Microchip anyone?

[thekarens]

Sammie isn't banded, so I'm considering having her microchipped. I'm a little nervous, she's only about 122g. What are your thoughts/experiences with microchipping?

 

[Sambamama]

Sammie isn't banded, so I'm considering having her microchipped. I'm a little nervous, she's only about 122g. What are your thoughts/experiences with microchipping?

I will be watching this thread with much interest too. If I take my bird with me out of the USA then I already know that he must have a leg band or a microchip. He doesn't have either right now.

 

[Sambamama]

Does anyone on this forum have a bird with a chip? What size bird do you have and did the chip ever give your bird any problems?

 

[Mariahh0721]

When i got anzu he was microchipped, it doesn't seem to bother him. I have no idea about what size it is, but I'm sure i can look. But he's a macaw so he is a larger bird. But i have never been able to feel it while petting him, or anything

 

[RavensGryf]

Good question. How small is too small of a bird I wonder. All I know is that the dog ones are huge. Grain of rice sized and needle for it to go through. Gotta imagine it's many times smaller for birds!

 

[thekarens]

Ugh, it's making me queasy thinking about it.

 

[Birdbrain91]

My B&G is micro chipped, the rescue did it a week before I brought him home. It doesn't seem to bother him.

 

[MikeyTN]

None of mine are microchipped and I don't want them to be either....Although my dogs are microchipped, I don't think I want to do that to my birds.....I watched as they microchip my dogs as I needed them to be microchipped due to them being huskies and they're know to run off as they've done countless times....

 

[Mike17]

Our corella will have to be microchipped before we move to Tasmania, as he has to come in as a restricted import as a companion bird. No doubt he'll be very unhappy about the process, but we have no choice. As it is, we have to give up one of our birds (the lorikeet).

 

[strudel]

I had my girl (galah) chipped. They have a new micro sized chip for little animals, it's smaller than the dog or cat ones. I posted about it at the time. If anybody's that interested, I can try to remember the details or find it again.

EDIT: here's the link, anyway.
http://www.parrotforums.com/questions-answers/21141-should-i-micro-chip.html

 

[mtdoramike]

Check with your vet, they should have the details and yes, if you plan to travel outside the USA you will need to either have a leg band made and attached to the bird, which usually runs about $15.00 depending on the material you choose and what you want stamped on the band or you can elect to have your pet micro chipped. This is to prove ownership as well as to aid in the recovery of your bird if it gets loose.

 

[henpecked]

I think birds need to be 100 grams or larger to be micro-chipped. I've had baby zons chipped for customers and the birds did not appear to notice afterwards.

 

[riaria]

All ours are microchipped - for identification purposes and so we can be traced if they ever escaped or are stolen. Since there's a possibility we might move abroad at some point in the future (within the EU so no problem bringing them along), I like having had the chipped so I can prove ownership and also prove that I've had them before any potential cites listing in the future. The Ducorps has no leg ring, and while the others do, my contact details can't be traced through the rings, and there's always the possibility of needing emergency removal of the rings, or even if they're stolen or found, that someone cuts them off. So I prefer having them microchipped as well.

Our African Grey (~440 grams) has a normal sized microchip (she was chipped before the tiny ones because readily available), but our little Meyer's (~110 grams) and Ducorps cockatoo (~400 grams) both have the new, really tiny micro microchip.

Any negatives with chipping (the very slight stress with the procedure, the very tiny chance of the chip moving) are by far outweighed by the positives, in my opinion.

(Ours didn't seem to mind the procedure, either!)

 

[Sambamama]

Thank you all for the great information!