Identifying Bird Rings

[MichaelaK]

Hi, my CAG has a ring on his foot and I was wondering how do people identify them? I was reading that it can tell there hatch date etc... As I don't know when my CAG was hatched or how old he really is. Does anyone know how to? This was the number on his ring: ZA0DGOO2 K582 10.

Sorry I did not know where to put this.

Thnx all Michaela

[Wolf]

Since there is no mandatory banding for parrots in the USA, there is no single registry to look up the information on the band. So any information regarding where he was hatched or came from can help with this but it appears to me that he was hatched in 2010.
This may be of help http://www.birdchannel.com/bird-breeder ... bands.aspx
Looking up leg band information is often an exercise in futility.

[MichaelaK]

Thank you, Wolf!

So he is 5yr! Well at least I know his real age now. That was the main thing I wanted to know. Where I got him they said he was 1yr.

[Wolf]

Many of the places that were responsible for providing the bands and keeping records closed down, not only the private ones but government ones as well. Another draw back is that the breeders were not obligated to register the bird that was banded which resulted in no way to track the band information.
Usually the year of hatching is a 2 digit number, most bands used a 2 letter code for the state which was turned sideways on the band. The solid band really only prove that a bird was born in the USA as there is only a few days in the birds life that the band can be properly placed on the leg. A split band is used on birds that are imported into the country and are more easily traced.
This is all I know concerning bands.

[Pajarita]

Actually, the year is usually placed sideways to differentiate it from the number that identifies the bird at the breeder's. Are there any numbers placed sideways?

One thing you can do is contact all the places (there is only a few, L&M been the best known) where they make the bands and ask them if they recognize the breeder's 'brand' and, if they do, if they could contact the breeder on your behalf (I doubt they will give you their name, address or phone number).

[marie83]

Ollies band says he is a year older than he actually is because the rings didn't arrive at his breeders in time so he used one from a previous year. just saying that his age might not be accurate although probably unlikely that using the wrong rings is common practice (if the numbers you wrote are sideways).