Feather to Feather Online

I have been banding all of my babies with closed bands however I WILL NOT band ANY parrot with an open band. Years ago we used the open bands on older chicks or new adults that we bought, until one of my favorite cockatiels almost lost a foot. Her open band somehow got tangles in one of the bars of the cage and she couldnt move, she protested LOUDLY. haha not that I could blame her any. I am just glad that we were both home and knew how to calm her enough for one of us to open the band and release her leg. Poor thing. Since that day we refuse to use any form of open bands EXCEPT for the import bands on the older imports. Another thing that I find myself wondering when it comes to bands is why in the world do some people cut them off IF they arent bothering the birds ?? I can see it if the band gets to tight or causes a problem with the leg that it is on however 'just because' I dont understand. Say we have 4 Umbrella Cockatoos all about the same size and feathering and they are all in such a bad mood that we have to grab and shove them into their cages to stop the fight, under those circumstances bands make that job a lot easier. Grab the guilty party glance at the band number and put the right pair together and not 2 males who still want to kick butt. lol I have seen that happen. Right now its funny, back then it was HOLY CRAP WHAT DID WE JUST DO ???? They were Lutino Cockatiels and they looked almost identical...red eyes and all. What a LOUD mess. I still dont know what they were fighting about, because they were both males I sometimes think. lol Had to be a guy thing.

When I started this blog it was so that I could help someone identify one of my chicks using the band ID of F2F and as of 2010 they will all be red in color whenever possible, but I kind of got side tracked didnt I ? It has been a VERY long month which I really prefer not to relive. Bruce got very ill and spent 2 weeks in ICU and I had to pick up the slack which included feeding and watering 2 birds who would rather that I lived on another planet. I have to laugh at Smokey and Oscar tho. Smokey ( a 3 rescued footless Congo Grey ) will sit on my hip in bed to watch TV late in the evening but I had best not move ot try to pet him or its where his beak puts pain in my fingers or what ever part of my skin is closes to him. Hows that for a strange duck ? Now Oscar is a rescued 20 year old male Severe Macaw who hates women. As soon as he puts his little eyes on me he pins them and starts screaming bloody murder. lol Its cute now that I know that its isnt just me but ALL human females. Just today I gave him a grape which he took and dropped in the blink of an eye to try to nail me with his beak. haha I was quicker than he was today. haha I glanced back a few minetes later and there he was munching on his grape. Goofy birds. If I get a chance I will write more tomarrow about Bruce and his weird heart. Till them dont let the Parrots Bite and not to much candy for them either.