LEG BANDS, RINGS AND SUCH, QUESTION...

[Colt]

You're welcome. They may not work for everyone, but I like them.

[finchmix22]

One thing I do that I didn't mention earlier is I put the same color split band on the cage of the parents. That way, I don't have to band the parents with a split band. If I switch pairs with new partners, I have to log the change and put the split color of both parents so I can tell who might be half siblings. LOL.

This can be very complicated, especially as the finches numbers increase. When you get over 50 babies to keep track of, it can be daunting, to say the least. Good Luck.

[MiaCarter]

finchmix22 --- Ooh, super clever! I think I'll do that!

Why is there a birthday cake on your profile? Is it your birthday, Deborah? If so, happy day!

My system for bands so far has been to do one colored band for tribe on one leg and one uniquely colored band to determine individual identity.

Unfortunately, I messed it up on the first clutch I did. I did two with tribe on the right and individual ID on the left leg; the third one has the opposite.

I had intended "tribe" to be just the single clutch, not every clutch produced by a pair. But we'll see.

I'm thinking that between the banding and the finch database, I should keep everyone straight!

[finchmix22]

MiaCarter
THANKS! Yes, today is my birthday! I can't believe I am on my second half of my life, but Christ has blessed me so much and I am so thankful for all my blessings, inluding this forum.

[Sally]

Yep, that birthday cake means it's 'Happy Birthday, Deborah!'

Everyone has to work out the banding system that works best for them, because if it doesn't suit your style/system, you won't keep up with it, and record keeping is imperative.

Every bird in my collection has some sort of identification. Birds I have bred have closed NFSS bands, plus colored family bands. Birds I purchase have split aluminum numbered bands plus colored family bands.

Let's say I buy a pair of unbanded Strawberries. I will put my split aluminum bands on them, say SP 39 and SP 40 on their right legs. I don't bother with the year on these bands, because I have no idea how old the birds are. Then I put a say a green split band on their left legs. Once they have babies, each baby gets its own NFSS closed band on the right leg, plus a green band on he left leg. Once these babies are old enough to breed, they can be paired with any color except green. Originally, I had planned to use the two-color split bands for the next generation. However, NFSS now has these new little rubber bands, and it will be quite easy to put two bands on one leg, so that is what I will use.

For those who are handy with MS Office, you can make a spreadsheet in Excel. For those of us who aren't, there are several good breeding programs out there, especially if you have a lot of birds. I have Birds Evolution Pro, which is free, allows me to track pedigrees, and even allows me to track expenses (not sure I really want to know how much I am spending on these birds though!).

[lovezebs]

Sally
Thanks Sally.
None of us want to know how much $ we are spending on these little beauties.
I do tend to jot down price somewhere in tiny little numbers that no one can make out without magnification. Don't know why really 'cause I never actually add them all up.
I will try and figure out something with the banding. I like the idea of little elastic rings. Just wonder if they won't cut off circulation, although I suppose they can make them loose enough.

~Elana~

[finchmix22]

lovezebs
I am concerned about the plastic rings too. I guess is they're flexible, they would not hurt the finch, but all I can think about if that makes the ring more likely to get caught on something in the cage. So, I'll stick with the split plastic bands for family ID and NFSS closed bands for babies I breed. Hmmm, so many choices and decisions....

[shillelagh]

Hi guys, although new here, I had to comment on the elastic leg bands that I ordered from the NFSS. The package says they are made by "Rings 4 Wings" and are imported from Germany. I ordered 2 starter sets for my zebra finches in size 2mm. This starter sets only come with 2 bands of each color, though the picture shows 3. they were easy to apply, and after installing, slid easily up and down even my adult males legs, but resisted going over their "knee" joint. Sadly, every single black one broke as I tried to roll it up the tube on the applicator. The other colors were stretchier. When looking to order refills, I found that they cost The same as the kit with the applicator. +/- 6 dollars for 50 of one color. so far, I'd say easy to apply, look fairly comfortable, even with2 rings on one leg. these seem to be a nice way to identify birds /lines at a glance, and would be easy to remove. I like them so far.