It is important for you and others to be able to identify your bird if it is lost. Popular methods include tagging (banding) your bird, or having a microchip placed under its skin.
Tagging simply involves having a metal band (usually aluminum) attached to your bird’s wing or leg. They are simple, easy to apply, non-evasive, and inexpensive. They can be made with numbers or bar codes for scanning, and there are many recover networks that the tags can be registered with.
Microchipping involves having a tiny, rice sized microchip inserted under your bird’s skin. Gaining in popularity for birds and other animals (cats, dogs, etc.), this is a simple procedure, and it accomplished with a hypodermic needle. The microchip can then be read by use of a scanner or reader, finding the bird’s pertinent information, such as id number and information regarding ownership.
Once a microchip is inserted into your bird, it needs to be registered with a recovery network, and there are several companies to manufacture microchips, so it is important to do your homework before deciding on which microchip and network to choose. The downside to microchips is that the person who may find your bird may not know that it has a microchip, or may not think to check, as there are no visible signs, as there would be with a tag or band.
Even if your bird has a microchip, band, or other identifier, it will probably take action on your part in order to find your lost bird. You can do things like canvassing, posting flyers, or placing ads. Methods like these make having a good picture of your bird a good idea.
Even if you have an unusual or exotic bird, it could go relatively unnoticed unless you can use a visual aid to spark peoples’ memories. Also, a picture and good description can help connect you to your lost pet if found by someone else. Sometimes people find lost birds and really want to return them to their owners, but have no way of connecting it with a particular owner. People will even place ads to announce that they have found a lost bird, but since they have a real desire to reunite the bird with its true owner, they are cautious of who tries to claim the bird.
Like most issues, planning and preparation are the keys to help you in finding your lost bird.
