Leaders create new rules for roosts
By From staff reports
Published in News on July 30, 2015 1:46 PM
Anyone who owns chickens, whether a whole flock or just one, is now required by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to register for an NCFarmID number.
The requirement is part of an effort to help the state brace for the possible introduction of the highly pathogenic avian influenza.
"This disease could be very detrimental to the poultry industry in Wayne County and state officials need to be able to communicate with everyone in case of an outbreak," said Wayne County Extension Service Director Kevin Johnson. "This effects the 200,000-bird farmer to the person with two hens in the backyard laying eggs.
"Contract growers will be put on this list through their company, such as Butterball, Case Farms, etc. Backyard flock owners have no good form of communication without being on the list."
The disease is not yet a problem in the state, but it is in others, including Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota.
"If the birds get it ... well, it is not good," Johnson said. "This is why eggs have gone up at the grocery stores. The NCDA is trying to monitor the situation and keep people informed.
"Backyard flocks have increased a lot in the past few years. People are raising chickens for the eggs. If you talk to feed stores, they will tell you that chicken feed sales have gone up 50 percent in the past couple of years. People are interested in local foods."
State Veterinarian Doug Meckes announced the additional precautions.
An online sign-up form will be available after Aug. 1.
The NCFarmID registration will help the department in alerting poultry owners about an outbreak, especially owners in close proximity to a farm whose birds test positive for the disease, Meckes said.
"In planning our response for highly pathogenic avian influenza, one problem we've come across is that we can't protect birds that we don't know exist," Meckes said. "We need to know where poultry are located so we can properly protect commercial and backyard flocks."
As another precaution, Meckes and Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler announced last month that bird shows and sales would be halted from Aug. 15 to Jan. 15, 2016.
The intent is to prevent birds from commingling and spreading the HPAI virus.
Individual sales are still allowed to take place.
Poultry owners can also sign up for a national premises ID number, but it is not required.
Anyone already part of the National Poultry Improvement Plan is exempt from this requirement.
Information gathered through the new state registration is used solely for animal health purposes, he said.
This critical data will provide animal health officials with necessary contact information in case of an animal health concern, and help identify animals and premises that may have been affected, Meckes said.
The state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is also requiring any commercial poultry grower with 200 or more birds to submit an HPAI outbreak plan. A commercial grower would be any grower under contract with an integrated company.
"It's very important that growers think through the worst-case scenario, because a confirmation of high-path avian flu would certainly be a worst-case scenario," Meckes said. "We want each grower to consider their resources and location to determine how they can best handle an outbreak in a way that is environmentally sensitive and gets them back online as soon as is feasible."
An HPAI Outbreak Plan template will be available on the department's website after Aug. 1.
Growers will need to submit the plan to the Veterinary Division no later than Sept. 15.
While only commercial growers will be required to submit the plan, all flock owners are encouraged to plan ahead and consider how they would respond to a confirmed positive case of the HPAI.
For more information about avian influenza and the department's response plans, go to www.ncagr.gov/avianflu.