Importation of Hatching Eggs: USDA

[ca]

Mrs. Fluffy Puffy :

Quote:
They don't have to be NPIP tested, it's specific diseases that USDA wants tested for:
The flock of origin has to be tested (and found to be negative) for
egg drop syndrome (adenovirus 127)
Salmonella enteritidis
viral turkey rhinotracheitis (avian pneumovirus)

Shipping can be done practically over night. The faster the pricier. But after you already spend hundreds of dollars on lab testing and permit fees I would not want to save on shipping cost. Every day it takes longer will decrease the hatching potential. With FedEx there really were no delays. (Theoretically!!!). If USDA is alerted they will check the eggs within a couple of hours of landing. Customs might take an additional several hours and your eggs will be off to the final destination.

I need to make some super good friends in the UK...I'm really interested in this. I truly want to import some eggs someday.

I have another question for ya, what about live birds? What is the process for them? Is it pretty much the same, or is it different?

~ Aspen

I gave up looking into live birds when I realized that they have to be quarantined no matter what country they are from (except Canada). Quarantine is paid by the day and the daily user fee rate for standard care, feed, and handling of chickens quarantined in a USDA Animal Import Center is $19/bird. Minimum quarantine is 30 days. AND during the quarantine period, all poultry will be tested to determine if they are free of certain communicable diseases of poultry. The cost for this diagnostic testing will be charged to the importer and is separate from the quarantine fee...

Now add all the paperwork, broker (required) fee etc. and you have a really "valuable" chicken at your hands. I would be unbelievably nervous that something could happen to the poor chicken after all this rigamarole.

 

[Illia]

Quote:
Ayam Cemani and Kosova Longcrowers are exclusive to their countries, which are on the "banned countries" list

That's what I was referring to as sadly impossible.

 

[HallFamilyFarm]

Jerry's Seramas LLC paid over $80,000 to import the original Seramas. Connie Zullo lost her life's savings when her 115 Orpingtons were euthanized. Live birds must be quarantined for 30 days. Marc in Oklahoma saved a bundle, but he is a USDA approved quarnatiner. Eggs may be way cheaper.

 

[ca]

Quote:
Ayam Cemani and Kosova Longcrowers are exclusive to their countries, which are on the "banned countries" list

That's what I was referring to as sadly impossible.

Rules change...
Keep an eye on the USDA website. They will eventually lift the ban on some countries if conditions in those countries improve. You might also find a long time breeder of these birds in one of the approved countries. If you really wanted it, you could put adds in poultry magazines in approved countries and search for those breeds.

 

[OSUman]

Quote:
I still want to know what happened to the other 100 birds...

 

[Cuban Longtails]

Quote:
Ayam Cemani and Kosova Longcrowers are exclusive to their countries, which are on the "banned countries" list

That's what I was referring to as sadly impossible.

Rules change...
Keep an eye on the USDA website. They will eventually lift the ban on some countries if conditions in those countries improve. You might also find a long time breeder of these birds in one of the approved countries. If you really wanted it, you could put adds in poultry magazines in approved countries and search for those breeds.

There is a breeder of Ayam Cemani on the Isle of Man (an island off the coast of Great Britain).

 

[OSUman]

Quote:
I know of quite a few people who have LEGALLY imported Orpingtons into the USA from England.

 

[ca]

Quote:
Rules change...
Keep an eye on the USDA website. They will eventually lift the ban on some countries if conditions in those countries improve. You might also find a long time breeder of these birds in one of the approved countries. If you really wanted it, you could put adds in poultry magazines in approved countries and search for those breeds.

There is a breeder of Ayam Cemani on the Isle of Mann (an island off the coast of Great Britain).

Nice!
If you really want it you'll always find some jumpable hoops

.

 

[rancher hicks]

Quote:
The paperwork has two sides: importation permit from USDA is a breeze (if you consider the few pitfalls that I explained on my website). The harder part is the paperwork required in the country of origin. That is relatively easy if you have a determined proxy on location (like I have my dad

). If the originating farm has to go through all the paperwork they will either screw it up or charge you an arm and a leg for it. Family or trusted friends make it "easier". You'll still end up with a stack of papers for your "most annoying memories" scrapbook.
But really the cost should be the main deterrent. It exploded in my face. I thought $ 141 for the permit was it. And I was so wrong!!!



So what were your other costs and where did you import from? If you don't mind my asking. It seems to me that it has not deterred other folks from doing it and you seem to have survived the ordeal.

Some folks practice and practice to be the best skiers or whatever in the world, so why not practice doing this and bring in some nice looking birds?

Plus like I said with sponsors costs can be spread around.

Heck if it costs $2000 for 4 chickens from Greenfire why not spend it on importing my own eggs and get more chicks? I'm not far from NYC which I understand is an entrance to the states.

 

[ca]

Quote:
The paperwork has two sides: importation permit from USDA is a breeze (if you consider the few pitfalls that I explained on my website). The harder part is the paperwork required in the country of origin. That is relatively easy if you have a determined proxy on location (like I have my dad

). If the originating farm has to go through all the paperwork they will either screw it up or charge you an arm and a leg for it. Family or trusted friends make it "easier". You'll still end up with a stack of papers for your "most annoying memories" scrapbook.
But really the cost should be the main deterrent. It exploded in my face. I thought $ 141 for the permit was it. And I was so wrong!!!



So what were your other costs and where did you import from? If you don't mind my asking. It seems to me that it has not deterred other folks from doing it and you seem to have survived the ordeal.

Some folks practice and practice to be the best skiers or whatever in the world, so why not practice doing this and bring in some nice looking birds?

Plus like I said with sponsors costs can be spread around.

Heck if it costs $2000 for 4 chickens from Greenfire why not spend it on importing my own eggs and get more chicks? I'm not far from NYC which I understand is an entrance to the states.

$2000!? And I though importing was expensive! I imported from Switzerland here is a table of costs from my website:

USDA Permit: $141 Needed

Amendment to the permit: $70 Maybe needed

Vet Fees: Will vary, will be likely hundreds of Dollars Needed (unless the farm is already tested). The fewer animals on the farm, the less tests need to be done.

Shipping: Varies, likely hundreds of dollars Needed (FedEx actually screwed so badly with the shipment that they refunded me the whole $400+ in the end

)

Vet check fees at the port of entry: $124.00 per hour from 8:00 am - 4:30 pm or $148.00 per hour for work outside of 8:00-4:30. The minimum will be 3 hours. (With luck yours is not the only shipment and costs can be split.)

Actual cost of eggs: Minuscule compared to the rest! (Buy the farmer a beer for the hassle)

So minimum $1000. Not everybody has that growing in their backyard. But you are right. Maybe a group could be formed and costs split...