scary bird experience caused by leg band

So, first of all my new Kakariki boy is doing great he ADORES showers! (Though at first he's terrified of the sound of the water)

But today my mom yelled for me in my sister so we rushed into the room the bird was and found him squealing and screaming his head off. I freaked out and tried to help him (I though his foot was stuck) and he just bit me a bunch. I tried getting his foot off the cage and realized his foot wasn't stuck. He kept flying upward, stuck, screaming (and he.never screams!) And my sister said his leg band was stuck and got his foot off. He was taking a bath and his leg band got stuck around the cage door. I was so thankful he was okay because his screaming made me think he broke his leg! He lifted his foot a little afterwards like it was a bit sore but his foot seems fine. Is a leg band very uaeful? How much is it to get it removed? The weird thing is the other day I posted on a let band topic ajs said nothing bad has happened with his leg band.
(Sorry for misspells. I'm on a phone and its hard to correct things)

not worth losing your bird over! they can hang themselves on the band i know someone who lost their pet that way poor thin! you can remove it ourself with wire cutters its extremely expensive to have it done i had to remove my lovebirds band cause my other lovebird wouldnt leave it alone and she really hurt him by pulling on it. my mother held the bird still in a towel while i cute the band with wire cutters it was fairly simple.

Well, we had our linnie's leg band removed ourselves, we just cut it off with apair of scissors while one of us held her still. It was yellow and plastic... I'm not sure if you can cut metal bands off yourself, is it metal? Also, a leg band is useful if you want to keep track of which parents it has bred from. Since you haven't bred him then it won't really be of much use.

also that happened to her as well, her leg got stuck in the cage bars the second day we had her :/

my birds band was metal and very thick thats why we used wire clippers and we had very good wire clippers if you dont have good ones dont do it because if you only get the band half cut it will be sharp and could harm your bird in other ways as well

I agree, pet bird leg bands (most especially the metal ones) should usually be removed but in my opinion only by someone very experienced or by someone extremely careful with a steady hand and observant eye, while someone else properly restrains the bird.

A slip could mean a severe injury or a cut off toe, foot or even a leg possibly (death could result).

If leg bands are not taken off, then one has to make sure there is nothing in the cage or in the cage design that the leg band could get caught on and a bird out of its cage should always be supervised.

A bird who escapes and flys off will of course have more chances to get the band caught on something in the wild which will most likely cause its death.

JKF8 said:

I agree, pet bird leg bands (most especially the metal ones) should usually be removed but in my opinion only by someone very experienced or by someone extremely careful with a steady hand and observant eye, while someone else properly restrains the bird.

A slip could mean a severe injury or a cut off toe, foot or even a leg possibly (death could result).

If leg bands are not taken off, then one has to make sure there is nothing in the cage or in the cage design that the leg band could get caught on and a bird out of its cage should always be supervised.

A bird who escapes and flys off will of course have more chances to get the band caught on something in the wild which will most likely cause its death.

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yes that is true and then what good would the leg band be anyways if the bird gets out like they said it would probably get it caught on something and die so you wouldnt need a band for identification then and thats the only purpose of it to identify the bird!

I personally am more concerned with birds surviving if they escape than I am in getting them back.

Hopefully if they did escape without a leg band on for identification, a more careful person than I would find them and give them a great home. Its a gamble either way actually.

Yikes! Get that stupid thing off his leg! Next time, you might not be so lucky and he might get hurt.

If you take him to a vet, it shouldn't be that expensive to have it removed. Probably just the cost of the visit. But it needs to be removed, and I personally just think it should be done by someone who really knows what they're doing.

I'm glad to hear your birdie is doing okay though.
Just get that band taken off.

My vet took the band off for me during our first visit with no extra fee.

Reading these posts show that a lot of people still don't really know why we use leg bands on captive birds.

I breed Green Cheek Conures and band all my babies. Sure it helps me identify each baby, but I could (I do) use colored plastic removable band for that purpose. I have different colors that help me identify the babies from far away so I don't have to really read each number on the permanent band, which are small. So until they go home, they have 2 bands (one on each leg)!

Here is why every responsible breeder band their babies:

1) Many states and the federal government require permits to transfer certain species of birds into a state as well as breeding or owning exotic birds.

One of the requirements for obtaining a permit is a bird's band number as it represents proof that a bird was either legally imported or domestically bred. Even though a few states will accept other forms of identification, such as a microchip or DNA fingerprint, but most still require a leg band.

Therefore, removing a legband may present problems in the future, if a bird owner wants to move to a different state or when trying to sell a bird to someone out of state.

2) From an Aviculture point of view it will prevent inbreeding should you have to relinquish your bird. Big breeders raise huge amounts of birds that will be sold to big chain pet stores and you don't want your bird to breed with a relative. You could give your bird to someone who has a sibling and decide to breed them (or the birds decide to breed anyway and Oh! they are so cute with their little eggs, we'll keep them!).

3) Wild bird banding is used to study behavior, migration, longevity etc. Wild bird banding is a non-invasive, long-term method of observing and studying birds without interfering with their natural behavior.
Captive bred birds that escape without a band will breed with wild birds and change the natural behavior pattern by bringing what was learnt in captivity (which can be detrimental to their survival), but nobody will be able to identify it for what it is, a captive bred bird.

4) In case of an Avian epidemic, I want to be able to locate my birds wherever they may be.

What you should have on a band: Breeders initial, State, Date of Hatch and number relative to how many birds was bred and what number he is.

I think the most important is for breeders to have a perfect fit for the specie they are banding. Many times, you will have breeders cutting corners by buying bands that can fit many species but will end up too big or too small and creating problems. Or by not putting the year of hatch on them so that they can be used year after year! It is important to know your bird's age!

I have 1 Pionus who does not have a leg band. I got her from a man who has had her since a baby and she is 14 years old. I have no info about her. Is she really that age? Are her parents still alive? Did they have a genetic problem? How can I avoid a genetic problem or improve her life if so? I am not breeding her, but if I was, I would not want to get her a mate from the same breeder/parents!

5) A closed leg band shows that the bird was bred in captivity and not acquired wild which is illegal.


Leg bands are not just there to cause an accident. I discourage the people buying my birds to remove them .They are there for a valid purpose.

the benefits are there of course but it IS very dangerous many things can go wrong and if your bird looses its life over it is it really worth it? NO i say dont band your bird is having a problem with it and could injure himself or worse!

In this case, the risks outweigh any benefits. The OP's bird has already had a bad experience with the leg band and was nearly injured. This could have been a lot worse. So I still say that it should be removed ASAP. It would be heartbreaking to read that the poor bird got its leg caught on something and then seriously hurt itself when it panicked and started thrashing around. Or worse.

Also, like someone else said earlier, if the bird ever does escape, I would be most concerned on whether the bird can survive. Maybe that leg band wasn't fitted right, but it has already got the bird's leg caught on something and it would probably happen outdoors too. A pet bird already has a very low chance of survival in the wild as it is, since it doesn't have its natural survival instincts anymore and this isn't its natural habitat. But having a poorly fitting leg band is making things even worse. At the end of the day, you have to think about what is best for the bird.

Like I mentioned, a properly fit band is crucial. In the case that it is not, it is best to have it removed.