moving across state lines

[freedom chick]

I need help!

We are MOVING to another state: California to Ohio

I contacted the Agricultural departments.
I contacted NPIP.

All I know: I need a health certificate 30 days prior and it needs emailed to the Ohio Department of Agriculture so we may leave and enter the state with our PET CHICKENS.

Who do I call???
One bird vet strung me along for almost 2 weeks before wanting to charge over $1,000 PLUS TESTS -and they did not know which ones without going on the internet

I read about a base cost for the first chicken and an additional cost per chicken after that (as a FLOCK). None of the professionals I have called seem to know ANYTHING.
I do not want to slip through the cracks. My kids will be DEVASTATED. These are really sweet, loving pets and life has been hard enough through Covid19.
I am really reaching for help here. These kids can't lose anything else through this pandemic.

Thank you

 

[Wolfie2]

I don't know about Cali but here and in a lot of other states, they have what we call county agriculture department. Here in Tx every county has a department. They can help with just about any aspect of a rural lifestyle. If I were faced with your problem I would contact them.

 

[LizzzyJo]

I need help!

We are MOVING to another state: California to Ohio

I contacted the Agricultural departments.
I contacted NPIP.

All I know: I need a health certificate 30 days prior and it needs emailed to the Ohio Department of Agriculture so we may leave and enter the state with our PET CHICKENS.

Who do I call???
One bird vet strung me along for almost 2 weeks before wanting to charge over $1,000 PLUS TESTS -and they did not know which ones without going on the internet

I read about a base cost for the first chicken and an additional cost per chicken after that (as a FLOCK). None of the professionals I have called seem to know ANYTHING.
I do not want to slip through the cracks. My kids will be DEVASTATED. These are really sweet, loving pets and life has been hard enough through Covid19.
I am really reaching for help here. These kids can't lose anything else through this pandemic.

Thank you

This is probably very un PC to say, but why say anything to anyone? Just drive here and plop your chickens into their coop. We don't have military road blocks checking chicken passports. Are your birds sick?

 

[jakedaniel]

I need help!

We are MOVING to another state: California to Ohio

I contacted the Agricultural departments.
I contacted NPIP.

All I know: I need a health certificate 30 days prior and it needs emailed to the Ohio Department of Agriculture so we may leave and enter the state with our PET CHICKENS.

Who do I call???
One bird vet strung me along for almost 2 weeks before wanting to charge over $1,000 PLUS TESTS -and they did not know which ones without going on the internet

I read about a base cost for the first chicken and an additional cost per chicken after that (as a FLOCK). None of the professionals I have called seem to know ANYTHING.
I do not want to slip through the cracks. My kids will be DEVASTATED. These are really sweet, loving pets and life has been hard enough through Covid19.
I am really reaching for help here. These kids can't lose anything else through this pandemic.

Thank you

Define “know”. How do you “know” that you are required to do anything? Were you told by someone? If so, then what authority do they have to demand anything of you? Furthermore, if they require something of you then they ought to at least be able to define that thing and let you know how exactly you would be able to obtain it for them.

Im serious here. Is it someone in Cali telling you this, or someone in Ohio? I’d think that if it’s just your handful of pet birds then you can just take them with you and no problem. If you’re talking about a commercial operation with thousands of chickens then I can see the Law getting involved as far as importing/exporting them, etc.

 

[Brooks_]

Define “know”. How do you “know” that you are required to do anything? Were you told by someone? If so, then what authority do they have to demand anything of you? Furthermore, if they require something of you then they ought to at least be able to define that thing and let you know how exactly you would be able to obtain it for them.

Im serious here. Is it someone in Cali telling you this, or someone in Ohio? I’d think that if it’s just your handful of pet birds then you can just take them with you and no problem. If you’re talking about a commercial operation with thousands of chickens then I can see the Law getting involved as far as importing/exporting them, etc.

Yes and no. Ag laws are tricky state to state. Me? I'd just take them and not say anything.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Normally, on more political forums, I might take a quick swipe at CA for being excessively legislative in issuing restrictions on, well, pretty much everything. But CA has had some big problems with Avian diseases which have persisted for years now in the most recent outbreak, and which possibly well meaning, or simply not caring, bird owners have managed to export to surrounding States. In this case, I can certainly understand and appreciate their caution. I will NOT advise that you ignore the laws and transport the birds w/o testing.

That said, its specialized testing, and as you are finding, not many do it - and the others want to charge you for finding out what they will be doing (mostly, subletting the work to others by shipping to outside labs).

Not to sound heartless, but how much do you love your birds and how much can you reasonably afford to spend? Is it worth it to you and your family to go thru the delay and the expense, or are you better off rehoming locally, making the move, getting established in the new location, and then bring fresh birds on in the Spring???

Ohio, of course, reserves the right to quarantine and or destroy at owner expense any animal brought into the State w/o proper clearance. That you are coming from a suspect area does not bode well.

You may find this reference useful. This is AZ's copy of the 9-3 form, maybe one of the other posters can help with more about that, but OH is going to want one - it looks like it expects an approved signer to check for a bunch of potential avian diseases. Yay lab work.

/edit and you may want to give these folks a contact for references to Level II accredited vets in your area, that know what's expected of them.

 

[Doug in NY]

I would contact the Ag department of the county you are moving to. They are very friendly, depending on the township you are moving to they might also have regulations about what is allowed and how it has to be housed.

 

[catballou]

I need help!

We are MOVING to another state: California to Ohio

I contacted the Agricultural departments.
I contacted NPIP.

All I know: I need a health certificate 30 days prior and it needs emailed to the Ohio Department of Agriculture so we may leave and enter the state with our PET CHICKENS.

Who do I call???
One bird vet strung me along for almost 2 weeks before wanting to charge over $1,000 PLUS TESTS -and they did not know which ones without going on the internet

I read about a base cost for the first chicken and an additional cost per chicken after that (as a FLOCK). None of the professionals I have called seem to know ANYTHING.
I do not want to slip through the cracks. My kids will be DEVASTATED. These are really sweet, loving pets and life has been hard enough through Covid19.
I am really reaching for help here. These kids can't lose anything else through this pandemic.

Thank you

Oh my! I never thought about that!
I was going to bring three of them to South Carolina without even asking!
Glad I found your post!
How come we can bring dogs and cats wherever we want but not chickens or horses?

 

[RubelliteRose]

Actually many states require a certificate from a veterinarian before moving cats and dogs to a new state. We always asked our regular vet for one before moving. Here is a site with the different regulations for several types of animals for anyone who is looking. https://www.mymove.com/moving/guides/moving-with-pets/

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Oh my! I never thought about that!
I was going to bring three of them to South Carolina without even asking!
Glad I found your post!
How come we can bring dogs and cats wherever we want but not chickens or horses?

Dogs & cats are pets. Nothing they generally carry will devastate the economic industry of an agricultural State in the 1800s and early 1900s when a lot of these laws started going on the books.

Chickens, and pigs, and cattle and horses are livestock. Used as part of the economic engine of many states (albeit less important now than it previously was)

In 2019, Southern California destroyed 1.1 million chickens trying (unsuccessfully) to get a handle on exotic Newcastle Disease / virulent Newcastle Disease.

The Mad Cow epidemic (BSE) was good for at least 4.4 million cattle destroyed over in England, and shut down international beef trade between some countries.

African Swine Fever shut down Chinese pork exports and pork processing for other countries, and may have cost half their herds.

In America, when your negligent act causes economic damage **IF** if can be proven, you are on the hook financially. Given difficulties of proof, and the fact that the average person can't fund replacement of a State or Nation's species of commercial livestock, well...

Suddenly there's a law(s).

and while I'm generally against the Gov't's habit of cluttering up the books with laws for every slight, real or imagined, these seem surprisingly reasonable, given the risks involved, the limited obligations in order to comply, and the inability to collect damages after the fact.

More recent laws re: dogs and cats - beyond their shots for things like rabies - strike me as nanny-statism. The risks aren't nearly the same. But as with every exercise in line drawing, reasonable people can agree a line needs to be drawn, yet disagree about where to draw it.