How much does NPIP certification cost?

[Kiki]

NPIP does not mean healthy disease free.
Just like Pyxis said it only means pullorum free in all states and SOME states it means AI free.

State labs are way cheaper than vets when It comes to testing for some respiratory diseases.

Here is a direct link to your state lab's test list:
https://waddl.vetmed.wsu.edu/avian/search-tests

 

[Painted Calls]

Just to add, NPIP testing only tests for those things I mentioned - it wouldn't have caught the ALV in your birds, it wouldn't catch any of the respiratory diseases, it wouldn't catch Marek's, etc. So having an NPIP flock, or buying from NPIP breeders only, doesn't guarantee that the birds don't have those things. It only guarantees they don't have Pullorum, and maybe AI.

This times 1,000.

Lost my entire flock by buying from an exhibition breeder that is NPIP certified. I put zero stock in NPIP. It means nothing to me.

 

[Weeg]

It's gonna vary state to state. In NY and VT, a tester comes out to test your birds for Pullorum, which involves getting a drop of blood. They do this by plucking some feather from under the wing, poking the bird so it bleeds a little, and then collecting that blood in a loop.

You can also opt into AI testing, which a lot of states now also require for shipping, but it isn't something that's just included right away, you have to ask.

Then they also need to look over your premises to make sure the birds are kept in good conditions. They don't expect them to be pristine or anything, but no huge piles of filth or obvious things like dead bodies, etc (yes, my tester told me she has had to fail people for the premise inspection for these reasons before). I usually just clean my coops out the day before the testing and we're good to go.

As for cost, in these two states it's free. In some states it costs money. You could contact the person in charge of the program in your state and ask about that. You can find who that would be here.



Yes. Getting it done through a vet will probably cost an arm and a leg, though. There's a laboratory, Zoologix, that can do testing for you. I know the poultry respiratory panel, which tests for most of the infectious, incurable respiratory diseases is $95. They offer testing for tons of other things as well. You can see a full list of the testing they offer here.

Thank you so much for taking the time to type up this post. Its very informative and very helpful. Thank you for putting in that link! Thats exactly the info I needed.
I figured a vet would be costly, I wasn't sure if it would cost more than NPIP, so I'm glad I now know my options. After everything I've read it makes the process seem a lot more doable. I'm going to have to give the program manager a call.
Thank you so much!

 

[Weeg]

Just to add, NPIP testing only tests for those things I mentioned - it wouldn't have caught the ALV in your birds, it wouldn't catch any of the respiratory diseases, it wouldn't catch Marek's, etc. So having an NPIP flock, or buying from NPIP breeders only, doesn't guarantee that the birds don't have those things. It only guarantees they don't have Pullorum, and maybe AI.

I figured. They can only test for so many diseases, so theres still always a risk. If I do go through with it, I will at least know that we've put our best foot forward to get testing done and become a responsible breeder. Maybe not getting every test under the sun, but its much better than skipping it all together.

 

[Weeg]

NPIP does not mean healthy disease free.
Just like Pyxis said it only means pullorum free in all states and SOME states it means AI free.

State labs are way cheaper than vets when It comes to testing for some respiratory diseases.

Here is a direct link to your state lab's test list:
https://waddl.vetmed.wsu.edu/avian/search-testsView attachment 2965620

Thank you for that link! Thats very helpful!

 

[Weeg]

This times 1,000.

Lost my entire flock by buying from an exhibition breeder that is NPIP certified. I put zero stock in NPIP. It means nothing to me.

Gosh, thats terrible! I'm sorry. This is very helpful. Maybe its more worth it to look into getting tests done at a lab so you have more options? Still, your never going to be able to get every test done, and you never know that your flock is disease free like stated above. Hmm, I'll have to do some more thinking. Thanks for all the opinions, I really appreciate it!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

As others have said. FL is free, they test for AI and Pullorum. Its not a guarantee of anything else. It does mean that they tested free of those things, at the time they were tested. FL tests twice a year, but they only do one of the tests annually - so it may be that the flock tested clean 11 months ago.

The only other thing NPIP tells you is that the breeder cared enough to deal with the hassle, and was confident in the likely test results.

In my view (and yes, I'm licensed and NPIP as well), its better than nothing. But its not much better than nothing. I still maintain a closed flock, and will until I'm forced to go outside for fresh genetics.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Washington's Dept of AG site on NPIP

$85 / hour when the Feds aren't footing the bill. (No idea if they are or not right now). A small flock and a good set up, total time should be under 2 hours.

 

[Painted Calls]

As others have said. FL is free, they test for AI and Pullorum. Its not a guarantee of anything else. It does mean that they tested free of those things, at the time they were tested. FL tests twice a year, but they only do one of the tests annually - so it may be that the flock tested clean 11 months ago.

The only other thing NPIP tells you is that the breeder cared enough to deal with the hassle, and was confident in the likely test results.

In my view (and yes, I'm licensed and NPIP as well), its better than nothing. But its not much better than nothing. I still maintain a closed flock, and will until I'm forced to go outside for fresh genetics.

You are smart though and do things the right way. Unfortunately my experience was through someone that doesn't.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

You are smart though and do things the right way. Unfortunately my experience was through someone that doesn't.

and that's why its not "much better than nothing". Its more "barely better than nothing".

I am truly sorrowed by your experience.