when do you band your young ones

Rayray · Post by **Rayray** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:46 am

i am curious when breeders band there young birds , here we band them at day 5 or 6 , the band is given out by a legal society . the band has a breeders code , year , serial number , and each year has a different color . Once on the bird you can't get the band of the bird .

ray

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 4:47 pm

I band my babies on day 6 or 7. Our bands sold by the national bird association (AACC here in Canada) and are a different colour each year as well. If breeders want their codes on they are included as well as the letters for the association, the year and a number for the bird. If the breeder does not want their code on the bands then the size of the band is printed on it. The AACC keeps a record of all breeders band numbers for all years.

Post by **Sally** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 3:11 am

In the US, the National Finch & Softbill Society sells closed aluminum bands to members--they are marked with NFS, the year, a number, and the size, but no breeder code. Each year has a different official color--2009 is gold. The NFSS band secretary is supposed to keep a record of which bands are sent to each member, so that someone can contact her to trace the breeder.

Several companies sell closed aluminum bands that can be marked with a breeder's code, but I don't know if they keep any records on those.

Most of my birds are too quick to abandon their nests if disturbed, so I did not use closed bands. I have started closed-banding on the day the babies fledge, using the next band size up. This procedure is allowed by the NFSS.

mickp · Post by **mickp** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 4:52 am

due to my birds all being aviary bred I cannot band them until they fledge and then I use split rings. a different color for each year

gomer · Post by **gomer** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 5:15 am

I band mine anytime from about 4 weeks to 6 months from fledging.When they start to look like adults they get banded.

williep · Post by **williep** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 3:08 pm

Same here, i use split band after when the birds are weaned. I use one for family colour and a different colour for each fledgling. With sexed birds I use sex bands to so some of my birds have 3 bands but they are small so doesn't bother them