Getting testing done next week!

[duluthralphie]

I think because bird flu is passed from waterfowl to chickens that you may not be allowed to keep a mixed flock of both chickens and ducks and still sell eggs to the public. That is my opinion. If you find otherwise let me know.

As far as I know The only test that is mandatory is the NPIP tests for Pullorum and this test is REQUIRED before you can ship eggs or birds in Interstate Commerce.

15 states require ms/mg testing..several require AI testing to import birds to them....

 

[speckledhen]

Though it's your choice, I'm not sure why a lot of backyarders are jumping into a gov't NPIP program. If you're a commercial enterprise, you cannot escape it. If you're a breeder who ships all over, supposedly, you cannot escape it, but I daresay that 90% of all shipped eggs and maybe even birds, come from non-NPIP flocks and also no vet's certificate. Me, personally, I will never allow NPIP testers here. I do not ship eggs, but I do sell chicks and eggs from the farm. I used to ship eggs, did it for years, almost every week for two years straight, but it was not worth the trouble for the amt of $$ and I decided to back out of the practice.
And, of course, NPIP tests for two big diseases that are mostly eradicated in the U.S. anyway, sometimes AI, and leaves out all the most common ones in backyard flocks like MG/MS, Mareks, Coryza, etc, though if you do it quarterly and pay extra, you can have your flock tested for MG like a friend of mine did.
Several NPIP folks have bought birds from my non-NPIP flocks and every time testing came around, my birds in their flocks tested negative for p/t and MG; it's all on the honor system, so you can see where that would break down. This is what you should be aware of-never think if you buy from an NPIP breeder or flock that the birds are guaranteed disease-free.

Some states are really overreaching their authority, IMO, in telling backyarders what they can and cannot do. But, if you invite them in, then of course, they'll start pushing regs on you as much as they can.
NPIP was created for commercial flocks, to protect the food supply. Their goal is not to protect backyard flocks, but to protect commercial flocks, though the monocultures of crowded commercial flocks are more in danger than any backyard flock in open air and sunshine with better food and more natural living conditions.

 

[duluthralphie]

Though it's your choice, I'm not sure why a lot of backyarders are jumping into a gov't NPIP program. If you're a commercial enterprise, you cannot escape it. If you're a breeder who ships all over, supposedly, you cannot escape it, but I daresay that 90% of all shipped eggs and maybe even birds, come from non-NPIP flocks and also no vet's certificate. Me, personally, I will never allow NPIP testers here. I do not ship eggs, but I do sell chicks and eggs from the farm. I used to ship eggs, did it for years, almost every week for two years straight, but it was not worth the trouble for the amt of $$ and I decided to back out of the practice.
And, of course, NPIP tests for two big diseases that are mostly eradicated in the U.S. anyway, sometimes AI, and leaves out all the most common ones in backyard flocks like MG/MS, Mareks, Coryza, etc, though if you do it quarterly and pay extra, you can have your flock tested for MG like a friend of mine did.
Several NPIP folks have bought birds from my non-NPIP flocks and every time testing came around, my birds in their flocks tested negative for p/t and MG; it's all on the honor system, so you can see where that would break down. This is what you should be aware of-never think if you buy from an NPIP breeder or flock that the birds are guaranteed disease-free.

Some states are really overreaching their authority, IMO, in telling backyarders what they can and cannot do. But, if you invite them in, then of course, they'll start pushing regs on you as much as they can.
NPIP was created for commercial flocks, to protect the food supply. Their goal is not to protect backyard flocks, but to protect commercial flocks, though the monocultures of crowded commercial flocks are more in danger than any backyard flock in open air and sunshine with better food and more natural living conditions.

Maybe because most of us are not law breaking criminals willing to risk everything on the off chance our birds start an epidemic.....

You must be someone that does not believe the rules apply to him...thankfully you are the minority.

 

[Tavia Rose]

I think because bird flu is passed from waterfowl to chickens that you may not be allowed to keep a mixed flock of both chickens and ducks and still sell eggs to the public. That is my opinion. If you find otherwise let me know.

As far as I know The only test that is mandatory is the NPIP tests for Pullorum and this test is REQUIRED before you can ship eggs or birds in Interstate Commerce.

Yep. I'm aware of that now but I'm not trying to go interstate lol. Texas has enough going on and there's no problem keeping my birds together here.

 

[BantyChooks]

Though it's your choice, I'm not sure why a lot of backyarders are jumping into a gov't NPIP program. If you're a commercial enterprise, you cannot escape it. If you're a breeder who ships all over, supposedly, you cannot escape it, but I daresay that 90% of all shipped eggs and maybe even birds, come from non-NPIP flocks and also no vet's certificate. Me, personally, I will never allow NPIP testers here. I do not ship eggs, but I do sell chicks and eggs from the farm. I used to ship eggs, did it for years, almost every week for two years straight, but it was not worth the trouble for the amt of $$ and I decided to back out of the practice.
And, of course, NPIP tests for two big diseases that are mostly eradicated in the U.S. anyway, sometimes AI, and leaves out all the most common ones in backyard flocks like MG/MS, Mareks, Coryza, etc, though if you do it quarterly and pay extra, you can have your flock tested for MG like a friend of mine did.
Several NPIP folks have bought birds from my non-NPIP flocks and every time testing came around, my birds in their flocks tested negative for p/t and MG; it's all on the honor system, so you can see where that would break down. This is what you should be aware of-never think if you buy from an NPIP breeder or flock that the birds are guaranteed disease-free.

Some states are really overreaching their authority, IMO, in telling backyarders what they can and cannot do. But, if you invite them in, then of course, they'll start pushing regs on you as much as they can.
NPIP was created for commercial flocks, to protect the food supply. Their goal is not to protect backyard flocks, but to protect commercial flocks, though the monocultures of crowded commercial flocks are more in danger than any backyard flock in open air and sunshine with better food and more natural living conditions.

Disease testing is not all the NPIP programs do. They encourage safe management that will prevent other diseases from coming in. Yes, it's no cover all, but I believe it to be beneficial. Maybe you have that down already, but many folks don't and it's a good way to spread that knowledge.

You can be just AI/PT tested and that will get you to shows, but that has zero guarantee you aren't keeping them in a cesspit with new birds daily. A true NPIP certification wouldn't allow that.

 

[speckledhen]

Maybe because most of us are not law breaking criminals willing to risk everything on the off chance our birds start an epidemic.....

You must be someone that does not believe the rules apply to him...thankfully you are the minority.

Well, that was rather snarky. I was not going to offer anything else to the OP but since you have so swiftly insulted me, let me continue a bit, then I'm done. I am breaking no rules, contrary to your accusation. To sell eggs and chicks off the farm, I do not have to register with any government agency. If you show or mail birds and eggs all across the country, you must belong to the government program. I said that, in case you missed it. I do neither.

And actually, I am not in the minority. I bet the majority of folks selling hatching eggs and shipping birds over state lines here on BYC are not NPIP nor do they have a vet's certificate of health. Most are just casual backyard flock keepers trying to sell extras to make up some feed cost.

Again, NPIP was not created for backyard flocks and it was never intended for them. It is an ineffectual program for preventing disease as it only tests for the rarely seen P/T and sometimes, depending on the state, AI, and it relies on the honor system from its members. It lends a false sense of security if people believe it to be more than it is. There is no way that registering your flock to be tested for two almost eradicated diseases yearly can protect your flock. Are they going to come put a dome over your house? I think not. They will, however, know where to come kill your flock if you are in the kill zone during a major outbreak among commercial flocks, which I truly believe is part of the point of pushing for this by the USDA, but I digress. The false sense of security of an NPIP flock is all I hoped to impart to the OP, if she was going to buy and sell to other NPIP people.

To illustrate the inadequacy of the NPIP program, it was an NPIP breeder in Washington State responsible for the spread of ILT, a particularly nasty and reportable disease that will necessitate the government coming out to kill every bird on your property if you have one test positive for it.
I know of a case in Indiana of one NPIP breeder selling an ILT carrier rooster to another unsuspecting NPIP breeder, who properly quarantined him for literally months. With no symptoms showing in him, she put him with her breeding hens and they all became ill. She called out her tester, who found ILT, which meant the rooster had to have been infected and recovered, or been vaccinated with the live vaccine. The government folks took every single bird on her property, even coops that were far away from the affected one, and put them all in a gas chamber, one by one, then gave her a list of rules telling her what she could and could not do from there on out. Again, an honor system fail and one reason NPIP is not what it is cracked up to be.

When people seem so happy and positive about being NPIP, I want them going in with open eyes. That was the purpose of my original, and this, post. Rose colored glasses have no place in chicken-keeping.

 

[BantyChooks]

Well, that was rather snarky. I was not going to offer anything else to the OP but since you have so swiftly insulted me, let me continue a bit, then I'm done. I am breaking no rules, contrary to your accusation. To sell eggs and chicks off the farm, I do not have to register with any government agency. If you show or mail birds and eggs all across the country, you must belong to the government program. I said that, in case you missed it. I do neither.

And actually, I am not in the minority. I bet the majority of folks selling hatching eggs and shipping birds over state lines here on BYC are not NPIP nor do they have a vet's certificate of health. Most are just casual backyard flock keepers trying to sell extras to make up some feed cost.

Again, NPIP was not created for backyard flocks and it was never intended for them. It is an ineffectual program for preventing disease as it only tests for the rarely seen P/T and sometimes, depending on the state, AI, and it relies on the honor system from its members. It lends a false sense of security if people believe it to be more than it is. There is no way that registering your flock to be tested for two almost eradicated diseases yearly can protect your flock. Are they going to come put a dome over your house? I think not. They will, however, know where to come kill your flock if you are in the kill zone during a major outbreak among commercial flocks, which I truly believe is part of the point of pushing for this by the USDA, but I digress. The false sense of security of an NPIP flock is all I hoped to impart to the OP, if she was going to buy and sell to other NPIP people.

To illustrate the inadequacy of the NPIP program, it was an NPIP breeder in Washington State responsible for the spread of ILT, a particularly nasty and reportable disease that will necessitate the government coming out to kill every bird on your property if you have one test positive for it.
I know of a case in Indiana of one NPIP breeder selling an ILT carrier rooster to another unsuspecting NPIP breeder, who properly quarantined him for literally months. With no symptoms showing in him, she put him with her breeding hens and they all became ill. She called out her tester, who found ILT, which meant the rooster had to have been infected and recovered, or been vaccinated with the live vaccine. The government folks took every single bird on her property, even coops that were far away from the affected one, and put them all in a gas chamber, one by one, then gave her a list of rules telling her what she could and could not do from there on out. Again, an honor system fail and one reason NPIP is not what it is cracked up to be.

When people seem so happy and positive about being NPIP, I want them going in with open eyes. That was the purpose of my original, and this, post.

Interesting points... thanks.

 

[JudysMuscovy]

Well, that was rather snarky. I was not going to offer anything else to the OP but since you have so swiftly insulted me, let me continue a bit, then I'm done. I am breaking no rules, contrary to your accusation. To sell eggs and chicks off the farm, I do not have to register with any government agency. If you show or mail birds and eggs all across the country, you must belong to the government program. I said that, in case you missed it. I do neither.

And actually, I am not in the minority. I bet the majority of folks selling hatching eggs and shipping birds over state lines here on BYC are not NPIP nor do they have a vet's certificate of health. Most are just casual backyard flock keepers trying to sell extras to make up some feed cost.

Again, NPIP was not created for backyard flocks and it was never intended for them. It is an ineffectual program for preventing disease as it only tests for the rarely seen P/T and sometimes, depending on the state, AI, and it relies on the honor system from its members. It lends a false sense of security if people believe it to be more than it is. There is no way that registering your flock to be tested for two almost eradicated diseases yearly can protect your flock. Are they going to come put a dome over your house? I think not. They will, however, know where to come kill your flock if you are in the kill zone during a major outbreak among commercial flocks, which I truly believe is part of the point of pushing for this by the USDA, but I digress. The false sense of security of an NPIP flock is all I hoped to impart to the OP, if she was going to buy and sell to other NPIP people.

To illustrate the inadequacy of the NPIP program, it was an NPIP breeder in Washington State responsible for the spread of ILT, a particularly nasty and reportable disease that will necessitate the government coming out to kill every bird on your property if you have one test positive for it.
I know of a case in Indiana of one NPIP breeder selling an ILT carrier rooster to another unsuspecting NPIP breeder, who properly quarantined him for literally months. With no symptoms showing in him, she put him with her breeding hens and they all became ill. She called out her tester, who found ILT, which meant the rooster had to have been infected and recovered, or been vaccinated with the live vaccine. The government folks took every single bird on her property, even coops that were far away from the affected one, and put them all in a gas chamber, one by one, then gave her a list of rules telling her what she could and could not do from there on out. Again, an honor system fail and one reason NPIP is not what it is cracked up to be.

When people seem so happy and positive about being NPIP, I want them going in with open eyes. That was the purpose of my original, and this, post. Rose colored glasses have no place in chicken-keeping.

Wow, interesting information. Thank you for pointing this out.

 

[Tavia Rose]

Well, that was rather snarky. I was not going to offer anything else to the OP but since you have so swiftly insulted me, let me continue a bit, then I'm done. I am breaking no rules, contrary to your accusation. To sell eggs and chicks off the farm, I do not have to register with any government agency. If you show or mail birds and eggs all across the country, you must belong to the government program. I said that, in case you missed it. I do neither.

And actually, I am not in the minority. I bet the majority of folks selling hatching eggs and shipping birds over state lines here on BYC are not NPIP nor do they have a vet's certificate of health. Most are just casual backyard flock keepers trying to sell extras to make up some feed cost.

Again, NPIP was not created for backyard flocks and it was never intended for them. It is an ineffectual program for preventing disease as it only tests for the rarely seen P/T and sometimes, depending on the state, AI, and it relies on the honor system from its members. It lends a false sense of security if people believe it to be more than it is. There is no way that registering your flock to be tested for two almost eradicated diseases yearly can protect your flock. Are they going to come put a dome over your house? I think not. They will, however, know where to come kill your flock if you are in the kill zone during a major outbreak among commercial flocks, which I truly believe is part of the point of pushing for this by the USDA, but I digress. The false sense of security of an NPIP flock is all I hoped to impart to the OP, if she was going to buy and sell to other NPIP people.

To illustrate the inadequacy of the NPIP program, it was an NPIP breeder in Washington State responsible for the spread of ILT, a particularly nasty and reportable disease that will necessitate the government coming out to kill every bird on your property if you have one test positive for it.
I know of a case in Indiana of one NPIP breeder selling an ILT carrier rooster to another unsuspecting NPIP breeder, who properly quarantined him for literally months. With no symptoms showing in him, she put him with her breeding hens and they all became ill. She called out her tester, who found ILT, which meant the rooster had to have been infected and recovered, or been vaccinated with the live vaccine. The government folks took every single bird on her property, even coops that were far away from the affected one, and put them all in a gas chamber, one by one, then gave her a list of rules telling her what she could and could not do from there on out. Again, an honor system fail and one reason NPIP is not what it is cracked up to be.

When people seem so happy and positive about being NPIP, I want them going in with open eyes. That was the purpose of my original, and this, post. Rose colored glasses have no place in chicken-keeping.

I get what you're saying as well but, I noticed an article put out a week before testing in a local newspaper about how backyard flocks are causing a rise in disease. I doubt it to be totally true but just like collecting rainwater or anything else that equals self sufficiency I'm sure there will be a crackdown so I decided to remain ahead of the curve. We live in a society that wants in on everything we do now. I do it by the book and then some so when they come to take what I work for they will have a real fight on their hands.

 

[speckledhen]

I get what you're saying as well but, I noticed an article put out a week before testing in a local newspaper about how backyard flocks are causing a rise in disease. I doubt it to be totally true but just like collecting rainwater or anything else that equals self sufficiency I'm sure there will be a crackdown so I decided to remain ahead of the curve. We live in a society that wants in on everything we do now. I do it by the book and then some so when they come to take what I work for they will have a real fight on their hands.

I honestly don't believe that bolded statement they made. My flock can cause no disease if it has none, and it never has had contagious disease, plus it has no contact with other flocks. I don't buy started birds. I don't go to shows. I don't go to swaps/auctions. I practice biosecurity. They have a healthy management of fresh air and sunshine and good food like most backyard flocks, in contrast to monoculture commercial operations where a sick wild bird can fly into a warehouse operation and die and disease spreads like wildfire because the birds are so crammed together in an artificial environment. The intention of NPIP and some of the articles (research into who is behind those goes a long way) is to protect big agri-biz, the commercial operations. My flock does not endanger those. Their management style does. I've seen those buildings. They are most definitely not disease-proof or wild bird-proof, not the ones around here.