question for bird owners

[Jenn]

I'm looking to adopt a Quaker Parrot female. The current owner, who rescued her a couple months back from a lady who was going into the hospital, says she is 2 years old. Is there any way to tell with more certainty how old she may be? Her band has 102BBM on it, and if those numbers respresent a date, then she is much older than 2. She looks healthy, and is very social, but I do want a younger bird that will be with me for years. Any suggestions? Thank you!

 

[Ash]

Apparently, this group on yahoo exists to help people track their bird bands. I don't know how legit or accurate it is, but it'd be something to look into. I can't find anything online about how to read bird bands. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/LegBandNumbers/join and if the numbers are a date, (assuming that would mean Jan of 02) the bird is only 8 years old and still has a good 20 years ahead of her if kept properly.

 

[Jenn]

Thanks, Ashley, I will check out the site and see if I can learn anything

 

[Brittney]

I found this site. This could help?

http://www.birdsnways.com/wisdom/ww5eiii.htm

 

[Jenn]

Thanks, Brittany, that does help, but I'm not sure if the numbers on the band are strictly for identification purposes only, or are they a date of birth...? More reading to do.

 

[Twilight Chinchillas]

The letters BBM are the breeders initials, and the letters should be how many birds have been bred at their facility/home. Since that's the order. The year would come after all of those, and often with initials for the state they were born in. For example mine were GFA 25 WA 05....
GFA was for Glimmer Flights Aviary 25 was for the 25th bird hatched here, WA for Washington and 05 for 2005.

If you don't want a long term commitment I'd maybe suggest a lovebird, but even they can live 10-12 years on average. I have a 12 yr old lovie still going strong.

 

[Jenn]

Thanks Christine, we bring home the parrot tomorrow and I am sooooooo excited. I'll try and get a better look at her tag then, since it seems we're missing some of the tag #. I am totally in it for the long haul. I was so bonded with my cockatiel that had died last summer from a huge tumor. I had only had her for less than a year when she died. We were told this bird is 2 but didn't know if the #'s on the tag said otherwise. Your explanation really helps and I'll take a better look tomorrow and see if I can figure out just how old she is and I hope she is with me for a long, long time. I have 4 parakeets now, but they came from a petstore and I didn't make enough effort to bond with them. The females are not tame at all, but the males are more social with me. But not like the tiel was, and this quaker is very social and took to me right away. I just hope she'll bond with the rest of the family too. Again, thanks for your help

 

[Ash]

Well like I said, Jen. Even if the numbers were to mean she's 8, she's still got a good bit ahead of her. I saw the lifespan is 20-30 years for a Quaker.

 

[3CsMommy]

You may want to check state laws on ownership, since she's a Quaker and you're in a cooler area of the country. Some states are outlawing or attempting to outlaw Quakers b/c of irresponsible people letting them "free" when they got sick of their birds/accidental escapes contributing to breeding populations beginning in the wild. NY has a surprising number of Quaker flocks (http://www.brooklynparrots.com/2005/03/what-are-wild-parrots-doing-in.html ) and there's legislation in process on the state level here. Don't know what WA has done, but since you already have a Nutria problem, I'm sure there's some kind of invasive species legislation in the works somewhere.

 

[Jenn]

You may want to check state laws on ownership, since she's a Quaker and you're in a cooler area of the country. Some states are outlawing or attempting to outlaw Quakers b/c of irresponsible people letting them "free" when they got sick of their birds/accidental escapes contributing to breeding populations beginning in the wild. NY has a surprising number of Quaker flocks (http://www.brooklynparrots.com/2005/03/what-are-wild-parrots-doing-in.html ) and there's legislation in process on the state level here. Don't know what WA has done, but since you already have a Nutria problem, I'm sure there's some kind of invasive species legislation in the works somewhere.

Thanks, I have been doing a lot of reading and found info about states that do ban these birds, and my state is not on the list.

Ash, hopefully she will live to 20 or 30, but I thought I had read an average of 10 to 15 years for a captive bird, and the longer years were for wild birds. I'll have to recheck that. But I do want this bird to be with me for years and she comes home today and I'm very excited! I also have been doing research on the bands and the numbers may not necessarily mean a birthdate. I only got a quick look at the band the other day and will take a more indepth look today to see what I can learn.