Keeping hens · National rules

Can you keep backyard chickens in Morocco?

Registration: conditions apply, for the keepers covered below. What we found on bird flu, welfare and the keeping rule follows, including what we couldn't establish.

Read from 5 official sources21 passages quotedChecked October 29, 2026

At a glance

Registering your flock

Conditions apply

National keeping rule

Rule with conditions

Bird-flu housing orders

Status needs rechecking

Welfare rules

Not established

A sourced reading of national law in Morocco, not legal advice. Local ordinances and zoning, HOA rules, and any local rooster or coop limits aren't covered here yet: check your local code before you get hens.

Keeping your flock

These findings cover the national scope stated below. They do not determine whether chickens are allowed at a particular home. City zoning, property restrictions and other local rules are outside this research.

Registering as a poultry keeper

Conditions apply to this finding

Jurisdiction: Morocco

Applies to: Poultry farming (élevage avicole: hens, turkeys, ducks and other listed birds, and any bird species kept in captivity for breeding or for producing meat, table eggs or hatching eggs) where the flock per batch exceeds 500 birds (Law 49-99, Art. 1).

Outside this finding's scope

  • No registration or authorisation rule for flocks of 500 birds or fewer per batch was identified in the texts read (Law 49-99, Decree 2-04-684, Law 28-07).
  • Law 28-07's livestock-farm declaration and animal-marking rules (Arts 13 and 14) do not apply to poultry farms, which remain under Law 49-99.
  • Later amendments to Law 49-99 were not checked.

What the checked sources say

  • Poultry farming with more than 500 birds per batch is subject to authorisation (Law 49-99, Art. 1).
  • The application is filed with the competent ONSSA veterinary service (Decree 2-04-684, Art. 1, as amended in 2023).
  • ONSSA publishes and updates the list of authorised establishments on its website (Decree 2-04-684, Art. 4).

Thresholds

  • More than 500 birds per batch

Authority: ONSSA veterinary services

Fee: Not established from the sources checked.

The official wording

Bird-flu housing orders

Current status needs rechecking

Check the official current-status page

Orders can change between checks. A missed check or an expired order does not establish that no order applies.

Housing-order finding as checked on 2026-10-29

The scope and conditions below are a dated record, not confirmation of today's position.

Conditions apply to this finding

Uses housing orders in this scope: Yes, according to the checked evidence, within the limits listed under “Outside this finding’s scope” below.

Jurisdiction: Morocco

Applies to: Poultry and captive birds in the protection zone (at least 3 km around the outbreak) once highly pathogenic avian influenza is confirmed in a poultry holding (Order 2466-17, Art. 10).

Outside this finding's scope

  • This is a measure for the zone around a confirmed outbreak, not a standing national order to house birds.
  • This page does not say whether any bird-flu measure is in force; check ONSSA's animal-health situation page.
  • Later amendments to Order 2466-17 were not checked.

What the checked sources say

  • Once highly pathogenic avian influenza is confirmed in a poultry holding, the local ONSSA veterinary service places it under sanitary watch and informs the ONSSA regional director and the provincial governor so that the outbreak measures are carried out (Order 2466-17, Art. 10).
  • In the protection zone of at least 3 km around the outbreak, poultry and captive birds must be isolated and kept so they have no contact with other poultry, captive birds or wild birds.
  • A poultry holding includes any building, or for birds kept outdoors any place, where poultry or captive birds are raised or kept, permanently or temporarily.
  • Further measures specific to each listed contagious disease may be taken by order of the agriculture minister, on the proposal of the director of livestock (Dahir 1-75-292, Art. 5).
Checked
Recheck due

Historical evidence, as checked

These quotations record what was checked on the dates shown. They do not confirm an order's current status.

Small-flock welfare minimums

Not established from the sources checked

Scope not established from the sources checked.

National rules on keeping poultry

Conditions apply to this finding

Jurisdiction: Morocco

Applies to: Poultry owners and keepers under Law 49-99 and the contagious animal diseases law (Dahir 1-75-292).

Outside this finding's scope

  • No national limit on keeping a small number of birds at home was identified in the texts read.
  • Commune and other local rules on keeping poultry were not researched.
  • This is not permission to keep poultry; whether keeping poultry at home is allowed or limited where you live was not established.

What the checked sources say

  • Poultry farming with more than 500 birds per batch is subject to authorisation (Law 49-99, Art. 1).
  • Anyone who owns or looks after an animal that has, or is suspected of having, a listed disease must report it at once to the local administrative authority; the list includes avian plague and Newcastle disease in poultry (Dahir 1-75-292, Arts 1 and 3).
  • Under the national programme against contagious poultry diseases, poultry owners must take the steps the administration prescribes for disease prevention (Law 49-99, Art. 7).

The official wording

Selling eggs in Morocco? →License, small-flock line, markets and cartons, on their own page.Selling: License: not stated

More countries we've checked

Every country on the map →

Common questions

Do I have to register backyard chickens in Morocco?
Registration: conditions apply. The finding covers: Poultry farming (élevage avicole: hens, turkeys, ducks and other listed birds, and any bird species kept in captivity for breeding or for producing meat, table eggs or hatching eggs) where the flock per batch exceeds 500 birds (Law 49-99, Art. 1). More than 500 birds per batch. Outside this finding's scope: No registration or authorisation rule for flocks of 500 birds or fewer per batch was identified in the texts read (Law 49-99, Decree 2-04-684, Law 28-07). Law 28-07's livestock-farm declaration and animal-marking rules (Arts 13 and 14) do not apply to poultry farms, which remain under Law 49-99. Later amendments to Law 49-99 were not checked. Authority: ONSSA veterinary services.
Can I keep chickens in my backyard in Morocco?
The national sources we read don't settle it, and we haven't identified who decides. Check your local rules before you get hens.
Do I have to keep my hens indoors for bird flu in Morocco?
Housing orders come and go, so we never show one as current. This page links the official status page to check today.

Allowed where you live? Then keep the records.

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