Got my chooks microchipped today.

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

Been reading a lot of posts here & elsewhere about poultry being stolen. I enter 10-15 fairs/shows a year.

My vet was having a clinic this week, advertising microchipping at half price, $12.

I got all 8 of mine done for a package deal of $80. It was funny sitting in the vets office with all these people who brought the family dog or cat in, although there was 1 lady with an African grey parrot. I got a lot of strange looks sitting there with 4 carriers & 8 chickens.

The chip is implanted into the breast area after they give a shot to numb the area. Only 2 birds bled a little & although they squawked from the needles, they are all back to normal at home eating fresh corn in their run.

At least I know they can now be identified if they were to be stolen from a show or my home.

I realize the cost might not be practical with a large flock, but is an option for those with pets or show quality birds that are entered in poultry shows.

 

[the simple life]

Just wondering how this works.
I have id chips in my dogs, and if they were to get lost it would require that whoever finds them takes them to a vet who would then scan the dog for the contact information.
If someone steals your chickens how does this help?
The thief isn't going to take it somewhere to get scanned.
Is it like a gps thing where you can track them down ?
Or is the idea that someone might report that they see someone with a chicken that was advertised as stolen and then you ask them to bring it somewhere to get scanned to prove its yours?
Do they scan them at these shows or something?
Sorry for all the questions but I don't understand how this works.

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:
I did my horses, dogs, my finches and my goldfish. You never know who's lurking around watching for the opportunity.

 

[fowltemptress]

I have the same questions as the simple life. I understand it for dogs and whatnot, because some people will take a lost dog in to be scanned. But if the dog was stolen it would be absolutely pointless. Unless it was a gps thingy, which would bring to mind a whole new set of questions.

 

[goldensunriseranch]

Well I microchip all my goats, basically it does help if you know who the thief is or have a suspicion of who the thief is and then you can prove without a doubt it's yours. Or if someone steals it at a show and tries to show it and you see it and could swear it's yours, you just scan it and you have proof. Otherwise you could watch it being shown and know for a fact it's yours and can't prove it and get it back. Same thing would apply to show birds I suppose. I don't think it's very useful for just your basic backyard flock though. Unless like I mentioned above you suspect a neighbor and suddenly a bird just like your missing one(s) appears in their yard and they say it's theirs. But you really have to invest in the scanner though in order to prove it's yours unless you can borrow a scanner.

 

[Wildsky]

GOLDFISH -

Perhaps I should get the kids and hubby done.

 

[PotterWatch]

Maybe I could microchip my kids with fake information... that way when they are being bad, they can't be traced back to me...

.

 

[ejones1961]

Quote:
Now thats a good idea

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:
Kids??? Actually that's a great idea if it had GPS- we could find more stolen kids. Good thinking, Wildsky

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

I think the best part of doing chickens could be that if they were stolen and the thief cooked them for dinner they might break a tooth on that chip while munching the breast meat.

I'd like to have my horses done but the fact is there is no requirement for brand inspectors to have a scanner yet, nor for the slaughter houses to scan prior to processing, so really until there is I don't see the benefit. In horses the chip goes into a ligament under the mane so no one is going to break a tooth on that one.