Banding Pigeons?

[CascadiaRiver]

My pigeons are for show purposes and I assume that they will require a leg band at some point. The pair we bought has metal ones on which I assume are permanent. Their baby is 3-4 days old and I have never put a leg band on a bird for longer than a few days for a chicken show or fair but I feel like it's kind of convinent to have have it on the bird constantly.

Where do I find a pigeon band, when do I band him, do I do it myself and what size band do they need? Any other info would be great! It's my first pigeon baby

 

[br0nc0]

Congrats on your baby pigeon!

I'm not sure what's the process where you come from, but here in Europe there are universal leg bands. They are made from plastic, there is a country tag on it, year of birth, size of leg band and a serial number so it's unique. We order them at our local associations once a year. The size of the band is usually defined in the breed standard, and you should put it on the baby pigeon within 6-10 days, depending on the speed of the growth. You will want to put it on as soon as possible, but not too soon since it still might slide off.

Above is a nice video explaining how to put a band on. I like to to it a day early so it's easier on the back toe. When I showed pigeons I put the band on pigeon's left leg and so the numbers were legible when the pigeon was standing (bottoms of numbers towards the ground), but that might be different where you come from.

 

[CascadiaRiver]

Thank you for the video! I will contact my 4H group on what kind of bands they use for their pigeons and see if they have a spare, this is probably my only baby for a few months. Is there a standard Book for pigeons like in chickens or are the standards online somewhere?

 

[br0nc0]

Well I'm not sure about the standards, you can probably find something on google... What breed of pigeons do you have?

 

[CascadiaRiver]

Well I'm not sure about the standards, you can probably find something on google... What breed of pigeons do you have?

Birmingham Rollers, the two parents have NPA bands on their legs from their past owners.

 

[br0nc0]

Well then I guess you need size 7, maybe 8 (less likely). Is there a band size number on the parent's bands? You could order your bands from the NPA, but they apparently only take orders of 50 bands and $20 minimum, and you don't need that many...

 

[CascadiaRiver]

Well then I guess you need size 7, maybe 8 (less likely). Is there a band size number on the parent's bands? You could order your bands from the NPA, but they apparently only take orders of 50 bands and $20 minimum, and you don't need that many...

Both parents are wearing size 7 NPA bands and I would ask my pigeon 4H group if they'd wan to go in and everyone pitch in for an order but so far in the five or six of us there's only 2 babies I think. I got some 25 cent chicken bands from another 4H member that look the right size, I'm going to try and band him at 8 days because I'm going on vacation right after that and I wont be home for 3 days and I'm almost afraid he'd be too big! He's such a good grower