I want to encourage breeders to become N.P.I.P. certified.

[Mahonri]

I don't want the government to know ANYTHING I do in my backyard.

After hearing what they do to poor Amish farmers it scares me how much liberty we've lost in the last year alone.

 

[lockedhearts]

Quote:
I agree Cyn, besides testing at shows is not a big deal and once that bird is tested it does not need to be again.
I have enough issue with it being required that I have to have a Coggins test on each of my horses every year, it is basically something that is very very rarely seen anymore and I feel is just a way the government keeps their hands in my pie....

 

[MuranoFarms]

Quote:
You do know that the chicks in the feed store were probably shipped...right?
Just sayin......

 

[Tala]

Quote:
You do know that the chicks in the feed store were probably shipped...right?
Just sayin......

Yeah, so the logic there is flawed.

However, I do find that by buying from the feedstore, THEY suffer the losses from shipping stress, rather than me. So I guess that's a plus.

I'm on the fence about NPIP too. Right now 90% of my birds are underage and they only test "breeders" so what would be the point of having them come out to test right now??
But since I'm probably going to start selling BCM eggs or chicks, it might be in my best interest to get certified next year....
But on the other hand, I agree with the people who say NPIP doesn't really mean anything to the back yard flock because they don't test for the kinds of things that our birds get.....so....eh.....

In the end, I'll probably get tested so I can make more money with the BCMs, but that will be later so who knows.

 

[greathorse]

Quote:
And some who care very much for their flock and are very concerned and have a no-nonsense approach to disease prevention still have no intention of becoming NPIP certified because of the limited value. NPIP is geared toward commercial enterprises, remember, not the backyard flock owners.

Obviously if you show, you have to conform to the rules, but I have no interest in showing or shipping live animals anywhere. There have been NPIP breeders who are responsible for spreading disease far and wide, diseases that NPIP doesn't even touch. NPIP relies on the honesty of the folks involved. No one makes sure these NPIP breeders buy from only NPIP sources or that they cull rather than treat sick birds. It's the honor system and I have no faith in the honesty of most people.

I certainly understand that NPIP certification is no garuntee ( cant spell that) but I dont see how it is a bad thing. I am glad I did it. I am sure it is not for everyone. I will say that I see it as a positive when I look for eggs and chicks now of course I must look for the cert.

Now that I think about it I suppose if you really wanted some birds from a breeder and they were not certified but you were confident about them one would be in a position of not being able to use those birds or chicks. That would be a negative

 

[acid_chipmunk]

I don't really know much about NPIP, but Hubby has read a lot about it and refuses to do it. I'm sorry, my birds are my birds. I take excellent care of them and don't think the governement should be able to come in and tell me that I have to kill them all because one got sick.

 

[yotetrapper]

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Better birds from a feedstore than you do from a breeder? You haven't been into chickens long have you? Buy a black orpington from a feed store, and one from Julie or Imogene on here and tell me your feed store black orp is a better bird. If you've been onm this forum long, I'm sure you've heard the term "hatchery stock". It's usually used in a not so kind way to distinguish an inferior bird from one from a breeder. Hatchery birds are fine if you want a few hens to lay you eggs, but once you get into breeding birds I dont think you'll be wanting hatchery stock.

I'm glad to see a lot of people here besides me who want no part in NPIP.

 

[bakerjw]

Love the flag avatar.

As to feed store chicks, if I were to look into rare or exotic breeds then I'd go to a breeder and probably pick them up myself. I'm not too keep on the stresses that are induced on chicks by shipping. For laying hens like I just picked up, feed store ones are good enough for me.

I don't know too much about N.P.I.P but I don't like what the federal government is doing in the way of controlling the food distribution network here lately. There does need to be some checks in place but some of the laws that they have tried to get in place could have very adverse effects on home gardening and backyard livestock efforts. Does that have much to do with N.P.I.P.? I am not sure but it isn't something that I'd get involved in without doing some research to see what rights that it gives them.

Not paranoid, just suspicious.

 

[RevaVirginia]

I'm with you on this one.

Knowledge is power.

All factual education is good for society. Just being able to pass the certification everyone benefits.

That said. Discerning fact from fiction or what otherwise would be thought of as a "No Brainer" can be tricky. Take a gander at a documentary type film that was made circa 2008 called "Food Inc."

By all means learn and look out for #1.....you

 

[Mervin]

Quote:
Better birds from a feedstore than you do from a breeder? You haven't been into chickens long have you? Buy a black orpington from a feed store, and one from Julie or Imogene on here and tell me your feed store black orp is a better bird. If you've been onm this forum long, I'm sure you've heard the term "hatchery stock". It's usually used in a not so kind way to distinguish an inferior bird from one from a breeder. Hatchery birds are fine if you want a few hens to lay you eggs, but once you get into breeding birds I dont think you'll be wanting hatchery stock.

I'm glad to see a lot of people here besides me who want no part in NPIP.

I think that some folks lose site of the fact that different people have different reasons for participating in poultry madness and that their definition of "better" might not be the same. I have birds that came from a breeder and some that came from a feed store. The breeders birds are slower to grow out, will likely start laying later and will probably not lay as consistently through the winter. Sure they're going to be some pretty birds, but I will most likely never take them to a show. That is unless my kids put them into the local fair, in which case the competition probably isn't that fierce anyway. Honestly, it would have probably been "better" for me to only have hatchery birds right now. To be perfectly honest, everybody in my house prefers our hatchery EE. My point is, "better" is a product of perspective.

For the record, I do think NPIP is a bit of a fallacy though. It sort of seems like a knee jerk response to an over-hyped, over publicized threat. That said, I have been considering taking PA's Certified Poultry Tech. course (qualifies you to submit NPIP tests to state diagnostic labs). I'd like to take it just to learn more about poultry and their maladies from folks that are likely more experienced than myself.