# Marking your Pigeon to be released



## olayak (Apr 26, 2009)

Hi. I have a lovely pigeon who I raised for the past few months but who is now ready to be released. I want to make sure that I recognize her when she is released, so that I can continue to feed her and make sure she is safe and well. I don't have any fancy banding equipment, so I was wondering if I could (loosely) tie a bit of brightly colored string to one leg....
Let me know what you think!


----------



## Missouri_pigeon (Jun 7, 2009)

No the string is probably the worse thing. If he gets it caught on anything, it wont come off. Do you have any bands at all? if not, I could ship you a snap on band to put around her leg? If your not in a huge hurry. It would probably be wednesday or Thursday before you got it. If you want one PM me.


----------



## maryjane (Jul 15, 2006)

String is absolutely a terrible idea. No offense.  Just that it can be caught and is a major problem. You can however safely use non-toxic fabric paint. This is recommended by the vet in a service dog program we volunteer for, and they use it on newborn puppies to mark/keep track of them from birth to eight weeks. It stays on a long time and is safe if accidentally ingested. Good luck!


----------



## Missouri_pigeon (Jun 7, 2009)

I am sending out your bands todays for your little pigeon.Hope he does okay with the release. Its always hard to do. But well worth it in the end.


----------



## jmaxpsi (Jul 31, 2009)

maryjane said:


> String is absolutely a terrible idea. No offense.  Just that it can be caught and is a major problem. You can however safely use non-toxic fabric paint. This is recommended by the vet in a service dog program we volunteer for, and they use it on newborn puppies to mark/keep track of them from birth to eight weeks. It stays on a long time and is safe if accidentally ingested. Good luck!


Is that what some people use to color their pigeons? I've seen some that looks colorful like a parrot but it's a pigeon. I want to try on some of my pigeons. Where can I get it?


----------



## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

I don't think she meant it as in putting it on the feathers. Paint on feathers = hawk bait, since the dry paint can really disrupt flying, or make it impossible to fly at all (well, if it's on the wings or tail). But I could see maybe putting the paint on the legs. Or hey you could paint its toenails, LOL. Snap bands are a lot easier on us and the birds though 
If you want to dye the birds, you'd need to use food coloring.


----------



## jmaxpsi (Jul 31, 2009)

Have you tried dye on any birds before? How long does food coloring last? Thanks.


----------



## suitepotato (Jul 30, 2009)

I'd avoid coloring the birds' bodies given predators noticing what stands out.

If the vet recommends a non-toxic marking agent for the leg, use what the vet says but if you're still worried, find a bird vet. DO NOT do a string, wire or do-it-yourself band of course. My vet told me to not bother with banding unless we were actually planning on release and we weren't so... oh well.


----------

