IMHO, leg bands are a waste of time and money much beyond at a Breeds' facility as their use is primarily keeping track of which baby goes with which parent.
Great advice above and worth noting...
Again IMHO, Microchipping Mid-to-Large provides you a clear statement of ownership and age. The ownership part has become very important as in a Court of Law, it is the one means of Identification that is accepted in all of North America and in all Countries that follow CITES guidelines.
Regarding age, North America three and a half years ago followed CITES in the classification of all Amazons and near all Macaws designated as endangered Parrots, which require that all chicks born after the date enacted must have a Hatch Certificate. At this point, the document has not developed into a specific formal form, but there are specific things that must be included on this document: Species of each Parent, the hatch date of the chick, it's species, DNA Sex of the chick, complete contact information of the Breeder, including full name, address and phone number (and State /Federal ID Number if a business or Not for Profit ), date of ownership transfer and full name of individual /organization (see above). This document is a traveling document, which is provided at each point of transfer for the life of the Parrot. At each point of transfer the original travels with the Parrot and a copy staying with the seller.
I strongly recommend that a copy of this document be provided to your Certified Avian Vet to become a permanent part of your Parrot's medical file. FYI: Most Avian Professional Clinics are including a photo (taken onsite) of the Parrot and it appears on page one of any document specific to your Parrot when printed. With a young Parrot it is important to update the photo every couple of years as during that first five to eight years they can change coloration and clearly size.
The combination of your Parrots medical file and the Microchip becomes proof of ownership for travel documents.
NOTE: Your location is a hotbed for Black Market Parrots coming in from Mexico and although having a detailed document set is at this moment, not critical, with the passing of each year, it will become ever more important. When you are traveling near the boarder, it would be wise to have a base document set with your Parrot.
Welcome to Parrot Forums and being owned by a Macaw.
