Wing Banding-Why and How We Do It

Wing Banding is one of the many jobs done by our research crew. We wing band our pedigree birds to keep track of who their parents/grandparents are, weights, egg production and even the exact location of the bird. Identifying our pedigree birds is done so that we have a continuous cycle of producing the best pheasants.

What is a pedigree bird? It is the cream of the crop pheasant! Pedigree pheasants have clear, bright eyes, perfect feet with straight toes, and perfect legs and hocks, In general, perfect bodies and feather development are all indicators of a pheasant that is an excellent producer of more perfect birds! These are the birds that we need to identify and follow up on.  We wing band these birds at one day old.

How We Wing Band

• In order to wing band without damaging tiny tendons or injuring blood vessels, employees must know the anatomy of the wing.
• The major bones in the wing are shaped like a V.
• There is a tendon running from the shoulder of the bird to the wrist. Yes, pheasants have a wrist! This tendon is called the web cord.
• The entire V shape is covered with a thin piece of skin called the wing web.
• The chick is picked up with one hand and with the thumb and forefinger the tiny wing is held out.
• The band is inserted just past the web cord and not too far into the wing web. If the wing band is not placed perfectly, the tendon or tiny blood vessels can be injured.

The wing banding stays in for the life of the bird and provides us with all the information we need to keep track of our pedigree birds and produce excellent pheasants consistently.