South Carolina

[scflock]

BJ
Why thank you, kind sir.

I need a "deep bow" emoticon. Lol

Ok, I've read, re-read, and re-read the email. The two things that jump out at me are flock separation and record keeping. I have a few pens that share a common fence. Am I correct to think that just placing a solid wooden wall between those flocks would eliminate "beak to beak contact"?
Obviously the record keeping rules are very stringent, but that's something I have already been doing somewhat, the big difference will be the movement forms and keeping records for 3 years.
As far as setup, I think I'm actually pretty close already. My hatching/brooding areas comply, and my pens and coops are very sanitary. Even with over 100 birds, my yard doesn't smell at all because of the way I compost mulch in my pens. I need to make sure that my feed storage area is rat proof, which most of the time it is, but other than that and the walls between 2 pens, I think I'm going to call Julie to start the process soon. I just dread rounding up every single bird on the property for the first test. I also need to find a private tester to test for AI, but I assume Julie can provide me with some contacts once the process is started

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I never saw any notice of typhoid or Pullorum in neighboring states. Interesting that the class taken just a few years back was listing different years as the last known case. I just haven't any faith in a system with changing facts. Maybe I am too close to the source of it all but I only NPIP my show birds. And I won't have my turkeys tested, nor will most of my friends with turkeys or ducks since they were burned by the system.

I am not saying you all should not do it. I am glad you are cleaning up your places and getting it done. Experience is best. Being a part of this will give you a lot of great info. And taking the class to become a tester is amazing with all that you can learn. Good luck and enjoy.

 

[SilkieSensation]

 
I had put my Bronze turkeys up for sale and someone asked me if I was NPIP. Uh... no. Only my show birds are tested NPIP. I have seen some shockingly unclean farms that are NPIP. NPIP does not mean clean, it means they are testing negative for something that has not be found in birds in over 50 years. And turkeys are usually a false positive and have to be tested over and over.



Healthy clean birds prove more than a number from the state.

I wholeheartedly agree with your last statement, but I'd have to respectfully disagree with the rest of it.   According to Dr. Julie Helm, the last six cases of Pullorum in the US were found in 2003 - all in backyard poultry and all contracted through auction/sales/show sites. Georgia has reported cases as recently as 2002-03 and NC in 2000.  As Dr. Helms says - if our neighbors have had, you can almost guarantee that it was somewhere in SC, too. The last known case of fowl typhoid was in 1987 - 29 years ago.

Makes you wonder if the decreasing incidents, and clear for over a decade now, is because of the widespread acceptance of testing by commercial, and backyard, flock owners.

I kinda look at it like rabies in dogs.  There was a time when many many dogs, particularly in the south, did not survive into adulthood. But, because of widespread vaccinations, you never hear of a dog dying of rabies anymore.

While I don't doubt that there are farms that are NPIP certified flock and are not spic and span, I do know that they do impose certain fowl management, and "housekeeping" requirements.  
For instance, did you know that your hatching and brooding areas must be in separate rooms, separated by a door?  I didn't, until I started cleaning for my inspection.  Because of the excessive dust raised by growing chicks (all those new feathers put out a ton of dust!), it is unsanitary to have them in the same room where you are incubating eggs.

I know what's it like to get behind in the work - heck, if someone came to my house right now, they'd probably declare me incompetent and put me in a home for the mentally disabled, but the goal of the NPIP and flock certification program is a worthy one.

Particularly in today's environment, even if I were not NPIP/AI clean myself, I wouldn't buy birds from someone who wasn't, unless it was someone I trusted very much.

Sounds like the SC NPIP process is way different than Ohio's. Up here, all birds on the property have to be included & tested for NPIP. The only birds not included are broilers & roosters in designated butcher pens. Ours can share common fencing & even be completely free range. The only records we need to keep are how many & what kind of birds/eggs we sell/trade & to who.

 

[scflock]

Sounds like the SC NPIP process is way different than Ohio's. Up here, all birds on the property have to be included & tested for NPIP. The only birds not included are broilers & roosters in designated butcher pens. Ours can share common fencing & even be completely free range. The only records we need to keep are how many & what kind of birds/eggs we sell/trade & to who.

I'm going to let Susan give a better answer, because she has actually been through the process. All I know for sure, at this point, is that every bird on the property is tested the first time. After that it is the breeder flocks. My breeder flocks are AMs and BCM, both of which share a common wall with my hybrid layers. My understanding is those are the flocks that have to have the separation. Record keeping sounds pretty similar

 

[samouw]

I never saw any notice of typhoid or Pullorum in neighboring states. Interesting that the class taken just a few years back was listing different years as the last known case. I just haven't any faith in a system with changing facts. Maybe I am too close to the source of it all but I only NPIP my show birds. And I won't have my turkeys tested, nor will most of my friends with turkeys or ducks since they were burned by the system.

I am not saying you all should not do it. I am glad you are cleaning up your places and getting it done. Experience is best. Being a part of this will give you a lot of great info. And taking the class to become a tester is amazing with all that you can learn. Good luck and enjoy.

Thank you for keeping me honest! I should have quoted the source before handing out facts and figures.

This is from a pdf presentation put out by the SC Vet office at Clemson

http://www.clemson.edu/public/lph/ahp/images/npip/presentation.pdf

 

[SilkieSensation]

Sounds like the SC NPIP process is way different than Ohio's. Up here, all birds on the property have to be included

I'm going to let Susan give a better answer, because she has actually been through the process. All I know for sure, at this point, is that every bird on the property is tested the first time. After that it is the breeder flocks. My breeder flocks are AMs and BCM, both of which share a common wall with my hybrid layers. My understanding is those are the flocks that have to have the separation. Record keeping sounds pretty similar

If we have less than 35 chickens they all get tested. All turkeys have throat swab & blood drawn. Waterfowl only get tested for AI. A percentage of the birds get tested if you have over 35. They take a sampling from every pen & from any free rangers. They don't even look at bators or brooders & don't test chickens under 15 weeks old.

 

[samouw]

I'm going to let Susan give a better answer, because she has actually been through the process. All I know for sure, at this point, is that every bird on the property is tested the first time. After that it is the breeder flocks. My breeder flocks are AMs and BCM, both of which share a common wall with my hybrid layers. My understanding is those are the flocks that have to have the separation. Record keeping sounds pretty similar

That is my understanding, as well, except I don't think you have to have a wall separation unless you have birds that have not been tested. I know all of mine were tested for PT and 30 were AI tested last September. I am due for another AI test in March

 

[scflock]

If we have less than 35 chickens they all get tested. All turkeys have throat swab & blood drawn. Waterfowl only get tested for AI. A percentage of the birds get tested if you have over 35. They take a sampling from every pen & from any free rangers. They don't even look at bators or brooders & don't test chickens under 15 weeks old.

AI testing is voluntary, and I am getting it done because of the states that require it to import birds

 

[abbevilleoz]

What if you let your chickens free range some? How can you prevent beak to beak contact? That would make it really difficult for a hobby farmer. I'm just gleaning from what I saw you guys discussing.

 

[scflock]

What if you let your chickens free range some? How can you prevent beak to beak contact? That would make it really difficult for a hobby farmer. I'm just gleaning from what I saw you guys discussing.

If I'm not mistaken, then it would be considered one flock. Maybe Susan could answer, but I think that would mean all birds tested the first year, then 10% of all birds after that