Lost Birds

BillsBirds · Feb 24, 2012

I have heard of so many lost birds recently. They are flyig out of our homes so frequently. PLEASE get your bigger birds microchipped! The chip is about the size of a grain of rice, and put under its skin on its back. Your vet can do it. They cannot chip smaller birds. Leg bands are just about useless for identifying a birds owner. Unless the bird is brought to your vet, and they have a record of the band number. But, if your bird is chipped, anyone who scans the chip will get your information, anywhere in the world. Of course, as long as you've registered the chip, and keep the info current, if you move or change phone number. When I worked in Animal Welfare, I cannot tell you how many dogs, cats & birds were returned to owners because they had microchips. And stolen animals can be returned to owners by having chips. It does not hurt the bird, and will more than pay for itself, if your bird gets back to you.

Spiritbird · Feb 24, 2012

Bill do you know how big the bird should be before they could microchip. It must be in gms. of wt. right??

Mare Miller · Feb 24, 2012

I was driving home from town 2yrs. ago and found a banded pigeon walking in the road. She was in my lane so I stopped, then proceeded, very slowly to drive up to her so she would fly off. Well, she didn't. I drove all the way over her and looked in my rear view mirror and she was continuing her walk down the road!
I brought her home, she seemed very healthy and I found her owners on line, through the number on her band. Are parrot bands that different?
She was a young racing pigeon, on her way home. She had gotten tired and then disoriented.

roxynoodle · Feb 24, 2012

That would be good to know.

Spiritbird, since I'll be at the vet again tomorrow, I can ask.

Safira · Feb 24, 2012

Mare Miller said:
I was driving home from town 2yrs. ago and found a banded pigeon walking in the road. She was in my lane so I stopped, then proceeded, very slowly to drive up to her so she would fly off. Well, she didn't. I drove all the way over her and looked in my rear view mirror and she was continuing her walk down the road!
I brought her home, she seemed very healthy and I found her owners on line, through the number on her band. Are parrot bands that different?
She was a young racing pigeon, on her way home. She had gotten tired and then disoriented.

Parrot bands can say pretty much anything the breeder wants. The problem is there is no database of them. So a vet office can't look them up (i'm not sure if this is true for wild-caught banded birds.)

For example my macaw says REB 0019 .. There is no way to know what that means without a national database that tracks breeders and their banded birds. I think there SHOULD be something like that, I mean otherwise what's the point? But there isn't yet.

Now my vet has the number down, in case my bird is lost in this area and someone calls the vet's office. But that relys completely on someone calling the vets office.

roxynoodle · Feb 24, 2012

Apparently the wild caught birds can be traced somewhat because the vet did Pete's. But, that doesn't tell anyone who his owner is. Yes, if someone called my vet's office, they have the band numbers recorded, but that's about it. And I don't know how well my parrots would let a stranger hold their leg and look at the band anyway.

BillsBirds · Feb 24, 2012

I do not know if there is a minimum weight for chipping, but, conures are about the smallest that I have known to be chipped. And homing & racing pigeons are banded specifically to trace their owners because they travel so far from home. I have tried tracing leg bands on parrots, and the best I ever did was to find the original breeder. As said, there is no database for bands. Wild bird bands are traceable because that is why they are banded; to track their movements. Even if it were possible to trace back leg bands, I would still microchip my bird. The band could be taken off, but a chip is forever.

Mare Miller · Feb 24, 2012

Wouldn't it be great if we could buy bands for our birds, (distributed and applied to the leg by your vet), that have their name and phone# of their people, on them? Like they sell in the pet shops for our dogs!

Safira · Feb 24, 2012

Or have the chips in the band! But there are some who can remove their bands, or someone might remove it like bill said.

Remy · Feb 24, 2012

How much do they generally cost? I was thinking of getting one for Puck. He would probably let anybody steal him.

Mare Miller · Feb 24, 2012

I guess I'm naive. I wasn't thinking about my bird getting stolen, just lost. Anybody wanting to steal Amigo...would,,,beee,,,,sorrrry!!!

roxynoodle · Feb 24, 2012

Mare Miller said:
I guess I'm naive. I wasn't thinking about my bird getting stolen, just lost. Anybody wanting to steal Amigo...would,,,beee,,,,sorrrry!!!

I'm kind of thinking the same unless you can manage to get the cages out the door without being bitten. Good luck with that with Rowdy and Pete, lol! Merlin might let you take her if she likes you.

Doris48 · Feb 24, 2012

My sons dog is microchipped and you can feel it, its not that small.I dont know if they use smaller ones for birds but if not then Id be afraid to put that in my bird.
His dog is an 8lb italian greyhound so yeah she is bony but still it seems more like the size of a capsule(pill) then a grain of rice.

HalfInsane · Feb 25, 2012

Doris48 said:
My sons dog is microchipped and you can feel it, its not that small.I dont know if they use smaller ones for birds but if not then Id be afraid to put that in my bird.
His dog is an 8lb italian greyhound so yeah she is bony but still it seems more like the size of a capsule(pill) then a grain of rice.

Did he have his dog chipped some time ago? I ask because any recently microchipped dog or cat I've come across, the chip was very small (like you said, grain of rice). Still fairly large by bird standards, mind you.

Enjru · Feb 25, 2012

When Coriander flew away, a couple of factors which helped him come home was that: a) he was micro-chipped AND b) my contact details were correctly registered.

Doris48 · Feb 25, 2012

She was a rescue and already microchipped but since she is only 2yo It couldnt have been that long ago..Where do they put them on birds?

roxynoodle · Feb 25, 2012

I need to apologize that I forgot to ask the vet about it today. Merlin goes back next Saturday for another check up, and I will really, really try to remember to ask.

Remy · Feb 25, 2012

My mom's 6lb dog is microchipped, and it feels about like a grain of rice. I think it's migrated from where it was originally though, so I'm not sure where it is now. I think it might be possible for it to feel larger if the body forms scar tissue around it.

BillsBirds · Feb 25, 2012

They put the chip on their backs.

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Goffin Too...please talk me OUT of him...

Where do you order your birdie stuff?

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