Who's Who?

[Mommachirp]

Any suggestions on the best way to tell chickens apart. I fear the leg ties. Are those safe for growing chicks? I tried the food coloring on the tail feathers, but my girls are growing too quickly. Any suggestions is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

[Twistedfeather]

Welcome to BYC! Have you looked into toe punching? I used it for my cornish cross and turkeys for market but the problem with that was they grew too fast and it healed too fast. There are also a limited amount of toe punchings. I normally use the wing or leg bands (with numbers) work the best as long as they fit because otherwise they cause swelling or fall off and my chickens lose them.

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

Have you tried dotting the heads with a magic marker? You can even color the toe nails with the marker as well. If you have a lot of chicks, it can be hard to tell them apart unless you have a few different breeds.

They also make leg bands, rings that are slipped over the foot joint. These are usually put on as day old chicks.

Good luck with this and welcome to our flock!

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

I usually can tell mine apart after listening, watching and getting to know them. But leg bands and markers are good to use.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC!

 

[Mommachirp]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

Have you tried dotting the heads with a magic marker? You can even color the toe nails with the marker as well. If you have a lot of chicks, it can be hard to tell them apart unless you have a few different breeds. 

They also make leg bands, rings that are slipped over the foot joint. These are usually put on as day old chicks. 

Good luck with this and welcome to our flock!

Can I use the nail polish that's for cats/dogs? Will that be safe for the girl's?

 

[drumstick diva]

I used to put a small nail polish mark on a foot, when I raised dogs. By the time it wore off I knew the different pups by their personality. There are so many colors of doggy nail polish that doing a toe of each bird would be easy. After awhile you will know blue from yellow and be giving them proper names.

 

[merve2004]

I sprat the old ones buy there eyes or there skin because not all have same skin or the same eye or toes flappyness

 

[Wyandottes7]

Welcome!

I'm glad you joined our BYC "flock"!

When my chicks are a couple of days old, I mark them on the head with food coloring. That usually wears off around three weeks. At that age, I sometimes re-apply it if they don't have all their feathers in yet. When they are around 6 weeks, I apply small zip ties. I watch them carefully to make sure they don't get too tight. As they grow, I replace the zip ties. By the time the birds are several months old, I can usually tell them apart just by their combs and temperament.

 

[TwoCrows]

Quote: Yes, as long as it dries fairly quick, it shouldn't be a problem.

Have you marked them yet with anything?