Leg band help?

[black_cat]

I will be getting three barred rock hens and am worried that I won't be able to tell them apart at first! My solution to that is some sort of colored leg bands to tell them apart with until I can just by looking at the hen. My plan was zip ties with a bit of colored duck tape- easy to cut off and replace if necessary, and I can save the $15 that I would have spent on leg bands that are basically colored zip ties. I am a bit worried about how to get the bands on them, and also if this plan is safe. Should I wait a few days before putting them on so that they're used to me a bit first? I am also unsure of how to properly hold them to get the leg bands on, and how tight I should make them.

 

[black_cat]

With all my planning ahead this is one thing that I actually need to know, not just me being- what's the right word? Obsessive? Paranoid? Over-worrying? Anyway, I'd appreciate any replies and don't want this to get lost in the vast BYC ocean.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I make them just tight enough they can't slip off their foot when they pick it up

 

[black_cat]

I make them just tight enough they can't slip off their foot when they pick it up

Thanks for the reply? Do you mean slip down their leg or entirely off their foot?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Off their foot. They should be able to move freely on the leg

 

[black_cat]

Off their foot. They should be able to move freely on the leg

Ok, that's really helpful! I probably would have put them too tight-glad that I avoided it!

 

[black_cat]

Anyone know how to actually hold the birds to put them on, or if the duct tape and zip tie arrangement is ok?

 

[Birdielee]

What's the colored duct tape for? Isn't that what the colored zip ties are for? Seems like the duct tape would get dirty and the hen would also pull it off?

 

[Birdielee]

Oh, i guess you have one color zip ties.
I guess you would need 1 colored band.
One can be a plain zip tie.
One can be bandless.

 

[black_cat]

Oh, i guess you have one color zip ties.
I guess you would need 1 colored band.
One can be a plain zip tie.
One can be bandless.

Yep, that's what I was gonna do. I didn't know how to get color in a zip tie safely without duck tape-I didn't know how to find paint or anything chicken safe. The fancy colored zip ties that you can buy all come in packs, and the leg bands that I've been able to find singles of come in sizes, which I don't know how to navigate. Just using zip ties and duck tape would mean that I wouldn't have to spend money on them, as I already have these supplies at home. I'm wondering if I put a bit of glue under then end of the duck tape it would be less peck-able?