Just Found out our new 'zon was wild caught :(

[IcyWolf]

We adopted a blue fronted amazon from a friend of ours about 3-4 weeks ago, they have had him for about 5 years and he has been cage bound the entire time since they were afraid of him. They were told he was about 7 years old when they got him so we were assuming he was about 12. He has come a long way in the short period we have had him, he now comes out of his cage every day, is quite talkative and is happily trying all sorts of new healthy foods. I looked at his leg band when we first brought him home and I noticed it was a rounded open band but I couldn't see anything imprinted on it. I figure that somewhere along the line someone put it on him as a tether band or maybe just for looks(some people just want their bird to have a band even if it serves no purpose). Upon closer inspection today we realized that it does in fact have an imprint and I am about 99% sure it is a quarantine band from Florida I feel so bad that he may have been wild caught. It's one thing when birds are born in captivity and that's all they know but it's just heartbreaking when you know that this bird was once wild and free and now he is living in our living room in pennsylvania. He is surprisingly calm for being wild caught and I am wondering if he wasn't the result of a nest raid, or maybe just years and years of being locked in a cage with no freedom has just broken his spirit. He does seem pretty happy here but it is still disheartening to know that he was imported. I have been looking online and I read that sometimes you can call the USDA for the state they came from and see if they still have any of the records from the import stations. Has anyone ever done this or know where I could get the necessary info to try? I am trying to at least find out what year he was imported so I can try and guess about how old he may be. We were told he was 12 but they stopped importing in 92 so he has to be at least 20. His band number is FBG-857, I know the first letter is for the state(florida) and the second letter is supposed to be for the specific quarantine station. I haven't figured out which one that is yet. If anyone has any tips for trying to get more info on him please let me know

 

[henpecked]

You won't get any real info from the USDA/FWS about quarantine bands. The truth about your bird??? he was probably a wild caught baby. Indigenous people usually "raided" know nest sites.. Sold the babies to a dealer. The dealer usually had contacts with an "Importer" who would buy the babies incountry. The importer would raise the babies to they where old enough to hopefully survive the 90 day quaratine. These birds where usually about 12-14 wks old(just weaned). Some birds would be shipped earlier if contracted to a private quaratine station that would handfeed babies. These where probably the better survival rates. Pet birds where also quarantined and recieved bands. I doubt that your now pet amazon ever flew free in the jungle and was has probably lived longer than his brothers and sisters who remained in the nest. It's uncommon to remove more than one baby per nest. The indigenous peoples who practiced this trade learned parrot behavior because they used them as a food source. The pet trade gave these amazon some value other than food. Just as breeders today know that handraised babies make the best pets, so did the peoples who caught them. There's no future in selling wild mature birds, no one would want them. Indigenous people usually have a great amount of respect for their world. Today these same peoples are making a living from ecotours and tourist nowdays because they realized that these birds and their habitat are part of their world. Not the thinking of today's throw away society. I'm very proud to have wild caught birds and value them. They are the true ambassadors for their species. It won't be long before birds with those bands will be a thing of the past, and so will be their pure breed genes. Probably said too much. Sorry for the rant.

 

[IcyWolf]

Oh don't apologize! That was really informative and oddly enough does make me feel a little better. I was assuming he must have been caught when he was a baby, I have heard stories of birds that were captured as adults and from what I have heard they tend to be quite neurotic and very ill adapted to captivity. This guy is shy but not at all aggressive and he has come out of his shell so much in just the few weeks that we have had him, I really don't think it will be too long before he trusts me enough to start stepping up off his cage. He has been cage bound for at least five years, probably more, it was so exciting when he first came out of his cage on his own and even better when he took his first flight. It's like he is rediscovering that he is a bird all over again and I can tell that it's really helping with his confidence

 

[henpecked]

My pet hen,Jake, is a wild caught baby, so is my wife's hen nape,Stacie. Both are the best ,well behaved zons you could ever hope to be around. I would consider that band a badge of honor.

 

[MonicaMc]

I know one breeder who prefers wild nandays over captive raised nandays in his breeding program. Apparently, the captive raised conures make horrible breeders where-as the wild caught ones breed at a much higher rate. Rather odd to hear, but I heard he was getting wild nandays from Florida where there is a flock living, since it's no longer easy to import birds.

It wouldn't hurt to try and call Florida's Agricultural Department, but you might not get anyway.


Tried to see if I could get any information, and it appears that someone was able to trace the band on their imported bird. Here's what it said.

DL Products Band-Import by Exotic Birds Import

And here's the leg band producer.
DL Products - Leg Bands, Bird Bands, Bird Rings


Don't know if they would have any additional information either... but for curiousities sake, it wouldn't hurt! In the least, you know your zon is at least 20 years old, possibly older, and if he could talk, he'd probably have some stories to tell!

 

[henpecked]

Yes wild caught (feral) nandays are available here in Fla. They sell for about 50$ each and seem to be indemand.There's no laws governing "nuisance exotics" and are considered pest.

 

[IcyWolf]

Thanks for the suggestions, I think I may call the ag dept in florida just to see what they say, worst case they will tell me the records are no longer available, best case they can tell me what year he came in. It doesn't seem like it could hurt to try.

We actually were just asked to take in 3 more amazons and I've been speaking with the woman for a few weeks now. Should be interesting having 6 'zons in the house!

 

[henpecked]

Oh , it will be.