B/B/S or Lavender?

[justuschickens59]

sorry

 

[justuschickens59]

Quote:
Wow! That's amazing! Do you want to say what varieties your considering importing? Also, how hard of a process was it to get that kind of approval from the USDA?

Put me at the top of your hatching egg list, btw!

We are considering Gold-Laced and Crele and not sure what else.

It really is not that hard to get approval from the USDA for either eggs or birds. The hard part is finding a breeder in the UK who is willing to undergo the testing and paperwork on their end. It is also expensive, for both eggs and birds. Birds have to be quarantined (at your expense) for 30 days, plus shipping, plus the cost of the birds themselves and the breeders expense of testing, etc.

Getting eggs is easier, but can also be pretty expensive because the hatch rate is pretty low. t really is not that hard to get hatching eggs imported from the UK as they are free of END. However, it is very difficult to get hatching eggs from some of the other countries that is not free of END. Hatching eggs from the UK do NOT have to be quarantined. The fees for importing hatching eggs from the UK are relatively small. The permit fee is $137. It takes about 7-10 days for the application to be approved. You can fill the application out on-line and then fax it to the USDA. You do have to get a vet to test the breeders birds (usually at your expense) and fill out the proper paperwork. I think (if I recall correctly) there are 3 specific things that they are testing for. Then when the eggs come in to the US, they have to be inspected by a veterinarian and that price can be anywhere from $35-$125. - depending on if there is a vet on site at that particular port of entry. You CAN choose which port you want your eggs to arrive, but you do have to call 72 hours prior to arrival of eggs. The ports that have a full-time vet are listed on the APHIS website. The biggest expense is the eggs themselves. The permit is good for only 30 days and for one particular shipment only, regardless of the number of eggs you have imported. You have to get a new permit for each shipment of eggs. All the info is on the APHIS website. We got a total of 108 eggs and only 2 hatched (luckily a cockerel and a pullet). At $13 -$16 an egg, plus shipping, plus the expense of paying for the breeder tests and paperwork, plus the vet examination here, plus the fee for the import forms...it added up pretty quickly.