Anyone use legbands w/breeding flocks?

[WestKnollAmy]

I am getting 5-10 hens in 12 different breeds and I have several roos that I want to cross in with their own breed as well as cross in other breeds. Since I already have a difficult time with these white Cochins I would like to band the hens in the same breed so I will know who I have bred to whom and what pullets I can take back into another line. Granted some out crosses don't do well but I don't want to always breed in the same roo either. There will be uncles and aunts and all that going on so I was hoping to buy bands with numbers and different colors to keep them all separate.

Where does everyone get theirs? I don't care for National Band Co.
And what system works best for you? I have plenty experience in record keeping breeding animals as we have bred and showed horses, dogs and Guinea pigs. We will not be showing chickens!

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

I use spiral bands on my call ducks and geese. I band my male geese on the right leg with blue and green spiral bands, and the females on the left leg with red and purple bands. I ordered mine from sellers on ebay. You can order any size and color you want.

 

[Wynette]

When I wanted to keep track of which chicks were from which hens, I used zip ties. I'm cheap! You can use them on different legs for indicators, as well as using more than one on a leg, or one on each leg. You just need to replace them as the chicks grow.

 

[KKluckers]

I use atlas bands you can get them fom cutlers supply.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Thank you, everyone!
I am having the darndest time telling these white Cochins apart and now that we have 70 chicks, 10 more on the way and 14 eggs under some hens and 12 different breeds to boot, I know I need some way to identify everyone that looks alike.

Plus this will help me keep track of who is bred to whom and what I may need to cull out.
I was thinking that I was going to have to buy an awful lot of toenail polish and spend a lot of time painting!