I was just curious about it.
What does it cost to become a NPIP flock?
Does the whole flock need to be tested or a portion?
I looked at the application for the school and it looked like you had to work for a arge poultry enterprise. Is this true?
Is there anything that can be done for the chickens if they have any of the diseases that are tested for?
How or where on the bird do they take the blood?
Does it hurt the bird?
My birds while be friendly are not really holdable. ( a word I just coined and the spellcheck hates) is it worth the stress on the birds in a small flock where I really do not plan to be selling any?
If I get some rare heritage birds and breed them, I would want to sell them to expand their numbers, I think it would pay then and be a smart thing to do, am I correct?
How do I find a "tester" or inspector around me?
Anything else you can tell me about it? I read the website but it talks in generalities.
The classes that you saw listed were probably something aside from the one I attended. It may be that the "industry people" up in your neck of the woods offer something other than the one I attended.
If you decide you want to get certified to be a tester, it is a class held by the Minnesota Animal Health Dept. They usually have just one class a year open on a first come, first serve basis. The Poultry Testing Labs are in Willmar, and the class was held in Alexandria when I went. What you can get certified through it is being a Rapid Whole Blood Tester, basically. This test is done by drawing a blood sample from a vein in the birds wing. It is just a drop that is needed from the bird. Does it hurt them? About as much as getting a shot, since a medium gauge needle is used to poke them for the sample. There is a charge for the class of like $35, but you would have to check that amount, I haven't had to go for 4 years.
You do not have to be a tester to get your flock tested though. If what you want is to just have your flock tested to become NPIP certified, then you could have someone who is already tested come out and do your flock. YES, the initial testing must be done on the entire flock. You have turkeys, so that adds something to the equation. You can get certified for testing turkeys also, but that is an additional test, and that is a vial of blood that is drawn and must be sent to the labs for testing.
Testing for chickens is for Pollorum and Typhoid strains of Salmonella. The turkey testing is done for Mycolplasm Galliseptum and Mycolplasm Sinovae (MG and MS for short). In Minnesota, the only required testing is these tests, however, some other states, just 2 that I know of, also require Avian Influenza testing as well. Here is the tricky part with getting AI done, if you have wild birds around your place, you may test positive for it even if you don't have birds showing symptoms. I have inquired about having it done with my flock and it is not a test that is being encouraged here at this time. There have been outbreaks of AI on the West Coast in recent months, but unless people are transporting birds from the West Coast over the Rockies, it should stay out of our region, at least for now. If you test for it and test positive, you may end up with your entire flock being destroyed.
If you want to be able to sell birds in Minnesota legally, you would be wise to be certified. It beats testing individual birds every time you want to sell. If you want to sell at any swaps, you must have testing done anyway.
Once you have had the initial testing of your flock, then you can do just a sampling of your flock for testing each year, depending on the number of birds you have. Or, if you plan to do hatchings, you can send in debris samples from hatching for the subsequent years. If you attend the class to be a certified tester, then they will explain all of this.
Testing is not required for waterfowl.
Once you are certified as a tester, the forms, the antigen, all the paperwork is provided by the state poultry testing office. Lucky for us it is this way in Minnesota, in other states flock owners have to paid a hefty sum to get their birds tested.
I test for 4-Hers each summer, and I don't charge if they bring their birds to me, but if I travel to someone's home to test, I charge time and gas. I have done a flock that was moving out of state before and had to test all birds they were taking with them.
It is rare to have a bird test positive for P-T. If it test positive, then the state vet in your area would be notified and that bird quarantined until they can come out, and they would test with their antigen to make sure it wasn't just a fluke or that there isn't something wrong with the antigen used in the first test. If one were to in fact be positive, it would have to be destroyed. I believe they would do the same if a turkey tested positive for MS or MG, but you would have to ask. I haven't grown out any turkey's since I got certified other than the BBWs I get for the freezer.
It would be commendable, I think, if you were to undertake raising a heritage breed, (Buckeyes are great!
). If you do though, please find a breeder who has them on the right path. Large hatcheries that have lots of 'rare and heritage breeds', are not the best source for starting a breeding flock from if you want to maintain the integrity of the breed based on the Standard for that breed, if there is one. I say that because the large facilities generally work toward providing fowl that resemble the breed, but are selected for laying ability more than breed traits. Hatchery stock almost never meets the size/weight standard, they generally do not have the correct coloring and may even come with incorrect combs. It does cost more to get started from breeder's stock, but it is worth it because the quality is there. However, buyer beware, there are peddlers who claim they have 'show quality' stock, and you need to investigate.
