Kind of embarassed to ask........

[LeilaLuv]

I have an idea of what they are and where to get them. How to I get those little "anklets" for my birds? What exactly is their purpose and approximately how much would it cost??


thanks a bunch!!

[LMPego]

Do you mean the band? That's put on by the breeder. I had one removed and the second bird came unbanded. They can be dangerous and you're better off not to have to worry about it.

[The Outlaw]

Well, the little anklets (bands) are placed on baby birds when they are only a few weeks old. After that, you cannot place them on a bird because their feet and legs have already developed and lack the flexibility of a baby.

However, they are usually used by breeders to track their babies throughout their lifetime. Most have a series of letters and numbers that tell folk the aviary initials, the state of origin and the year of hatch. Sometimes, they are numbered with clutch numbers.

[CrazyBirdLady]

Many breeders use them and they can be purchased through a couple of companies. They are useful for identification however you can also microchip the birds for identification purposes as well. While I have heard some "horror" stories about legbands, I've never had any of my birds have issues with them as I keep a close eye on what their cages and toys look like.

[LeilaLuv]

I guess I'll go for the microchip. My cats are all microchipped, its quite coforting.
Thanks for the quick replies!

[Monica]

There are open and closed bands... Open bands can be placed on older birds who can not fit into an open band. They are used as tracking, ID'ing, and to tell birds apart... however they can also be a danger to the bird if the band were to get stuck on anything, and the bands irritate some birds too.

[Tashk]

I have a Western Rosella that only has one leg.... while she lived with her previous owner, her foot band got stuck in the wiring of her cage, and she ripped off her leg, her owner did not know what to do, so he decited to let nature do what it wants to do... she ended up biting off the rest of the snapped bone (up to the 'knee' joint)!!!! And covering her own wound with the remaining skin, and she healed perfectly fine! And is still a happy little hopping birdy. So once I took her into my care, that's when I decited that I don't think I'll be using bands.... just to be safe, because I now KNOW that could really happen.

[candi4me]

the groomer that works for our breeder put a band on our lil blue and gold, and when we saw him this weekend the breeder told us he had already out grown it so we asked her not to band him. My Zebra's have one on ... but only my breeders, and they can be removed very easily.

[Sally]

I have heard the legs of birds can be broken easily. I am afraid to get Chipper's band off.

[tielfan]

I've heard that finch breeders sometimes use removable plastic bands to help them tell the birds apart. Removable bands would be useless on parrots because they're smart and skillful enough to pull them off with their beaks. Psittacine leg bands are usually metal and designed to be nonremovable without using an expert with a cutting tool.