Banding

[Nevermore]

I have a few questions about parrot banding.Are most parrots banded when they are too young to recognize the leg-band as 'scary'?

Has anyone here had their adult parrot banded? How did they react to it?

I'm considering having my GCC banded, in case I have to put him in boarding for any period of time.

[sidech]

Why don't you consider micro-chipping ? Safe, convenient, for life, and can't hurt your parrot like a band might.

[Nevermore]

Didn't realize they microchipped birds. I've taken part in chipping dogs and cats; those needles have a HUGE gauge. And birds skin is so thin....I would assume they use something a lot smaller?

[kaylayuh]

From what I've read, a lot of birds in the U.S. are banded as chicks. In some states, it was required. In other states, there was no requirement but breeders still decided to do it. All of my birds came to me banded, however No Name had to have been banded as an adult because he has an open band.

I'm not a fan of the open band used on adult birds. It can pose a danger getting caught on things and may lead to injury. Banding is also an unreliable method of identification as it can easily be removed if the bird is stolen. If the bird is stolen and the band is removed, you'd have a hard time proving it was yours.

I would go for microchipping, to be honest. It's a more reliable method of identification, at least in my opinion. Also, as far as I'm aware, it's much harder to trace a leg band. You wouldn't have to worry about it because you probably know where your bird is bred and all of its relevant information, but I've tried to trace my birds' bands back to the breeder and I've had no such luck. I'm thinking it'd be about as hard to trace the band to its owner unless you plastered all surrounding areas with it in case of a loss of the bird.

[Nevermore]

Actually I have no idea where Jack came from. My sister-in-law and brother rescued him from an awful owner, and gave him to me for Christmas. I don't even know how old he is. I am basing my guess on the fact that the previous owner claimed he was 5 months old when I got him. Whether they're telling the truth or not...who knows!

I've been involved in banding wild birds, and that seemed to work fine on them...I'll have to look into the micro-chipping though. Thanks!

[entrancedbymyGCC]

The only negative thing I've heard about microchipping is hearsay indicating that it can cause enough irritation to trigger plucking. But GCCs aren't prone to that as far as I know. I probably wouldn't do an open band. But Scotty is also unbanded and unchipped and I occasionally contemplate doing something about putting some ID on him.

I think the reason open bands are more likely to cause problems in a pet parrot than a wild bird is the closeness of the cage environment and all those wonderful toys to get it caught on. I'd guess a wild bird is too busy foraging and otherwise taking care of business to get in as much trouble. Plus the things it might get hung up on in nature are more likely things a bird could probably chew through. But I'm speculating.

[captwest]

I think that birds need to weigh at least 150 grams to micro- chip. Adult birds are banded with an "open" band that can become intangled with play items etc. I would suggest a tatoo , some where you could ID , that way you can prove your ownership. Not much you can do to get a bird returned if you can't prove it's yours.Yes a "ring" or closed band is good but can only be placed on 10 day old birds,and can be cut off.

[sidech]

Microchipping is usually done under anesthesia. They must use a very mild form of it, because it takes 10 minutes at the most for the bird to wake up afterwards. They made me wait 20 minutes for Jazz after it was done, and when he was back, I couldn't even see any difference in his behavior.

I was very impressed with the whole process. Of course it has to be done by an avian vet.

While you're at it, you can have all tests done that need blood to be drawn done. Around here, I can't put Jazz in any boarding facility if he doesn't have a proof of having these 4 tests done and that he's negative.

[Nevermore]

woah....blood tests too? I guess thats understandable, but I didn't even think of that...

Jack is a light-weight. 72-73g. So I guess micro-chipping is out. I"ll have to research tattooing too. Any idea where they put the mark?

[kaylayuh]

Usually under the wing.