Subject: [Tweeters] banding racing pigeons
Date: Apr 7 11:21:18 2012
From: tony m - amoares at msn.com
Regarding banding of birds. One aspect.
I breed racing pigeons and have banded countless baby pigeons. The bands are put on when birds are young and feet still small. The bird grows and the leg has enough room for the band to stay loose.
I'd learned that as birds get older their legs sometimes get bigger and the band gets very tight. Iexperienced this and did what the veteran breeders told me which was to cut off the band.
The next time I saw it the bird was not so old and decided to inspect a little closer.
What I found was that the natural shedding of skin over the years had stuck to the inside of the band. Once it started all future skin, shed or rubbed built up on the band. This, in time, did make the band very tight and cause the leg to swell. Even though the birds took regular baths it remained. It became quite a solid inner ring. The solution, i used some kind of pick, even a tooth pick to gradually scrape it loose. Even the bent end of a paper clip. This did the job and I've never cut off another band.
Birds in the wild, however, don't get this personal attention.
I wonder if bird banders are aware or have ever even seen this phenomenon.
I welcome any and all comments.
Tony Moares