Lichtenwalner speaks to BDN about purchasing chicks in the midst of Maine’s avian flu outbreak
The Bangor Daily News interviewed Anne Lichtenwalner, director of the veterinary diagnostic laboratory at the University of Maine, about the breeder certification chicken owners should look for when purchasing chicks amid the H5N1 avian flu outbreak. Lichtenwalner told the BDN that people should purchase chicks only from breeders and hatcheries that are certified by the National Poultry Improvement Plan, which means the flock has been tested for, and declared free of, specific diseases. However, the standard testing to receive NPIP certification does not include avian flu. That NPIP certification testing is available upon request. “Ask the source of chicks if the chicks are from an NPIP hatchet, and if it’s certified free of salmonella, avian flu and mycoplasma,” Lichtenwalner said.