I want to encourage breeders to become N.P.I.P. certified.

[houndit]

I just got tested today and I am very exited. Here are a couple thoughts.

To clarify, I am talking more to people who make a business of selling eggs and chicks.

I think the biggest reason is this. If you are N.P.I.P. certified you can ship Birds and eggs LEGALLY. It is actually illegal as best I can tell to ship birds or eggs outside of your state without being N.P.I.P. certified. I did last year because, first I did not know, than when I found out I did not know if I wanted to get certified. It would be better to be safe, than get in trouble for shipping your birds illegally.


If you are N.P.I.P. certified you can sell to other people who are. Otherwise they can not buy from you. This would be especially beneficial to you if you have quality birds lots of fancy breeders want to buy.

If you are N.P.I.P. certified some places (shows, auctions, etc.) will not have to test you. That is just some places.

N.P.I.P. certification seems to vary from state to state. Here I paid nothing for it. Some states charge you to do it. For the most part it seems that all you have to do is keep records for them of where you sell birds, and buy from N.P.I.P. certified breeders. It means a little bit more paperwork, but I do not think it is that bad. This will also help to insure that your birds are free of some really bad diseases. It will also hopefully help protect you from buying birds with pullorum.

Objections I have heard/had.

What if my birds test positive? They might kill my whole flock.

Again, it varies from state to state. Here they said if they did test positive they would try to help them recover before they killed any of them. This bothered me for a little while. Than when I really started thinking about it I realized that if my birds had these diseases it would not be worth having them anyway. I could not sell them to anyone with a good consience. If I did sell some of them I would ruin my reputation. I would have to put them down myself probably.

I do not want the governement keeping tabs on my farm.

This is the one that still bothers me a little bit. Some people are not bothered by this, but I personally have a great distrust of our government right now. I feel like they are minding to much of our business for us. The U.S.D.A. is particularly detrimental to the small farms. However, as much as our government keep records and asks questions now, they probably already know what we raise. As it stands right now you can opt out of the plan at any time you want.

I hope I got all my facts right. Does anyone have any corrections/comments? I am not always a very elloquent writer so I hope what I said makes sense.

 

[speckledhen]

And even more finally I do believe that in some cases those folks that take the time and effort to become certified may be the ones that look over their flocks with a more critical way. I know that is not true in nearly all the cases. Maybe more accurately someone that cares nothing about the flock would likely not get NPIP certified

And some who care very much for their flock and are very concerned and have a no-nonsense approach to disease prevention still have no intention of becoming NPIP certified because of the limited value. NPIP is geared toward commercial enterprises, remember, not the backyard flock owners.

Obviously if you show, you have to conform to the rules, but I have no interest in showing or shipping live animals anywhere. There have been NPIP breeders who are responsible for spreading disease far and wide, diseases that NPIP doesn't even touch. NPIP relies on the honesty of the folks involved. No one makes sure these NPIP breeders buy from only NPIP sources or that they cull rather than treat sick birds. It's the honor system and I have no faith in the honesty of most people.​

 

[MuranoFarms]

Quote:
You do know that the chicks in the feed store were probably shipped...right?
Just sayin......

 

[Wheels]

Quote:
Will you tell me what liberty you loss?

 

[Mrs MIA]

Yes.

 

[speckledhen]

You need to check out your department of agriculture in AK.

I didnt want to be NPIP five years ago when this thread started and I haven't changed my mind. I decided recently to have a necropsy done by the state of GA on a bird and was very much disappointed in what happened with them (never received a final report and the second prelim's diagnosis was called absolute hogwash by a vet who knows my birds and reviewed the report), so I cannot imagine them getting more into my personal business now.

As was stated previously, an NPIP certification does not mean you have a healthy flock. That cannot be stressed enough for folks who believe buying from an NPIP breeder means they are getting disease-free birds.

 

[rancher hicks]

Don't you have to be certified to show? Is it once a year you have to be certified? Who in the state do you contact to get certified?
I hatch my own and rarely bring in new birds.


(BYC these ads are starting to get annoying. Jamming things up. Seems to me a person should have to click on a video ad to watch it. Not just have it play automatically. I refuse to buy from advertisers who take me hostage)

 

[speckledhen]

My issue with NPIP, besides being a gov't program, is that it was set up to protect the food supply , not to help the backyard flock owner, and the basic tests are for Pullorum and Typhoid only; in some places they test for Influenza, but not the main diseases most backyard flocks may contract. Folks are starting to get the idea that an NPIP number means that the flock is healthy with no disease carriers, which is just not so. And the test is valid only for the day of testing. A bird from an NPIP flock could come down with something like Chronic Respiratory Disease a few days after a clean test, which is a carrier disease that can pass through the egg, as well as horizontally.

NPIP, to me, gives a false sense of security to you and to the buyer of your birds/eggs. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it if it makes you feel better, but let's not give it credit for more than it was intended to do. I myself will not be participating in NPIP.

Congrats on a clean test, houndit.


ETA: I do not show, have no intention or interest in showing and do not ship live birds.

 

[houndit]

Good point speckledhen. You really have to know the seller and their standards. Our N.P.I.P. offers testing for Exotic Newcastle, Ms, MG, and Avian Influenza. There are special charges for all of those. You do make an excellent point, and I thank you for it!

 

[medan]

I dont mean to be abtuse or unfriendly in any way but I am of the oppnion that I dont need permission to be a farmer from any one but mother nature god how ever you see that is ok with me