I have 2 connure a green cheek and a pineapple bonded pair age 17

[JayeshR]

How can I take the leg ring off causing by baby issues. Vets £150 and risky anaesthesia.

Also my female has never laid eggs since we got her do they stop at age.12 and now 17.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Why, exactly do you want yo remove the band?
Anesthesia used just to immobilize the bird for things like this is very light and reverses quickly. It's not like surgery anesthesia that's very deep. The lighter the anesthesia the less risky it is.

Egg laying probably decreases as birds age (chickens for example) but there are albatross that still lay an egg and raise a chick when they're 70+ years old. They really don't know if and when birds stop laying eggs. It's a subject that's hard to study.

I looked up pigeons because people have kept them in captivity for a long time. Pigeons live about 15 years, sometimes more. They become less fertile after 8 years old but can still lay eggs into their teens but fertility declines.

At 17, your birds may not lay eggs. It's pretty elderly for breeding. If they've never laid eggs they're very unlikely to start now. How are you certain you have a female? They're only two ways to know for sure with most parrots- an accurate DNA test (mistakes are made) and laying an egg.

 

[JayeshR]

He got into a fight with his mate and hurt his leg i think due to leg band.

The female thrashed him as he could not move.

Was touch and go. Now recovered. 1 month later.

Aftet 5 years with us and and me and eife nursing him he now lets us stroke him , what a wonderful feeling.

We took him to vets today abd the guy scared us off then tried to fob us off to anotherone specialising in avian exotics so from £80 to £150 tried to charge us £55 consultation. We argued you could have told us on the phone and saved my wife a booked holiday.

In the end we decided not to bother removing, we cant lose him, hes so adorable.

And life is much better as he lets us pet him.

We now keep them caged for half to 3/4 of the day then let them come together. So far its working as they miss each other and thry both sleep in the same house together.

If they ever fight agsin i will have to keep them separated even though it breaks my heart as they are bonded.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Where I live in Maine, US, a an avian vet exam and consultation costs me $90 and an xray costs about $100. A band removal procedure would probably be at least $150 including the anesthesia, so the prices you were quoted were not really "out of line" for the "western world", but I realize that doesn't help if you can't afford it. Perhaps you could save up over a period of time and do it in the future.

Keeping them separated because of the band doesn't seem like an ideal solution. However, if they tend to fight, keeping them separated when not supervised may be the best thing you can do because they may still find a reason to fight after removing the band.

 

[JayeshR]

Thanks for the advice. The vet did say to us risk of death with anaesthesia gas which has put us off the idea.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Anesthesia is definitely risky. What's interesting though is that the risk of light anesthesia may be lower than immobilizing the bird for a procedure without it. The stress of being awake and being held firmly can cause sudden death even if done correctly. One of our members had his beloved Green Cheek die while his family members held him and trimmed his nails. I had a budgie die during a beak trim. It even happens to vets while trimming beaks and nails. It's not common but its a risk. Light anesthesia takes away the intense fear that can cause cardiac arrest so in that sense it's less risky but too much gas can absolutely kill them.