Quote:
There are many others that can answer better than me but it is testing you do on your flock to have them designated disease free. They have to have been tested and cleared to be in shows.
Also an NPIP certified bird usually brings more when being sold.
Being NPIP certified means your birds are free from Pullorum-Typhoid. If the state does it, the test doesn't cost. However, the certificate costs $5 and has to be redone yearly. You also have to agree to not bring in birds from outside sources that have not been certified. The state will sometimes do extra tests such as avian influenza. If your flock has not been tested, your eggs should not be transported (or mailed) across the state line.
Here's Poultryand Bee's post about NPIP:
From P&B: "When your flock is NPIP tested, the Department of Agriculture will send someone out to test all of your birds. They have federal funding for testing for Avian flu (throat swab) so while they are there they go ahead and do the NPIP testing and you just pay for the NPIP certificate, which I think is $10 the first year and $5 every year thereafter. They do a blood test on your entire flock that is over 4 months old, if you have less than 300 birds. If you have more than 300 birds (I think that is the right number) they only test a percentage of the birds. The test is for typhoid and pullorum, which includes salmonella.
If you have a NPIP certified flock, you agree not to bring in any birds that have not been NPIP tested or to keep any such birds isolated until you get them NPIP tested. The advantage, from my viewpoint, is that if you have pullorum/salmonella in your flock they don't lay as well as disease free birds. Also, if there are any issues regarding Avian flu - you have a certificate that shows your flock has been tested and is clean as of xyz date. The downside is that if any of your birds test positive for typhoid or pullorum, the tester is required to confiscate the bird for post mortem testing, which identifies with more specificity what disease the bird had. You then have to have your birds tested every 21 days until you have had two tests with no positive results and your flock is quarantined in the meantime, so you are not allowed to sell birds off your property until the quarantine is lifted.
I have been in the NPIP program for 3 years and am willing to pay more for a bird that comes from a NPIP flock. To me, it is just an extra step toward keeping your flock healthy. Also, if you want to show your birds, they have to have a certificate that the bird(s) have been tested prior to the show. A test on an individual bird is good for about 3 months. A NPIP certificate for your flock is good for 12 months.
Contact Marie at the Oklahoma Dept of Ag to get your flock NPIP tested 405-521-3864"
