VillaRosaAcres
In the Brooder
NPIP is the pullorum test. It's administered through your state Agriculture Department. That's all it was originally. Each state has or has not added a few other things to the certification over the years. But all NPIP is is poultry improvement through pulorum free bird certification. Due to the anxiety of people over Avian Influenza in recent years it has been added in many states. Even states that are far away where there was an outbreak. I live in Vermont, you can't get much further from any recorded case of AI. My state now tests for it. Knee jerk politics that make little sense. Some states test for Mereks. You don't know what your state does until you call. You don't know how it's administered (via local vets or state vets) until you call. Each state runs the program differently the only thread that holds it all together is poultry are pullorum free and there is a paper trail if any flock contracts it for quick response to contain.
I wil probably never become Npip certified as I do not want to be limited to what birds I can get. For me it would be a waste of time and money, as I have a tendency to purchase on impulse and would not be able to pass on a healthy bird from an untested flock.