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Foot Color


BMustee

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My CAG is now 7 1/2 months old now and a few months ago I noticed his feet changing color and are much lighter than they used to be now. When I got him at 6 weeks his feet were pretty much all black...scales and skin. Now his scales are more grayish than black and the skin is more flesh toned. I feed him fruits, veggies (with red palm oil), pellets, and a mix of seeds and nuts on the side. I was thinking maybe it was a deficiency in some kind of mineral or something...IDK, just what came to mind. Does anyone else have a grey with lightening feet or know why they changed color?

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I'm seeing the same thing with Dayo in comparing his early first 3 months of photos to now. They are definitely lightening with age.

 

Speaking of feet, which are attached to the leg ;-)...Dayo constantly picks at his leg band sometimes as if it bothers him or is irritating his leg.

 

Anyone know of any reason why I could not remove it?<br><br>Post edited by: danmcq, at: 2007/11/14 15:40

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I don't see why not. My breeder did not put bands on his babies because of the risk of it getting caught in cage bars or on toys and injuring the bird. If I had a parrot with a leg band I would have it removed. One of my finches has a metal band on it's leg but I would think there would be more risk to the leg removing it than leaving it on seeing as though it's leg is the width of a tooth pick, so I'm letting that one be.

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I would have it removed my breeder that I got my GCC from left off his band because she also thought it could cause problems later on I have the band its just not on the bird. My Grey doesn't have one and neither does my Amazon and I can only say that its also because they could ccause problems I now this woman who had a bird that had cut it self in the same area as it band the bird leg would not heal because the band kept irritating it and the bird ended up with blood posioning she ended up getting the band cut off but it was to late and the bird died. so I would say If the band is bothering him get it taken off as soon as possible.

 

Pat

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Thanks for the feeback.

 

I am going to cut it off. I am afraid of it getting caught also. It is not a normal band, it is more of a ring with just the number stamped in it and it has been crimped together so the ends that meet when crimped do not form a perfect circle either where they touch...

 

I think this is even more dangerous than the normal "Bands" you see.

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The feet do lighten with age and the scaly look can change as well. Its not really reliable, but some vets will evaluate the appearance of bird feet to try and get a feel for how old a bird may be. My grandmothers red lored amazon was wild caught. We do not know how old he is, but we have had him over 37 yrs now. A vet thought he may well be over 50 and based his guess citing how the feet looked, in addition to some other factors. The feet are an area not covered by feathers so it makes sense they may more readily show age than other areas...just as our skin wrinkles etc and shows other signs of age.

 

Regarding the leg band, I would say its better not to have them on, since they can get caught on things or cause other irritaion. However, you need to be very careful and have an experienced vet remove it. They can be tricky and you certainly do not want to injure your bird in the process.<br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/11/15 05:10

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