chicks crossing the border from USA to Canada

[Dar]

does anyone know the details or regulations and restrictions if I wanted to bring hens across the border?

I am looking for some silkies and some EE but I cant seem to find a breeder in Ontario I really DO NOT wat to mail the babies i dont like that...I would drive to the USA and pick them up and then come home I am not that far from the border....

I am open to hearing the pro's and cons of this ...BUT please be nice...lol

 

[miss_thenorth]

http://www.performancepoultry.com/poultry2.php?Cat=7

Performance has Ameracauna's (rare and unusual)and sillkies)(bantam fether legged) There will be alivestock sale at Mount Forest--i believe-- the third weekend of October (not exactly sure of the date, but you could look it up) They had a bunch of silkies there. There are also auctions at Woodstock where you can also pick up silkies.

There is a "newpaper" type magazine called the Feather Fancier where you can get info on breeders etc.

It would be a big bother to order from the states. Try Performance.

 

[fullhouse]

I don't know, but being right in the border I am curious to see what people say!

ETA: Looks like I can bring a chicken in from Canada fairly easily, but finding info about going into to Canada is confusing me.

This is where I am looking BTW:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/menu-eng.html

 

[Dar]

thanks miss_thenorth...I looked up performance and they are in Trenton which is about a 4 - 5 hour drive for me...I think I will give woodstock a try they are only about an hour away....still keeping the USA open for an option I am only about 40 minutes from the border

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

Importing day old chicks or even hatching eggs to Canada can be done but the cost will be considerable. CFIA http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/toce.shtml is the agency that regulates this. Expect the paperwork alone to be $100+. Then add the cost of shipping & the cost of the birds/eggs.

The Mount Forest sale (Oct.5) would be a good bet for silkies, & close to you. Plan on being there early for best selection. I got my whites there from the Mennonites for around $10 each.

A good place to get info on QUALITY BREEDERS of Show Birds would be The Royal Winter Fair in Toronto in Nov. I show my silkies there as well.

I plan on breeding blue silkies in the near future, depending on my still gender confused silkie hen/roo.

 

[Dar]

fullhouse...thanks for the link

from how I understand this as long as I get the chick as a day old all I need is a form V17 I think they called it and basically what this form is stating is that the bird was hatched in the USA and comes from a flock that is not infected with anything (they list a bunch of stuff) a vet must sign this form and the vet must have been the primary vet for at least 90 days...but I will see what happens at the woodstock auction before i go to that length....they had a pop down menu of things I had to go through before i got this answer...now I assumed that I was getting the chick from MI so I had to state where the chick was coming from so that may change if I hd to go to say VA ...

 

[patandchickens]

EE's and silkies are really fairly common in Ontario, I can't imagine why it would be worth the hassle of bringing them across the border.

I only know of 2 U.S. hatcheries that SAY they'll ship across the border (which will cost you postage to the closest US border city, plus about $70 for the vet certificate paperwork) -- Sandhill, which I doubt you are going to get anything from this time of year and it is very uncertain when they will ship anything, or Murray McMurray. It is concievable that some other, closer hatchery might be willing to do the paperwork for you if you asked, although since it would be a one-off they might well charge even more.

That's for day-old chicks.

My understanding is that to import chickens OLDER than one day from the US into Canada, you are looking at $200++ in border fees and need at least a month's run-up.

These are such common breeds, why not just get them in the province. I don't think Jason at Performance Poultry will be hatching again til spring (though I highly recommend him) (e.t.a. - he does ship, you know) but gee whiz there are only about a hundred jillion fall fairs coming up in the next couple months

- just go ask around in the chicken show area for someone willing to sell you a few, or willing to make arrangements for eggs or spring chicks if that's what you prefer

Good luck,

Pat

 

[Dar]

thanks pat....

I tried google searching for EE and silkies with no luck in Ontario and I tried looking for a breeders list on BYC again woth no luck so I figured that we just dont have them here...but I have since learned thats not true...lol...I never even thought of the royal winter fair...duhhh......My kids and I go to the royal every year...

I will be looking closer to home thats for sure.....thanks everyone for the info...

Ask me where to get anything for my reptiles or dogs and I can tell ya....I am still chicken stupid...

 

[Julie08]

I was going to recommend Performance Poultry as well, I have ordered from them twice in the past and have been very happy.

 

[patandchickens]

If they don't have to be show quality, local town 'fall fairs' would be easier (and sooner

). Most, tho not all, seem to have small poultry shows.

I know exactly what you mean about the difficulty of finding breeders in ON -- it is a difficult situation. I really wish there were a well-subscribed centralized directory or something - although I dunno, maybe Feather Fancier serves that role, I have never seen a copy. Otherwise you just sort of have to go to shows/auctions and talk to everyone on the planet and rely on word of mouth I guess. I have no idea how much is just disorganization vs how much is not wanting to show up on gov't radar what with Canada's version of NAIS being in the pipeline.

It is going to be even more of a problem now, with Roblyn Eyrie hatchery having closed last winter (untimely death) and Eric the Genetic-Preservation guy in QC now shutting his operation down too. This pretty much leaves Performance Poultry as the only commercial heritage-breed hatchery operation of ANY size that I know of in the eastern half of the country (maybe in the entire country?).

We all need to be Really Really Polite to Jason so that *he* stays in the business

Good luck and have fun,

Pat