How to identify my bird in an aviary ?

[Limy]

Hi,

I've got my first cockatiel around 2 months ago from a local breeder, we named it Mango ( so obvious but my daughter wanted that name). I'm guessing he is 6-8 months old, lived in an aviary before but after I brought him home he lives in our living room (we have high ceiling) on a good sized perch and freely flies inside the room.
Now, we have to travel overseas due to some urgency with in a month and have to leave him with someone. The original breeder is very kind to keep him in his aviary with other cockatiels while we're away. They are around 20 tiels in that aviary and he used to live there before.
My problem is how am I going to identify him on my return. I am planning to put a split aluminium ring on his leg. I started reading few forums but most people advice against leg rings as they are apparently dangerous for the bird. Now what are my other options, easy, doable and that doesn't harm Mango. Or is it okay to use split leg ring/band while he is in aviary with other birds as this is only for four weeks and I'll take it off as soon as we are home on my return ?
Also, he is semi-tame now, perches on our fingers, fly to us for food, calls us when he wants company and let us groom him which is really cute. Being in aviary again will undo all our hard work taming him but I've no other choice right now.

Thanks

 

[Limy]

Is it okay to dye crest feathers a bit? Any suggestions on unharmful dye that might last for 4-5 weeks ?

 

[T. gillii]

Food dye. A small dot on his crest. This may fade and need to be redone, so I would ask the breeder if he could do that every so often. I would also take photos of your bird from multiple angles to compare to.

 

[Limy]

Food dye. A small dot on his crest. This may fade and need to be redone, so I would ask the breeder if he could do that every so often. I would also take photos of your bird from multiple angles to compare to.

Thanks. I've taken photos and there's a unique heart shaped pattern on his back, which is really cute, not sure if many cockatiels have that kind of pattern.
I'm reluctant to ask breeder to do more especially anything out of the way. He is already helping me out and I don't want to risk him denying keeping Mango with him.

What food colour dye would be better. Are cake icing food colours okay or Natural Henna is okay . I know henna will last for 4 weeks without reapplication.

 

[Sparkles99]

Would an open band be safe?

 

[Limy]

Would an open band be safe?

I asked on Reddit and there was a suggestion that at a zoo they use zip ties on Budgies as a temporary leg band. Zip ties are light and easy to cut to remove.

I'm not sure if cockatiels can chew them to open and if it's toxic when chewed. I'm sure a zoo wouldn't use them if there any health issues.

 

[Shezbug]

There are safe temporary plastic bands you can get for temp ID purposes. They look something like these

 

[Limy]

There are safe temporary plastic bands you can get for temp ID purposes. They look something like these

I still have 20 days with him, so I'll try food colour and see for how long it lasts. If it doesn't work then I'll use leg bands, either these plastic ones or split aluminium ones. Are the plastic ones safer and better than aluminium bands?

 

[conurehrdr]

I used a children's marker on the back, but the darn bird preened it off in a few hours, LOL! I should have thought of food dye!

 

[Sparkles99]

I’d worry about food dye too - what if there’s a sudden rainstorm?

 

[Limy]

I've dyed his crest a little with pink food colour. Let's see how long it'll last.

 

[Limy]

I’d worry about food dye too - what if there’s a sudden rainstorm?

Good point. I didn't took weather into consideration. Although half of the aviary is covered on the top where breeding boxes are. Most probably he'll go hiding during rainstorm.
Reminding of breeding boxes in that aviary, not sure if he'll return as a new dad !

 

[Respect]

I've dyed his crest a little with pink food colour. Let's see how long it'll last. View attachment 458526

He looks so stylish with dyed hair!

 

[Limy]

He looks so stylish with dyed hair!

He does. I wanted to dye them light green but there's already a bird in the aviary with all green hairs. They looked so beautiful on that cockatiel.

 

[Limy]

I used a children's marker on the back, but the darn bird preened it off in a few hours, LOL! I should have thought of food dye!

Not to give ideas to my girls (8 and 5 years old). They'll colour his heart pattern on the back. He doesn't mind them touching him with cotton buds and they've already seen me colouring him with cotton bud.

 

[Aestatis]

Wow! I think he likes it!

If the food dye used is strong it will probably be able to stain the feathers and won't wash off easily, but if it was actually pink coloring (vs red) it will probably fade super quickly in sunlight. I assume the aviary is indoors though.

In the meantime, it wouldn't hurt to deepen your bond with him as much as you can. You're right that he might regress in his tameness while you are gone, but who knows? Maybe if you show up with his favorite treats he might surprise you by at least reacting compared to the other birds.

 

[Limy]

Wow! I think he likes it!

If the food dye used is strong it will probably be able to stain the feathers and won't wash off easily, but if it was actually pink coloring (vs red) it will probably fade super quickly in sunlight. I assume the aviary is indoors though.

In the meantime, it wouldn't hurt to deepen your bond with him as much as you can. You're right that he might regress in his tameness while you are gone, but who knows? Maybe if you show up with his favorite treats he might surprise you by at least reacting compared to the other birds.

Yeah, it's actually pink colouring but looks red on his hairs, I might have used too much of it, I applied it with a cotton bud and then rubbed with my fingers. I hope I've done it right. Usually I only need a drop or two in a cake icing to make it all pink.

I'm trying to keep him with me as much as possible. Bought a travel cage as well and he goes with me in the car to pick up the kids which is super cool.

He doesn't have anything favourite yet other than millets. I tried all sort of veggies and he doesn't touch anything much. He does nimble on broccoli a little, when he is hungry and I hide his food tray.

 

[Aestatis]

You know, one thing I just thought of is that your guy is a pied. Even if the aviary has other birds with similar markings, they won't be 100% identical. As a backup, I would snap photos from as many angles as you can so you can compare back to them. For example, I bet that little gray and white feather on his left wing/shoulder is fairly unique to him.

Besides that, his crest size and shape along with his cheek patch should help too when you combine everything together.

 

[Shezbug]

I would honestly be surprised if the breeder was unable to tell you which of the birds is not theirs.

 

[Limy]

You know, one thing I just thought of is that your guy is a pied. Even if the aviary has other birds with similar markings, they won't be 100% identical. As a backup, I would snap photos from as many angles as you can so you can compare back to them. For example, I bet that little gray and white feather on his left wing/shoulder is fairly unique to him.

Besides that, his crest size and shape along with his cheek patch should help too when you combine everything together.

Okay, I'll definitely be taking lots of photos of him from all angles including his wings underside. I sure need a back up. In last few days he has started bonding with us really well. Yesterday he even let me scratch his beak and makes a very cute sound as if he ment "thank you" when I open his cage after meals.