advice on testing procedure in texas.

[blue90292]

sorry, i'm not sure where to put this so i put it here.

there's a tradin' show coming up pretty soon and they said i have to have my chickens tested. so this guy from college station is coming to my house to test my chickens. (i can't believe this guy is coming all the way to my house to test my chickens for free.)

anyway, what should i be prepared for?? my pen and such are pretty clean but it's chickens, they dirty everything within a day. if he doesn't like my set up, will he take my chickens away?? it scares me cuz this "free" thing is funded by the state.

any advice is greatly appreciated! thanks.

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

The man from College Station that will come to your house works for the USDA. He will need all your chickens penned up (so it will be easy for you to catch them).
You will need to catch the chickens and hold them for him to poke a vein in their wing and get a drop of blood. He will then put that drop of blood in a drop of solution he will have on a little plastic grid.
He checks for a reaction to this solution.
He is testing for Fowl Typhoid/Pullorium.
He tests a percentage of your birds.

You need to know how many chickens you have, what breeds, where you got them, and what ages. He will only test chickens that are 14 weeks and older. Some times they will test at 12 weeks.

He will list your breeds of chickens, how many you have, on a report. He will then sign this report, and you will have to sign it also. (In BLUE ink). He will give you 1 copy of this report.
Make sure you have a list of your breeds ready for him, it makes it easier for both of you while he is setting up your report.

If you are planning on showing or selling your birds, you will also need to get this:
Certificate of Registration of Domestic & Exotic Fowl.
This is from Texas Animal Health Commission, and has to re-newed yearly. This will cost you according to how many birds you have.
$25.00 - up to 99 birds
$100.00 - 100 to 499
$200.00 - 500 to 999
$350.00 - 1000 to 2499
$500.00 - 2500 or more

You will have to keep records of who you bought from and sold birds to for 2 years.

They will have to send someone out for a site inspection and they will give you the paperwork to fill out.
The man at TAHC that can answer your questions is Steven Luna. He is very helpful.
The toll free number is 800-550-8242.
You will have to contact him to set up a site inspection.


I don't agree with this law, but it is a Texas law and the fines are big.

If you only sell chickens from your property, you do not have to get the cert. from TAHC, but you should have the USDA Fowl Typhoid/ Pullorium report.

I hope I have been helpful to you.

Jean

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

Sorry, I didn't address your concern about him taking your chickens away.

He knows chickens get nasty, he has been here right after a heavy rain, so he had to slide around some of our pens. As long as he sees that they have access to food and fresh water, and have some kind of shelter you should be fine.

He will not take your chickens away.

I'm not 100% sure, but it is my understanding that if there happens to be a problem with the testing, he will quarantine your flock to your property for further testing.

Jean

 

[allen wranch]

My birds are PT tested each and no one ever came out for a separate site inspection. The tester did his thing, I signed the sheet and gave him $25.

Maybe the inspector includes the site inspection in his report ???????

 

[blue90292]

thank you both for your input. i'm suppose to call him back on wednesday and he's coming out the end of this week.

it's kinda scary doing something you've never done before and have no idea what to expect. especially when you have "official" people come to your property. :|

but at the same time it's kinda exciting to be furthing this chicken venture.

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

Carla
The site inspection is from Texas Animal Health Commission and has nothing to do with the P/T.
It is for the liscence (certificate) to sell chickens at swap meets and auctions. You have to have that in order to sell anywhere except from your property.

If you don't sell at these events, you don't need to have it. Just another way to control us "chicken fever" people, I think.

Jean

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

Oh, Carla

Why did you have to give him the $25.00?

I thought you only had to do that if you needed an official certificate in order to participate in the NPIP. I checked into that too, & I can't afford the $10.00 per bird cost.

I don't pay USDA a penny for my P/T test & report. Just curious.

Jean

 

[allen wranch]

Jean,
I can't look through all my paperwork at the moment, but basically the $25 is a fee which allows you to sell eggs and birds across state lines. If you don't ship or sell eggs outside Texas, the PT testing is free.

 

[Wes in Tx]

Carla is correct. When you get PT tested and do the free thing the paper work you get say good in Texas only. For the $25 you other paper work that is good throughout the US. Never seen anything about $10 per bird. Where did you see that at?

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

Carla,
Thanks for the info. I wasn't aware if you paid the $25.00 that it opened you up to the entire US. That is good to know.

Wes,
I was told about the $10.00 per bird when I inquired about becoming NPIP certified. This cost only applys to that certification.
It took me almost 2 months of constant questions to get the bottom line cost for NPIP certification.

Jean