Importing Hatching Eggs

[Bkrog]

Has anyone ever imported hatching eggs from either the UK or Germany into the US? Is it even possible or will I need to ship live chickens?

If it was possible what did it entail?

There is one breed that I really want but cannot find in the states

 

[Perris]

hello @Bharker , welcome to BYC

It is possible, but it involves a great deal of paperwork and expense on the part of the exporter, so very few can be bothered unless they're doing it at scale. What breed are you looking for and how many do you want?

 

[Dnorton]

I looked into this. Apparently there are two classes of countries- those with high bird flu and those without. It might be easier from a “clean” country, but if I recall, the originating flock needs extensive testing for bird flu and a few others (like the whole flock or at least 2,500 birds), then there are quarantine requirements when they get here which seem long enough that I have doubts about the viability of the eggs. Think $10,000 or more in cost, easily. And then you would need to get enough stock from enough unrelated bloodlines to start a viable gene pool in the US.

Depending on the breed and the interest level, it might be a worthwhile investment for a group of people or businesses. If there is demand and you have the only supply, you could eventually make your money back (though I expect profit would be difficult to obtain).