My birds band says FL?!?

[Viva]

The petshop which only sells birds told me my bird was from Orange County Ca. I got him in Los Angeles. His band says BR FL(sideways) 100.

I mention this because the vet said my Gringo has the body of a bird over 10 yrs old on the xray. My supposedly under 2 yr old canary wing brotegaris has possible heart disease, reproductive disease, and a hernia from inflammation in his abdomen from fluid pressure! I have been given baytril moloxicam and itraconazol in case it is fungus in his lungs as his voice changed. He is active and eats well! Drinks fine poop looks fine eyes and nose are clear. I almost didnt take him to the vet but he was sitting low with feathers puffed. Very subtle signs...

I am wondering if it is possible that my baby is actually old? The vet said it would be one of the biggest genetic deviation she had ever seen

 

[Viva]

The xray showed an enlarged heart no waist line and his fluid hernia build up is at his rear behind his legs. I thought Gringo was going to lay an egg but the results came back way worse
She said his slight struggle for breath could be from fluid build up but his voice change made her treat for asperigellous(sp?) as well. The bird is still in good spirits. Just with a funny voice..

 

[Viva]

She also mentioned how difficult it was to breed them in captivity and that she hadnt seen one in ten years!

 

[sunnysmom]

Poor birdie. I hope the medicine helps him.

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

Hm.. perplexing! A closed leg band is what it is.. an identification band. When I raised I ordered my bands with my initials, year of hatch and State. I vaguely remembered reading about these little guys and knew there was a breeder near south Florida. Here's a link to the page for the canary wings and to read more about the breeder click on "home". Nice website, MAP certified… she might be able to help you identify where your little guy came from.

Brotogeris Pricing & Availability - Brotogeris Parakeets for Sale - Shady Pines Aviary

 

[Amethyst]

So sorry to hear this! Pet stores can be so shady. There is a bird store in my area I plan on reporting because the conditions they keeps their birds in are horrific. They wanted to buy my boy Pirate from me the first time I ever went there. They knew he was a Buffons and would fetch a pretty penny, as would his babies if they were to breed him. I was appalled by the offer, I was only having his nails clipped and expressed no interest in selling him. He's not just a profit machine like they see the rest of their birds. I will never go back there again! Disgusting people. Disgusting store. I wanted to pull every last bird out of that place that very moment. The thing that disturbed me the most was you could hear tons of birds screaming from the basement... I could only imagine how many were down there and how horrible their conditions may be. Many times they will tell you whatever you want to hear just to get the bird sold. Then once you get them home there could be an array of issues. It's truly sad for both bird and owner (who assumes they have a healthy happy bird)

So sorry you and Gringo are going through this. Even if he is a an old man he is lucky to have you!

 

[Viva]

Wow it sounds like an asylum! I was walking the fshion district in downtown LA and saw an alley vendor selling about 20 ringnecks and a very sad lonely looking Amazon in a tiny cage. It haunts me.. where do you even report these people? Would law enforcement care?

I love the little guy/gal. I just would like to know what im dealing with here. A shady store? An old bird rehomed? Or a baby down on his luck? Lil bird has a dream life by the beach and eats shrimp and fruit everyday. Sings... his xray is sooo baffling!

 

[petiteoiseau]

Oh, my dear, please, please, please do not feed your bird shrimp! It's hugely high in cholesterol and that means liver problems, for sure!

 

[karen256]

Usually bands will have the year they were made printed on them, which gives the bird's age unless the breeder reused bands.
That band is a little unusual in that there's no year. It's entirely possible that your bird was a rehome of unknown age, and the store recognized the breeder initials on the band, but just guessed his age. But poor diets can cause a variety of health problems in relatively young birds. It's also possible that he had a very poor diet prior to you getting him.
I hope he does well. If it is aspergillosus, that is unrelated to age but would be from contaminated food, most likely raw peanuts.

 

[gibsongrrrl]

could the band number be referring to january 2000 with the number 1 and 00? wish there was a good way to track the band info.

 

[waterfaller1]

BR is the breeder, FL stands for Florida, 100 is either the chick number, or as Courtney said.

 

[Viva]

I cant believe the store would tell me he was born in OC and the band clearly says FL. I noticed after we brought him home but didnt think much of it until now...

 

[waterfaller1]

Well, it could be the truth. I live in OC in FL....

 

[Viva]

Oh wow! I never even thought of that!

 

[Mina'smom]

I was just searching for my little Mina's band info and came across this very sad story indeed. I rescued Mina my 2 year old U2 from an awful pet store!! She was being kept in a parakeet cage. He tried to tell me it was because she was a baby, but really? No room to move and that ridiculous parakeet perch stuck in there. I finished hand feeding her and got her out of that stink hole ASAP. Anyway she too has a band BR sideways FL THEN 3 numbers. I know for a fact she came from Florida because the store owner talked about going there to pick up her and 3 others. I think this place must be a living hell for birds!!! I wish I knew where it was. I would try to shut them down!!

 

[Daema]

My adopted Military Macaw, Scruff, has the same initials, BR FL. After a long long time someone else popped up on my thread mentioned Blue Ribbon Pet Farm based in Florida. Seems to be a fair match. If BR isn't the initials of the actual breeder name, but the initials of the aviary, Blue Ribbon would be a good fit.