- Nov 29, 2008
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Most (okay, all) commercial high-quality (for specific purpose) high-number poultry operations are All-in and then All-out. They don't dicker around with bringing in a few birds today, a couple of sets of eggs next week, and maybe sell of a few culls now and then. The testing isn't really about 'protecting' your chickens, it's about protecting the consumer (egg/meat) so having a certified flock or not being NPIP doesn't mean you 'love' each of your birds more/less. It DOES mean that you can more freely move birds and eggs from one certified flock to another. As a hobbyist it means you can get through the show procedures more easily. We just had an informative speaker on diseases and one on the NPIP program for the state of Washington at our local poultry club's meeting a week-ish ago. It is not just testing but includes a site inspection for housing and maintenance and plan approval for bio-security measures, etc.
In Oregon (unless it has changed recently) it is an annual membership $25 and an annual testing for salmonella/typhoid (last case was 1992) at a base cost of $25-50 for travel and a per bird fee up to 300 at $.10 each. I think OR like WA will assist in the testing and diagnoses of some of the 'chicken' diseases MG, MD etc and AI. When it comes to shows, swaps and the stuff that I am interested in, that is what I would like to know is "are my potential entrants going to bring a contagion in or bring a nasty back home to share" and NPIP doesn't really help me there.
my $.02 today
worth a lot more if I $$$ for NPIP ?
k/
. Hubby is already asking if we can have fig jam on our toast in the morning. I may need to hide it...
