Open leg band

[Iago]

My wife and I were playing with Petrie tonight and I happened to notice that he had an open leg band with only one letter followed by four numbers. This seems a bit odd to me, both the open band and the atypical band number. Is anyone else in this same situation and any insight on what this could mean?

 

[DonnaBudgie]

My wife and I were playing with Petrie tonight and I happened to notice that he had an open leg band with only one letter followed by four numbers. This seems a bit odd to me, both the open band and the atypical band number. Is anyone else in this same situation and any insight on what this could mean?

A lot of the answer depends on whether you reside in the US.
If you are in the US:
Breeders put closed bands on the baby birds' legs at a very young age when the foot will go through the band without harming it. Closed bands are used to identify birds that are domestically bred rather than wild caught.

Open bands can be placed on the legs of birds of any age so they serve a different purpose. If a bird was imported into the US, it was held in a USDA quarantine station for a period if time and an open band was put on its leg with "USDA" and numbers on the band OR if the quarantine station was privately operated the codes are different. If you google "band on pet bird leg" you will see many sources that will tell you how to read the codes on a bird's open leg band.

Open bands are also sometimes used to identify the bird's sex after testing:
Right leg male
Left leg female

The idea of leg bands, especially closed ones, makes me feel oddly claustrophobic. I suppose birds don't feel this way but for this and safety reasons I would want to have any such "jewelry" on my birds' legs removed, but only if it can be done safely by an avian vet.

Let us know if you figure out the codes on your conure's leg band

 

[wrench13]

Leg band codes mean exactly zero, except to the breeder of record. NO standardization, regulations or laws about them Split ones have astronomically low chance of catching on something. We had ours removed - Salty started to play with his, but make sure to have your bird chipped if doing that. And make sure your vet has full ID info on your parrot.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Leg band codes mean exactly zero, except to the breeder of record. NO standardization, regulations or laws about them Split ones have astronomically low chance of catching on something. We had ours removed - Salty started to play with his, but make sure to have your bird chipped if doing that. And make sure your vet has full ID info on your parrot.

The most thorough source I read that actually gave specific codes on open leg bands for birds that had been quarantined upon entry into the US was January 2023 article on The Happy Chicken Coop website, How to read a bird band- a handy guide.
How old is your conure?

 

[Iago]

The most thorough source I read that actually gave specific codes on open leg bands for birds that had been quarantined upon entry into the US was January 2023 article on The Happy Chicken Coop website, How to read a bird band- a handy guide.
How old is your conure?

We got him a little over a month ago and they thought he was about 10 months old at the time.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

We got him a little over a month ago and they thought he was about 10 months old at the time.

Just a baby! The quarantine band wouldn't apply because they stopped importing birds a long time ago. I would ask his avian vet about the band

 

[Iago]

Just a baby! The quarantine band wouldn't apply because they stopped importing birds a long time ago. I would ask his avian vet about the band

That is what I figured and why I thought the open band was so strange. We'll see what the vet says