Paperwork for taking a duck to the county fair (?)

[ChicagoDucks]

Our local County Fair has a "Pet Poultry" division of the Junior Poultry Exhibition for kids 7 yrs & under. I'd like to encourage my daughter to enter one of our ducks next year. She turns 4 this summer, and we're planning to go to the fair this August so that she can see the other kids showing their birds and (hopefully) she gets excited about raising her own duck for the fair in 2013.

Here's the problem, to enter a bird in the exhibition, we need to have a "USDA flock testing report or NPIP certificate". I have no idea how to do this. Have any of you taken your birds to the fair? How do you get this certification for a small backyard flock? Any tips?

 

[Oregon Blues]

I've got my NPIP certification, so it isn't an issue for me. However, our county fair tests birds as they enter the grounds if they are not NPIP.

State laws vary, though. Maybe your state requires that you be NPIP certified. You might check into it. A few of the states do it for absolutely free.

You get a small flock certified the same way a chicken ranch does. I've only got 20 ducks, and the inspector comes out, draws blood from each bird, does the test right there. Each bird is cleared in less than 2 minutes.

I suggest that you call either the 4-H poultry leader or your local Farm Extension Agent and ask about testing poultry for the fair.

Very likely your bird will be inspected for lice and mites before being allowed into the show area, so treat for mites a week before the show

 

[ChicagoDucks]

Thanks Oregon! That is very helpful info!

I've got my NPIP certification, so it isn't an issue for me. However, our county fair tests birds as they enter the grounds if they are not NPIP.

State laws vary, though. Maybe your state requires that you be NPIP certified. You might check into it. A few of the states do it for absolutely free.

You get a small flock certified the same way a chicken ranch does. I've only got 20 ducks, and the inspector comes out, draws blood from each bird, does the test right there. Each bird is cleared in less than 2 minutes.

I suggest that you call either the 4-H poultry leader or your local Farm Extension Agent and ask about testing poultry for the fair.

Very likely your bird will be inspected for lice and mites before being allowed into the show area, so treat for mites a week before the show

 

[Tahai]

Contact your local county extension office, or the Chair or Superintendent of the Poultry Show (contact information is most likely on the website or in last year's fair book). Rules vary by both state and county, so it is unlikely you will get the direct answer from anyone here.