NatJ Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Hiya everyone... i just have a very quick question... Being a fairly new grey owner is my beautifull Coco, im still finding little things that i have to admit i dont know about yet ok, so my friends aunt came round to my house the other day, (she also has a grey) & she said to my husband, ohhhh look your grey is fiddling with his ring on his leg (coco always turns it round & round).... she then said he shouldnt really have one of those it can become to small for his leg & really hurt & annoy him...... Now Coco came to me from the breeder with his ring already on his leg, & he told me its for incase he gets lost & the code & colour matches on his hatch certificate (wich it does) to prove he is mine... Coco does play around with it from time to time, just turning it round on his leg, it doesnt look sore or irritated & doesnt look like its squeezing him like its too small.... But now im paranoid that i should have it taken off... PLEASE HELP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Hi, that is a decision that only you can make with your vets advice. I had the bands removed from all 3 of my birds, but kept them in a safe place just in case. The breeder has the corresponding paperwork if they have kept it, some don't. There is no law regarding bands, no real database for bands and identifying birds etc. The reasons I had mine removed, is because I have read way too many horror stories about birds getting the band caught on something while in their cage and by the time they were found, they have chewed their leg off to get unstuck, or the vet has had to remove the foot. My vet has many stories of birds that have come to him with band/ leg accidents and he highly recommended I have him remove them, which I agreed with after all the research I have found. If you do decide to have it removed, make certain to keep it just in case you ever need it. Others here insist they should stay on I case their bird escapes, it is easier to prove it is your bird, but only IF you keep the band info at home in a safe place. But like I said, there is no national registry that keep that info on hand , so it is up to you. Oh, and my amazon was always playing with her band, I was afraid she would irritate it after time. Good luck with your decision, and keep us posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsjr Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 i took the band of Luna the day we picked her up from the airport. its not needed, only the breeder has to put it on the birds leg by law but after you get your bird its your choice if you want to keep it or not. I took my birds band off becuase it ws pretty loose and was scared it would get caught on something and cause injury. the decision is yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 My first cockatiel came to me in a fish aquarium w/ his leg in a cast from an accident involved from his leg band. My 12 y.o. Grey has his but it doesn't seem to interfere with anything. Believe me, I'm always on the lookout for a situation that would present an opportunity to remove it !! It will be gone in a heartbeat... Your decision is entirely your own Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Parrots are required by law to be banded at the breeder. They're sized to stay loosely on the leg after the fid's foot grows to become too big to remove it. The intention is to irrefutably identify the the bird & it's origin for life. In Phenix case, to show that he was wild caught, rather than domestically raised. So he has his quarantine info coded into his. He also has a split band because he wasn't banded while he was young enough to grow into a solid one. Any bird who's band is (re)banded as a fledgling/adult would also have a split band. Unfortunately, as Talon said, they're isn't much information that can be traced about most bands. So, they become ID tags that will be helpful as proof of ownership when recovering a lost fid. Great to have something in a drawer someplace that says you own(ed) a parrot. But less than helpful in proving you own any particular escapee or stolen fid. I have heard that bands can be dangerous. So far, I've never had a problem . But I have talked w/my vets & been told they don't seem to feel it's a great concern. Since they seem comfortable enough to have kept their own birds banded, I've left ours alone. If at some point I do remove them, though, I will have my birds micro-chipped so they can be identified in the event they become lost or stolen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsjr Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 If at some point I do remove them, though, I will have my birds micro-chipped so they can be identified in the event they become lost or stolen. i asked my vet about that because im going to get Luna micro chipped when i have the money for it. anyway he said its a good thing to do but be aware that micro chipping birds is pretty new and most shelters or animal control agencies don't even think about checking for a chip if they get a lost parrot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistyparrot Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 I am in the UK and I think microchipping parrots is more common here. There is a central database for chipped birds and most vets will check a found bird. I think if you remove your Coco's ring a micro chip is worth having as it will prove ownership . Steve n Mistyparrot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 (edited) Neither of my greys was permanently banded when I got them. My Amazon has a band that gives him no problems so remains. My three are micro-chipped. They are registered with HomeAgain and if they are lost, HomeAgain will send out e-mails to all members in the area who are registered to be noticed of lost birds/dogs/cats, etc. I am on the list to be notified to help locate lost pets in my area. HomeAgain will also provide me with a Lost Poster with my birdie's picture and information on it. In my opinion, having the bands removed and stored does not prove anything. Those bands could belong to any grey that they were removed from and not the grey found by someone. My dog is also micro-chipped. She was lost and returned to me when my vet's office called to say they had her. Vet's will check for free. Edited December 19, 2011 by luvparrots Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 You should have the ring removed and then give it back to Coco. Then tell him to only use it after completes his wedding vows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pikachu Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 We had our girl's band taken off for safety reasons. We had her microchipped - it was $20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray P Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 My CAG Corky just turned eleven and she still has her band on her leg and it`s never been a problem. My BFA and my Cockatiels do not have bands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 (edited) Neither of my greys was permanently banded when I got them. I thought it was a federal regulation that all parrots had to be banded by the breeder so they could be tracked for health reasons, supposedly. Although I tried to track Kura's band when I got her because I was afraid she may have been stolen. Huge waste of time. She wasn't much more than a year old & came from RI (probably). I still didn't get anywhere. I can't imagine it would ever do any good if there was some kind of outbreak to contain. So it sounds like it may depend on the state? Where did your greys come from, Janet? Edited December 20, 2011 by birdhouse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 One grey is from the State of Washington. Another from the State of Oregon. I purchased my greys from private breeders who raised their greys "at home" and sold them personally to new parronts which they screened according to their personal standards. Quite legal here in my part of the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezron Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Our vet advised us to take off Brutus' band for safety reasons. He is microchipped. The vet said he sees too many cases of broken legs as a result of leg bands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawL Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 I leave my birds banded, and have never had a problem. It just gives me piece of mind to know if I ever had an escapee, that I would be able to identify him by his band numbers, and they would know the bird was mine, no questions asked. I have read too many stories about people finding lost birds, and not wanting to give them back to their claimed owners because there was no means of identification. If you think you would like to remove the band, definitely have a microchip put in. The only thing with a chip is you have to rely on the people that found your bird to take the bird to the vet's office to be identified. I have heard of people not taking the bird in, and just keeping the bird and claiming "no means to identify". Even with the band, it is not a fool proof means of identification, as it can be removed by anyone. I guess we just have to hope for the best, and be very careful not to lose our little friends. Whatever choice you make is entirely up to you. We are all different, and the way we raise our fids will be different as well. Just trust your own judgment, and do what you think is right for your baby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 This is actually a harder question than it appears to be. We want to protect our babies from everything. But we just can't. This is a perfect example of having to chose between two possible threats & there' isn't an easy answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawL Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 This is actually a harder question than it appears to be. We want to protect our babies from everything. But we just can't. This is a perfect example of having to chose between two possible threats & there' isn't an easy answer. Birdhouse hit the nail on the head here....there really is no easy answer to this question. Even as I wrote my last post, half way through I began to think about the fact that there really is NO FOOL PROOF WAY to protect our babies. We really have to make the choice for ourselves, and do what we feel is right. For me, leaving them banded makes me feel much better, as opposed to not. At least this way, if they were to get out, I can hope and pray that an honest person who loves birds as much as we do would find him/her, and do everything to return my bird to me. If I have the band numbers, it makes that process so much easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Unfortunately a band can be removed and if you keep a removed band in your desk drawer what is to say it is from the bird found even if the bird is yours???? You really can't prove it. It is true, honesty is a personal thing between a person and his/her conscience. I do know that in my state if a person has acquired/found a micro-chipped animal it is considered a crime to keep it if an honest effort to find the proper owner is not tried and such thievery can be punishable in the courts. I suppose that is why there are occasionally ads in the Lost and Found reading like this, ''Dog/cat/bird found in the vicinity of blank and blank, call to identify" without a proper description and placed by people who really want to keep a found animal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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