I hate these leg bands

xoxocammyxoxo said:

So this website I went to go look at for wing bands. Do the wing bands go through the skin? It kinda reminds me of an ear tag on a cow.

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I just banded some six-week old chicks yesterday. They do require puncturing, but it's in a spot that's basically just a flap of skin. We had a couple of them give a little squawk, but they were over it in five seconds.

Here's a picture of the first guy we did, so you can get some idea of what it will look like. Ideally it should be a little closer to the wing edge:

So glad I found this thread. I have a small flock but three of the 12 are identical little chicklets and since we name them we want to be able to tell who is who so I thought "bracelets" would be the way to go. I will try colored zip ties as I noticed many have applauded them.

Seems like the anwser would be colored numbered zip ties. Wonder if those are sold anywhere? Will zip tie work to show a bird? Or is this just for backyard ID?

Stromberg's has colored and numbered zip ties.

Has anyone had trouble with the zip ties catching on bush branches, cage wire, etc.? I only have the three birds, but it would be nice to tell them apart.

http://www.strombergschickens.com/prod_detail_list/Numbered-Zip-Tie-Poultry-Bands

I know that this is an old thread. Wonder how you solved this?

I will mention that zip tie bands aren't a good idea. A few weeks ago I purchased three Black Copper Marans, and one had a zip tie on her leg instead of a band. The three were in a roomy coop their first night, but in the morning the one with the zip tie was limping and favoring that leg. I kept her isolated over a few days, then noticed that the zip tie had become embedded INTO her injured leg!

I wasn't able to cut it off at first, but was finally able to get it off. I cleaned the wound and kept her isolated some more. Obviously she had injured her leg, and the leg swelled up. This is one of the dangers of using zip ties. At least the metal leg bands with the gap can expand some more, or are easier to remove. Incidentally, after the zip tie was off the pullet was walking completely normally within two days.

What a painful way for me to learn a lesson!

I know this is an old thread, but I have mine marked with the soft elastic bands sold for pony tails and such. I double them and slip them over the foot. I haven't had any trouble with them at all, except it does take two people - one to hold the chicken and the other to manipulate the hair ties. They have enough give in them to make it easy to slip a small scissor or knife under them if I have to snip one off for any reason. No ends poking out, either. A package of 50 is about 2 bucks. I can see the colors and tell the chickens apart from a long way away. I have had no trouble at all using this method, which, by the way, I learned right here on BYC somewhere.

I don't use red - caused a pecking issue the first time - but there are so many colors in a package that I just gave the red ones to my granddaughter for her hair. When the bands first went on the birds fussed about it for all of about 2 minutes, trying to pull them off and then they promptly forgot about them. I have 5 Golden Laced Wyandottes that look so much alike we just called them "The Quints" at first. But now pink is Henrietta, white is Sue. light blue is Ruby, yellow is Lily, and the one with no band is Olga. Same with the 3 almost identical Buff Orpingtons....Nadine is dark purple, Kat is dark pink, Jane is plain. No need to band the 5 Easter Eggers. I banded one of the two Marans, and two of the three Red Sex Links as well. This has been invaluable to me as I chart the egg production in preparation for deciding which birds will be culled.

J.Pryce said:

I got my different colored zip ties at Ace hardware. If you have an Ace where you are they could special order it for you if they don't stock them. I also used craft beads of different colors attached to the zip tie for ID of the birds, as I had only 8 different colors of ties to choose from & multiple colors of beads, all of my 30 chickens have their own ID

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I know this thread is old...but this is brilliant. I make jewelry...I have TONS of beads...I can just picture how pretty my girls will be!

I've begun using the Color, Numbered, Bandettes, because I have an older flock, and another coming of age. These bands are working out great. The large black number is printed on opposite sides of the band for quick I.D. . Color Coded for age groups. Numbered for I.D. Pullets banded on left leg, Cockerels on right leg. Mine free range so I like the lighter colors of Blue, Yellow, White, because they contrast, and the dark numbers are easily recognized. Most of the birds don't pay any attention to their bandettes. They are loose, but won't go over their big feet. One cockerel picks at his new band, pulls it up and down his leg.
If these Bandettes come off your flock, get a smaller sized band.
Some videos show the spiral band being opened completely before putting it on the leg. Not necessary. Just pull up the outside end, lay it on the leg , and spin the band on, insuring the inner end clicks onto the bare leg, so that the number will show on both sides of the band. That's it. Just don't put them on upside down, or you'll have to redo it over again.

I have to agree with MsRiderUp on this, insofar as zip ties not always being a good idea, especially if you have a fairly large flock. I have seventy three and I consider that large, at least as far as the work involved. Some may consider this small. Zip ties seem to be cautiously ok when applied to grown poultry. The problem with having a large flock of growing poultry is that the bands have to be monitored carefully and regularly to keep growth from causing injury. For most of us humans who haven't reached perfection yet (I'm miles away), when changing zip ties on the growing flock, somebody invariably gets missed, and the mistake is not noticed until the animal is observed limping and has probably been uncomfortable for quite awhile, because to let an injury be noticeable can be deadly for a bird as predators concentrate on the weak specimens. So your bird will fake it as long as he/she can so as to remain alive on the earth. The injury can be fairly severe by the time it is noticeable and then you must remove the band, which may be embedded, and treat the animal. Also, sometimes things divert our attention from our flock for a short time, which translates into a long time for a growing chick. And the result is the same or worse. When it finally dawned on me just how imperfect I was, and how rough this made things for a couple of my beloved guineas, I stopped using zip ties. All perfect individuals can safely ignore this message.