Weird leg band on Senegal - any ideas?

[senegalmom]

Hello,

I have had one of my Senegal parrots over 21 years. He came to me as a full adult, from a bird store in San Diego, CA. I have tried to research his weird leg band in the past with no luck, and recently wanted to try again because I would really like to have some idea of how old he is. His band is a silver metal, closed band, with only the letters CJ engraved on it, and 3 numbers. I have no idea about the CJ. From what I've read about bands from many websites, they have at least 3 or more letters. I haven't read of any with only 2. CJ is not a US state. I looked up CJ avian breeders and found 2, but they are both in other countries and my understanding is if he was imported he would have a USDA code on his band as well. I read that even private import companies still use at least 3 letters. On the Leg Band Registry I also found a CJ Aviary but the registry says their bands are black and their code is CAJG. I've contacted them to try and double check. Does anyone have any other ideas? Thanks!

 

[saxguy64]

Yeah, leg band information is spotty at best. Unfortunately, there really is no standard, or at least hasn't been for many years. What's on them is basically arbitrary info that the breeder uses. The letters could refer to the breeder's company name, or the initials of their own name, or their kid, or their dog... Something that has meaning to them to identify their birds until such time as they're sold. Some have reference to the state, typically those letters are sideways but not always. The numbers, same deal. Could be related to a date, or simply a clutch number and number of the baby, or some combination of them. If you maintain contact with that breeder where the original purchase was made, you're doing well, but after some length of time, typically parrots get rehomed, and that contact info is long lost.

I wish there was better info I could give you. I've been down that rabbit hole myself. I've managed a little information, mostly from two of mine coming via the original owners, through a local refuge, but have never been able to find a specific breeder. I wish you luck in finding some info of value. It's difficult for sure.

 

[wrench13]

My avian vet said its pretty impossible, since there is no nationwide standard for marking leg bands. 'Boats summed it up well.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Youve already tried hard...
I'll share my experience: local bird clubs are the best bet. Breeders (and their brands) come and go, and parrot-lover communities, as local as possible are most likely to be familiar with that. I found my Patagonian's breeder by scouring lists of clubs that were local to the area(s) which I suspected were his origin, and contacted them until I found her... a one-time breeder who would only have been known to local folks.