Question

[patricia]

I also read up on the process. I have been shipping goose eggs for a few years but waterfowl are exempt so I never thought much of it. I now am raising poultry and became concerned about general flock health. I took the test and passed. I paid $30 for the certification fee. I then bought the light box which for a piece of plastic wasn't cheap, the testing tool, additional glass. Then I tried to find the antigen. What a joke. One pharmaceutical company apparently has a monopoly and only sells the antigen in 1000 unit bottles. Only a few providers that I can see sell it also in 1000 unit bottles. The antigen expires in short periods so you cannot use it year to year and the company only makes new batches when they run out. The 1000 doses are around $100. I have fewer than 20 chickens. The state I live in does not assist making this available at all. I read the Oklahoma website and they provide it at a very reasonable cost in smaller units to state residents. When I called around locally, it doesn't appear even the county fairs follow the stringent standards in the fact that they accept poultry purchased from a NPIP providers as long as they have the receipt, but our standards say they must be tested yearly or after the age of 4 months. This whole process seems like such a joke to me. Does anyone else have a similar experience?

 

[Oregon Blues]

What you do is you buy your antigen and you test for other people in the area and not just your own birds.

In a free testing state, the state should pay your mileage and the antigen. In a lot of states, you are allowed to charge mileage even if you can't charge per bird.

 

[patricia]

Not in my state. Guess I will have to see how many people are interested. I raise my own chickens but I have never exhibited any poultry. The info I was given on fairs was from an individual who does. Still, 1000 doses...