Hi - new Gloster canary

[BOF33]

Hi JBeaker.
Welcome to the forum.
I think you might have been done,

I think that is a bit harsh Loz. At least give the guy the benefit of the doubt.

Spoke to breeder. He has an old ring on.
I feel confident in this and speaking to him has made me feel better. He seems really genuine so I Am not too concerned.

I'd go with your gut on this one. Some breeders run out of leg rings or have a bad breeding season, so may not order new rings.

[Canary]

I have never heard of a breeder putting old rings on young birds, especially 2008 rings on 2014 bred birds. I have heard rumours of people putting last years rings on current year birds to enter them in old bird classes at shows although you can sometimes tell if they are unflighted by their wing flight feathers and tail feathers.

I think the best indication would be the birds legs. If it was bred last year then the legs would be smooth. I was going to say pink, however, if it is a dark feathered bird then it may have dark legs. An older bird with a 2008 ring would normally have scaley legs (again the seller could have put some products on the legs and this can remove the old scales).

The last indicator would be the feathers. A young birds feathers would most likely still be the nest feathers at this stage and it would be moulting. If it is a young bird it should not lose its tail feathers. If it was a 2008 bird the feathers would not be as neat and it will definitely moult its tail feathers.

[JBeaker]

Thanks for the responses.

I am confident in what the breeder said.
But the reason I took a closer look at the ring was because of his feet.. They looked a bit odd, like that of an older bird, mentioned this and the guy said probably due to being in and out of the breeding nest.

He will be about ready to moult now right? Will look out for tail feathers.

[TomDeGraaff]

Hello there !