A band, a bird and a beak

[zlatushka]

Friday has started to show increased interest in Sonnet's leg band, nibbling at it etc. At times I am worried that he may hurt her with all the "preening" or is it him trying to help her get it off? She skwirps and scoots away from him if it's too much, but I'm still a bit worried about it. I've checked her legs and toes and there isn't any injury that he's caused. Is this something that he'll just lose interest in? is there a way that I can help him to lose interest?

[linda040899]

Rachel,
Friday messes with the leg band simply because he can. He may or may not lose interest in it. Your avian vet can remove it if you consider it risky for Sonnet to have it on her leg when she's around Friday. The only thing I will say is that removing a band can cause injury to the leg. My daughter's Tiel needs to have her leg band removed and she's already been given that warning.

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Aw, Friday is so smitten by Sonnet! It reminds me of when I first introduced my birds to each other; from the moment they met, Milo could NOT keep his beak off Melody! And yes, he picked at her band. Why? Because it was there.

When she's had enough, she WILL stand up to him. She is, after all, a hen. That's what hens do. :)

[Susan27]

My vet removed leg bands from 2 of my lovies. Lucky for me, all went well.

Kiko removed hers herself. It freaked me out when I noticed Kiko's was gone...she didn't injure herself doing it, but I have terrible thoughts of what could have happened.

The vet told me she had seen some birds come in with infections because of things getting stuck between the bands and birdie legs.

I will always get leg bands removed.

[Janie]

Rachel, both of my younger boys had leg bands when I got them and I paid the vet, $20 per bird (:eek: ) to have them removed. Since I knew their breeder and hatch date, I decided to get rid of those bands.

[emmab]

mine both have bands that they often nibble at - I've had them for about 4/5 months now. I'm from the UK, what do the bands mean?
I've been told its ok to keep them on. Just curious really.

[Christine9]

I'm from the UK, what do the bands mean?.

It's something a breeder will put on the bird when it's a baby so that they can keep track of the babies. Usually it will have the breeder's initials, a number unique to that bird, and sometimes (here in the United States) the state abbreviation from where the breeder is located. Or, like my lovie Coconut, instead of the state, it has LBS (because the breeder is a member of the African Lovebird Association).

Only two of my birds have bands- my oldest (my tiel Max) and my youngest bird. I've never had a problem with Max and his band in the 5 years I've had him. I'm sure it is possible for something like food to get stuck in between the band and the leg, but as long as the bird gets frequent baths it shouldn't get to the point that it would get infected.

[emmab]

thanks! :=)