George: for commercial operations, I can agree with you. I imagine that the wing bands are very quick to apply. Need a special tool???
However: for the small flock, your arguments don't hold. The zip ties are very inexpensive, readily available, but there are no "serrations" They do have tiny ridges that catch and hold in the zip slot, but those ridges are on the outside of the band, not on the inside. And, of course they do need to be monitored. From the little I've seen, leg bands cost more than I intend to budget in such a system. And, they look like they would be harder to apply, and to remove. And using them would require changing them out as the bird matures. Even if they are re-usable, there's still the continued monitoring, and changing. I'll stick with my zips. When I sell a bird, I keep a plier in my pocket and remove the band before the bird goes to the buyer. My operation is small enough, that I band very few birds in a season.
However: for the small flock, your arguments don't hold. The zip ties are very inexpensive, readily available, but there are no "serrations" They do have tiny ridges that catch and hold in the zip slot, but those ridges are on the outside of the band, not on the inside. And, of course they do need to be monitored. From the little I've seen, leg bands cost more than I intend to budget in such a system. And, they look like they would be harder to apply, and to remove. And using them would require changing them out as the bird matures. Even if they are re-usable, there's still the continued monitoring, and changing. I'll stick with my zips. When I sell a bird, I keep a plier in my pocket and remove the band before the bird goes to the buyer. My operation is small enough, that I band very few birds in a season.
