Cockatiel seems annoyed by leg band + tips on removal?

[Bekyro]

So I recently got to welcome a new member to my flock. First off, he’s amazing and I love him. But the thing I’m unsure about that is causing me to post here is his leg band. The leg band is not a permanent one and is instead a temporary one of plastic that folds around his leg twice and was placed there by the breeder. When I later asked the breeder over text while talking about how he was adjusting I learned he placed it there to mark him (if I’m not mistaken it was to mark he had a buyer for him) and forgot to remove it before I picked him up.

He seems annoyed by it and while it’s not constantly he does bite at it like around 10-20 times a day. I’m going to remove it and will be on the phone with the breeder during it to help guide me through it, I’m mainly posting here to hear if you guys have any tips on it and/or any signs I should be aware of that it’s a big bother and should be removed quickly as I’m not familiar with leg bands.

Currently I want to build up a bit of trust between us before I go ahead and remove it, although I will most likely aim to do it within the next few days.

Any tips will be greatly appreciated!


Lastly, an obligatory pic of the cutie, whom I’m thinking of naming Cin. He’s super sweet, gentle, adventurous and likes to sing

 

[onamom]

Congrats on your new baby and welcome to the forums! I highly suggest taking your bird to an avian vet to have the band removed instead of doing it yourself. Avian vets are very experienced with this and it normally doesn’t cost much at all.

 

[Bekyro]

Congrats on your new baby and welcome to the forums! I highly suggest taking your bird to an avian vet to have the band removed instead of doing it yourself. Avian vets are very experienced with this and it normally doesn’t cost much at all.

Thank you, I’ll look into it. Currently I’m at the stage that unless it needs to be removed quickly and is causing discomfort I would like to learn as much as possible and figure out my options. I want to make sure it’s the easiest and least stressful process for him

 

[onamom]

Absolutely. I think the vet would be the easiest and least stressful for him. When you can it’s better to have an “outsider” do the stressful things so the bird doesn’t associate you with a negative experience.

I had my bird’s band removed as a safety precaution because I wasn’t comfortable with the risk of getting it caught on anything. Only took the vet a couple seconds and was quick and painless for her.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Thank you, I’ll look into it. Currently I’m at the stage that unless it needs to be removed quickly and is causing discomfort I would like to learn as much as possible and figure out my options. I want to make sure it’s the easiest and least stressful process for him

I wouldn't do it myself for several reasons not the least of which is the risk of injuring or fracturing his leg. Small birds like cockatiels have such slender fragile legs. I fear that if he started struggling while you are trying to remove it his leg could snap. Yikes!