FINCHforum

In preparation for the eventual arrival of chicks, I confess to being confused about band sizes. I'll be ordering from AACC and need to know what you knowledgeable people would order. I have Gouldian's, Societies and Zebra's. To my eye, the gouldians and societies sure look like they have the same size legs and feet but two different sizes are recommended.

Also, I confess to worrying about disturbing nests to band wee babies. Are there any problems associated with the removal of week old's to band and then put back? What is the ideal day to band baby gouldians? societies? zebra's?

Thanks in advance to any help you can provide!

Hi Randa! I moved this over to General Questions as it's not exactly about breeding; but rather more about banding babies.

thank you Liz.

Your welcome.

On the AACC website they do give the type of bird recommended for each band/ring size.

As for when to band - here's what I've found to work:

Gouldians - day 6 for Size C
Societies - day 12 for Size D (their parents pull off the bands until the last moment when they won't come off anymore)
Zebras - day 6 for Size C

The above is for CLOSED bands. Those are just the days that work best for me. You can try a day earlier and check the next day to see if they have stayed on or not. If they come off, I just keep rebanding each day until they stay on.

Usually by day 6 the parents are dedicated and will go right back when the chicks are put back. It should take less than one minute to band each chick - if you have all the supplies ready beforehand.

You can also order/use split bands when they fledge.

Hope that helps. If others have different practices - I'd love to hear!!