swab area is too small (where relevant)
  • the weight of the faeces is too small (where relevant)
  • your samples are delayed
  • the laboratory cannot meet the testing deadlines

The laboratory will send your results to:

  • the person who sent the sample or the registered owner of the sampled flock
  • APHA or DAERA – if the sample tests positive for salmonella (this may be called a Zoonoses Order or ZO2 notification by some laboratories)

If your laboratory gets a positive result for salmonella they must send the bacteria to APHA or DAERA for further testing. This official testing cannot begin until APHA or DAERA receive the bacteria and supporting information from your laboratory.

Once received, testing can take up to 12 working days for certain strains of salmonella so that they can be accurately identified. Accurate identification is important as only certain strains of salmonella need further official action to be taken.

You will be informed by APHA or DAERA of the final result as soon as it is available.

If your samples test positive for salmonella you’ll need to inform your vet of the positive result, if you have not made arrangements with the testing laboratory to do this automatically.

APHA and DAERA will apply restrictions to your positive flocks if certain strains of salmonella are found.

Official sampling of your flock or flocks

Officials will take a routine official sample in the lifetime of the flock. They will either:

  • visit your premises and take samples when the birds are aged between 30 and 45 weeks
  • collect the official sample at the hatchery you use – the sampled eggs must have been laid when the birds were aged between 30 and 45 weeks

Routine official samples will be taken by the competent authority (Defra, DAERA, Scottish Government or Welsh Government depending on where your farm is located) or a delegated body (APHA in England and Wales, or the Scottish Government Poultry Unit (SGPU) in Scotland).

You will be charged for these visits.

An official sample can replace an operator sample.

See official sampling fees for England, Scotland and Wales or fees in Northern Ireland.

Officials can also visit to take samples:

  • if Salmonella Enteritidis or Salmonella Typhimurium has been detected in another flock or in a previous crop of flocks on your premises
  • from all the flocks on your premises if a positive test for Salmonella Enteritidis or Salmonella Typhimurium at the hatchery you use has been traced to one of your flocks
  • from flocks where there is no evidence of testing
  • in cases where the competent authority (Defra, DAERA, Scottish Government or Welsh Government depending on where your farm is located) considers it appropriate

If your samples test positive for regulated types of salmonella

APHA or DAERA test bacteria from your sample supplied to them by your laboratory and review the positive results for regulated types of salmonella. If the positive result is not due to a vaccine type of salmonella, official restrictions may be applied to your flock and you must comply with their requirements.

Regulated salmonella covered by the turkey NCP are:

  • Salmonella Enteritidis
  • Salmonella Typhimurium (including monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium)

In exceptional circumstances, confirmatory sampling for a positive salmonella flock may be allowed where there is compelling evidence that the initial operator result may be a false-positive.

In these cases in Great Britain, APHA will alert the relevant administration (known as the competent authority. This is Defra if your flock is in England, Scottish Government if your flock is in Scotland, or Welsh Government if your flock is in Wales).

This confirmatory official sampling is only permitted when there is cause to question the results of the original testing. For example, when there is strong evidence that the original result was affected by contamination at the laboratory, and so the original result may not reflect the salmonella status of your flock.

If, after considering the evidence that you or your vet have supplied, the competent authority agrees that the initial result may be a possibly false positive, then either APHA or DAERA will advise you accordingly, and make arrangements to undertake official sampling.

If this type of confirmatory testing is carried out, a government official may ask you to cull 5 birds. They will take the carcases and store their organs when they collect confirmatory samples. They may use organs of these birds to test for the presence of antibiotics if the confirmatory test is negative.

If a hatchery sample tests positive for a regulated salmonella

You must keep positive batches of eggs at the hatchery. APHA or DAERA may also place the hatchery under a movement restriction.

If the hatchery is placed under restriction, the hatchery owner will need a licence to move equipment, animals, eggs or animal products to or from their hatchery.

Officials may also test for salmonella at the hatchery.

APHA or DAERA will only lift the hatchery movement restrictions once sampling shows the hatchery is clean and disinfected.

APHA or DAERA will trace back to the source farm or farms for the eggs in the contaminated hatcher. They will take samples from the flocks on your premises that produced these eggs. The hatchery owner or an official may have collected the original positive hatcher sample.

If a sample from a breeding flock tests positive for a regulated salmonella

If your flock is positive APHA or DAERA will contact you to tell you what you have to do. Official restrictions will be applied to your flock. Officials will arrange culling and disposal of your flock. If you fail to follow the terms in an official notice, you may be prosecuted.

You must:

  • keep both the birds and eggs from the positive flock on your farm
  • make sure you arrange the destruction of all incubating eggs placed in the hatchery since the infection was found in the flock and possibly eggs laid for up to 6 weeks before collecting the positive sample
  • request a movement licence from APHA or DAERA, if you want to move any unincubated eggs for heat treatment and disposal
  • take samples from your flocks on the holding every 3 weeks for 12 months after you first receive the official positive result for your breeding flock

You will not have to pay for any samples or testing carried out by APHA or DAERA because of a positive test result.

Official samples following a positive test

Once APHA or DAERA identifies at least one flock as positive, their officials will:

  • take samples from every other flock on your premises
  • take samples when a new flock is placed in the house where the last flock had a positive test result
  • visit your premises to give advice on salmonella control

You could also get advice from your vet, farm assurance scheme or industry body.

You will not have to pay for:

  • official sampling of all other flocks on your premises
  • testing the new flock following its move to the house which officials identified as positive (in Great Britain only)
  • the vet advisory visit offered from a specialist APHA or DAERA vet

In Northern Ireland, testing of young birds not yet in production is free, but routine official sampling charges apply to the replacement adult breeding flock placed in the previously positive house.

Compensation

When a government organisation requires your breeding birds to be culled through an official notice, it will pay compensation for them as long as you follow its instructions.

Compensation only applies if your breeding flock tests positive for a non-vaccine type of Salmonella Enteritidis or Salmonella Typhimurium (including monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium).

Keep records

Keep salmonella testing records for 2 years

For each sample you must record the:

  • date you took the sample
  • flock identification – the flock’s house name or number, the month and year the flock moved into the house
  • type of sample, such as boot swabs or dust sample
  • age of the flock
  • laboratory that tested the sample
  • test result

You must keep these records for at least 2 years and make them available to an official on their request.

Keep egg and bird movement records for 2 years

You must record any movement of birds or eggs to or from your premises. For each movement you must record the:

  • date (month and year) the flock moved
  • number of birds or eggs moved
  • age of the birds moved
  • flock identification – the flock’s house name or number, the month and year the flock moved into the house
  • address that the birds or eggs moved from (including the building name or number)
  • address that the birds or eggs moved to (including the building name or number)

You must keep these records for at least 2 years and make them available to an official on their request.

Keep medication records for 5 years

You must record information about the medicines used to treat your birds. Officials auditing your NCP compliance will focus on the following aspects of your overall medicine records as these are relevant in assessing if medicines use may have compromised the likelihood of NCP testing identifying a salmonella positive flock:

  • medicines used (specifically antibiotics and salmonella vaccinations)
  • dose rate
  • start and end date of treatment
  • route of administration
  • identification of the treated flock or flocks
  • end date of the withdrawal period

These records are used to assess if medicines use may have affected NCP testing.

You must keep your medicine records for at least 5 years and make them available to an official on their request. Find out more about record keeping requirements for veterinary medicines.

Include test results in food chain information (FCI) documents for abattoirs

If you send any birds in your flock or flocks to an abattoir for slaughter for human consumption you must fill in a food chain information (FCI) declaration document.

In the FCI document, you must declare:

  • the most recent NCP test result for the flock
  • the date the sample was collected
  • other diagnoses
  • the use of medicines

If the most recent salmonella NCP test was a negative result, you must also declare any previous positive salmonella test results (including a vaccine type positive result) for that specific flock with the sample collection dates. This includes results from tests not taken as part of the NCP programme.

You do not need to provide FCI if:

  • you slaughter the birds on the farm and dispose of them as animal by-products
  • you sell your birds direct to customers

Selling your birds direct to customers

If you sell directly (farm gate or other direct sales), you may be regarded as a food business and so must register with your local authority. This requirement applies to the sale of meat from your flock. If your flock tests positive for salmonella, they will advise you on what you need to do to protect the health of your customers.

You will need a slaughterer’s licence or to employ a licenced slaughterer to slaughter birds on your farm.

Get advice

If you need more advice, contact APHA, DAERA or your vet.

Updates to this page

Published 8 February 2016
Last updated 11 November 2025 show all updates

  1. Updated to clarify when and how to test your flocks for salmonella. Updates include: how we will advise keepers about any changes to the frequency of testing adult birds; how to register your birds, including the need to notify of each new flock; which labs to use for testing; the labs’ responsibilities on handling NCP samples, including why they may have to reject samples; actions following a positive test for regulated salmonella, including that in Great Britain APHA will now arrange culling and disposal of a positive flock.

  2. Frequency of testing adult breeding turkey flocks updated

  3. Sampling instructions and confirmatory testing details updated. References to DARD changed to DAERA.

  4. First published.

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