Aussie Finch Forum

Just wondering how the whole leg ring thing works with birds that need DNA testing ?

Conures for example are close rung so you can visually see the males from females ( 1 ring on boys 2 on girls ) ( this is on my current pair) soooo since they need to be close rung while in the nest this means before DNA test.

Confused myself now ....what is the best method for permanent leg ringing so as to be able to identify who is who without having to catch them ...

Buy two colours of rings, eg blue & red, make sure they are numbered the same, put two rings on each bird, blue ring #1 on right leg, red ring #1on left leg. when the results come back for ring #1 simply remove the offending ring, if it's a male cut off the red ring, female cut off the blue ring. Just a side note, blue ring is on the right leg because men are always right

Oh hahahahahaha " stopping for air " hahahahahahaha you say the funniest things and we all know men are seldom right thanks for the info so how do I cut off the offending ring ???
Honestly Im not real comfortable with using pliers etc around the birds thats why I thought close rings would be best .

You can get ring cutters that are a bit like pliers with a wheel on the top that cuts the ring, but if their going to be sold I wouldn't worry to much about it. With birds I keep, I find I can teel them apart after a while, each have their own character, & slight differences in feather ( Green-Cheeks for eg. one might have a little more red or more intense red on the belly). The only other surgestion I have would be to use a closed ring on all birds (what ever colour the current year is), & put a split wedding-band ring on either the male or female, this way you've got permanent ID with the closed ring, & can tell them apart as one will have an extra ring. Still have to use pliers, but not as much.

If you get them sexed while still in the nest or being handreared, it is much easier to ad or remove the ring than when they are independant as they are easier to hold, particulaly while handrearing.

I'd go with the split ring as the 2nd ring if you want to be able to tell the males and females apart. I saw the ring cutters in a catalogue yesterday, they're not that expensive at arounf $15. Not sure how good they are but should probably get a pair incase of an emergency.

Really not looking forward to ringing them at all but it is a necessary evil I guess . Cant I just tie a ribbon around their necks in corresponding colours just joshing its like tube feeding its just gotta be done

It's fairly easy to ring, as long as it's done at the right time during development. And your right, it is necessary. I once nearly lost my GCC hen after I found her ring was caught in a piece of wire. Managed to get to her just in time thankfully. It served as a lesson about the dangers to birds in an aviary that we otherwise wouldn't think are an issue.