Banding...
Why band?... By close banding, it shows the baby was hatched in captivity and helps stops poaching. Some birds can still be legally wild caught, and some can still be legally imported. Legally imported birds will go through a quarantine period and receive a quarantine band at a boarder crossing. Australia has a NO bird import/export law - all Australian species currently bred in captivity are from birds exported prior to the ban. It also allows for tracking a disease outbreak or tracing a familial line. Not all states have banding laws or require registered bands. New York and New Jersey require it and Colorado and California have banding laws as well.
There are 2 types of bands, open and closed. Closed bands are placed on a bird at 8-10 days of age. Don't be cheap - buy the proper sized bands for the type of bird you are banding. Too big, the band falls off or gets caught in toys and can break a leg. Too small, medical problems can occur. Bands should just fit over the foot joint at the above age but fit loosely around the leg. These bands are permanent forms of identification. (See What's on a band) Open bands may carry breeder information but can also just be plastic color bands put on for visual ID in aviaries and for following family lines. All bands, whether open or closed, should fit completely closed loosely around the leg to prevent problems.
What's on a Band?... Bands contain valuable information if you know how to read them. They are made from metal, depending on the size of the band (and the type of beak) depends on the metal, but most are aluminum or stainless steel. Scarlet chested parakeets use a standard parakeet sized band of aluminum. Bands have 3 basic pieces of information.
First a band contains a series of numbers/letters OR the initials of the breeder. Depending on the state depends on which is considered legal.
Number/letter bands usually mean the band is registered with the banding company that produced them and can be tracked through them.
If you wish to track a band, there are only a few companies that produce bands, call them and they will pass your information to the breeder who will
then contact you. Even if it's not their band, they may recognize the style and can tell you what company to contact.
Initial bands are not traceable, and thus not legal in some states. Breeders can opt to have the state initials added.
Second a band contains a personal ID number for your bird. Each band is numbered sequentially and never used twice in the same year.
(Hint: Birds hatched later in the year have a higher number)
Third a band contains the last 2 digits of the year. So you will always know the age of a banded bird.
There is no standard for bands, every company can do as they please, and every breeder has the right to put whatever they can fit on their bands. Often bands will contain miscellaneous letters/numbers that have no meaning to anyone but the breeder. It is up to YOU the breeder to know your state laws and follow them.
Two companies for buying bands are Red Bird Products and L&M Bird Leg Bands Inc. L&M has a nice guide for selecting different sized bands if you don't know what size you need. Both places also sell the plastic color bands for reasonable prices.
How to Band ? ... I like to weigh my babies when I band them. It gives me a good sense of how well they are growing and also tells me if they are ready to be banded. I have found the perfect banding weight is 16-18 grams, around 10 days old. In a small clutch, or really good parents, babies may achieve this faster. The reverse is true for a big clutch or poor parenting, you may need to hold off and try again. You can get a sense of how they are growing by checking on them after they hatch for the first few days. This is also important in case the parents aren't caring for them and you must pull them for hand feeding. But do your best NOT to disturb the parents too much or they may quit the nest all together!
NOTE: Parrots have zygodactyl feet. This means in a normal standing position 2 toes point forward and 2 toes point back. They do have the ability to bring 1 toe forward to stand 3:1 and they can balance on just 1 leg. You will often see the 1 legged stance when they are sleeping with the other foot pulled up into their chest feathers. Birds can survive with missing toes, feet and even legs.
Supplies laid out ahead : a gram scale, 2 containers with high sides and a top with good padding within (don't want to babies to get cold or jump out!) to put all the babies in before banding and another to weigh the individual baby, bands, sturdy toothpicks and some baby oil.
On a piece of paper have the band numbers already recorded and keep a pen handy to write the weights next to that number.
Pick a time when its quiet and hopefully the parents are both out. Offer them some tasty treats to distract them from what you are doing. If the hen refuses to leave the nest box do your best not to upset her.
Remove all the babies at one time to prevent constantly going into the nest and scaring the parents and place in the larger box.
Take a baby and weigh it. Record the weight.
Cup the baby gently in your non-dominant hand and use your thumb and forefinger or middle finger to gently hold out a leg.
Using your dominant hand, grasp the band between your thumb and either your forefinger or middle finger (whichever is comfortable) and gently guide the band over the 2 toes facing forward.
GENTLY work the band over the center joint. This is where you may need a little mineral oil to grease things up (but note - it makes EVREYTHING more slippery).
Slide the band back onto the 2 back toes. It may pop easily over those toes and up onto the leg. If it doesn't, GENTLY manipulate the toes through the band. Toes are very flexible. If you cannot manage it with your fingers use the toothpick between toe and band and gently pull forward to pop the toe through. Be careful not to stick the skin with the tip of the toothpick.
The band should fit loosely around the leg but not easily fall forward around the toes.
If you are using colored ID bands, repeat the above on the other leg to place the plastic band. The plastic bands are open bands and if you are having trouble sliding them on, you can use the spreader tool that comes with them to open the band and place it around the leg instead. Only put 1 band per leg, scarlets have short legs and too many bands can cause sores. You may also put the open color ID bands on adult birds because the band can be spread to put directly on a leg, in case you want to ID a bird that otherwise has no ID or to mark a family line.
CAUTION: Legs are VERY fragile and at this age can easily be broken. Do NOT over manipulate the leg to get the band on. If you are having trouble you may ask another person to assist though it can be more difficult trying to get around their fingers, especially if neither of you have done this before. If you are having trouble, take a break or move on to another. If a baby seems to become stressed, immediately put it down in a warm, dark area and let it recover.
If you are afraid you have broken a leg, or there is something wrong with the physical appearance of a leg, call your avian veterinarian and have the baby seen ASAP. Babies heal quickly and if treated immediately, its possible that you can correct a problem easily.
You will eventually find a system that works well for you and get "into a groove." You may never feel easy doing this, but you will get more comfortable every time you try. Don't worry if your metal band is upside-down, as long as its on it doesn't matter.