alafarmnews

From The
State Vet's Office

by Tony Frazier

Keeping an eye on the hen house

If you have read a newspaper or watched the news lately, you are familiar with the Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) outbreak in Asia. Since September 2003, the disease has been found in nine Asian countries resulting in over 140 million birds being destroyed. Approximately fifty human fatalities have occurred because of the disease. This has been one of the most far reaching animal disease outbreaks in history. Fortunately it has remained in Asia. If for some reason the disease were to make its way to the United States borders, it would be much more devastating.

From October 2002 to June 2004, the state of California along with parts of Arizona, Nevada, and Texas destroyed over three-and-a-half million birds because of an Exotic Newcastle Disease. The disease likely originated from game fowl that were transported from Mexico. This disease outbreak was extremely difficult to control and contain because there was no database containing poultry premises.

In Alabama, poultry disease surveillance occurs on two fronts. They are the commercial poultry industry and the backyard and game industries. Commercial industry often has its own company veterinarians who work closely with our state diagnostic laboratory system for their disease control. This type of surveillance is very important for Alabama to maintain

its status as the number 3 state in the U.S. in broiler production, which amounts to 18 ½ million broilers produced per week. The backyard and game industry participates in disease surveillance through the National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP). Alabama ranks second only to the state of Oklahoma in NPIP participation on backyard and game flocks.

The National Poultry Improvement Plan became operative July 1, 1935. The objective of the NPIP is to provide a cooperative State-Federal program through which new technology can be effectively applied to the improvement of poultry and poultry products throughout the country. The provisions of the Plan, developed jointly by industry members and State and Federal officials, establish standards for the evaluation of poultry breeding stock and hatchery products with respect to freedom from hatchery disseminated diseases. Pro-ducts conforming to specific standards are identified by authorized terms that are uniformly applicable in all parts of the country. The provisions of the Plan are changed from time to time to conform with the development of the industry and to utilize new information as it become available. These changes are based upon recommendations made at the National Plan Conferences by official delegates representing participating flock owners, breeders, and hatchery owners from all cooperating states. Acceptance of the Plan is optional with the states and individual members of the industry within the states. The Plan is administered in each state by an official state agency cooperating with the USDA.

For an individual flock owner to join the NPIP all of their birds used for breeding stock must be tested and banded. Each flock will be visited one time a year to test any new breeders and to spot check old breeding stock and other birds on the farm. An Independent Flock Agreement (PD-2A) and a blood testing report (VS 9-2) will be filled out each year on each flock.

There are two types of options on joining the NPIP. One is as a hatchery, which is for flock owners that sell hatching eggs or baby chicks. We will provide the shipping papers for hatching eggs and baby chicks. The cost for this is normally $13.00 per year; $5.00 for the hatchery permit and $8.00 for the testing. The other option is for flock owners who only sell adult birds or go to shows and exhibitions. Birds will still be tested once a year but there will be no charge for the testing. To ship adult birds you must get a health certificate from a local accredited veterinarian. Again the main purpose of this program is disease prevention, so it is imperative that whenever a new bird is brought into a flock that it be pullorum clean or at least kept isolated until it can be tested. Also when you bring your own birds back from a show it would be best to keep them isolated for up to three weeks to ensure that they don’t have a problem or have brought back some parasites with them.

If a bird is found to be a reactor to the pullorum test, the tester should take the bird to a State Diagnostic Lab for further testing. No other birds should move into or off this farm until confirmation of the lab results.

For more information or to join NPIP call Ray Hilburn at 334-240-7255 ext. 2. Anyone wishing to take sick birds to one of our state diagnostic laboratories should contact them at the following numbers: Hanceville, 256-352-8036; Boaz, 256-593-2995; Elba, 334-897-6340 and Auburn, 334-844-4987.

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