Custom leg band idea, do you think it's a good one?

[Sammbalina]

I had an idea for a legband, mostly for my geese, but could work for any bird I would think... I can't use zipties for my geese, they pulled on them and stretched them until they broke, may have to rethink them for my ducks too, as theirs also didn't last a year. I'm trying some that are a bit heavier duty than the first ones I tried so we'll see how they last, though. I want leg bands that will STAY, so I thought about metal legbands, but most that I can find are "trophy" leg bands and are for making a replica for hunting, or look really thin and might cause damage to their legs. My idea is to get ring blanks, stamp them myself and then bend them to fit around their legs. Can anyone see where something like that could possibly be an issue?

 

[cavemanrich]

I would totally avoid metal ones,, unless aluminum,, and all edges are rounded. This make them light, and easily marked /engraved with ID#
I think you should consider larger size zipties. Some of those I use in my shop/garage, It is a slight challenge to clip off.. Yes wire cutter does the job,,, but a goose bill is not equal to wire cutter.


WAISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Sammbalina]

I think you should consider larger size zipties.

How am I supposed to identify each separate bird? All of the larger zipties are too big to put pony beads on for color coding purposes, and the only larger ones I've seen are all black, and even if I could find other colors, I would quickly run through them as I have 7 adults already and am planning to keep a few from this years babies and I'm hoping to find a third breeder to source at least a trio from. I don't want to have to put 3+ zipties on each bird in order to ID them. I need to be able to identify each individual bird with some sort of code or preferably their names so I know who I should and shouldn't pair up for breeding season, and I can't do that with plain black zipties.

Ring blanks come smooth and rounded and are easy to stamp and shape, and are usually made from aluminum. I actually saw a guy on Youtube after I posted the original post that used scraps of diamond plated aluminum. He cut it into strips and then debured with a rasp until the edges were smooth, then stamped and rounded them. I'm currently looking for a source of aluminum bars that are thin enough to bend and about 1/2 an inch wide, I'll cut to length and debur the cut edges with either a rasp or my dremel. If I can't find something I'll just use actual ring blanks. I don't think I'm comfortable going as far as he went and cutting them from scrap sheet metal... He had been using them for over 5 years with no issues, so I think I'm going to give it a try. I'm tired of replacing zipties and they are just not working for me. And if these work I will likely do the same for my ducks...