Are leg rings safe?

[happyhens1972]

I want to try feather sexing my chicks at two or three days old. In order to see if it has been effective, I wanted to put leg rings on the suspected roos and then see when they are older whether the sexing has been correct. Is it safe to put leg rings on very young chicks? My main concern is that the rings will attract attention and cause other chicks to peck at the legs and feet. I have found very small rings so am happy they are size appropriate and will not either chafe their legs or come off but will they cause attacks?

 

[Ridgerunner]

They should not cause attacks. Lots of us use colored bands to identify our chickens. I've never seen any peck at mine. That's just not an issue with mine. I have pink and orange but I don't have red.

The danger is that they grow really fast. That band can get tight and cut off circulation to the foot. You have to really watch them and remove them and replace them with larger rings. Some people use small colored zip ties for that since they have to be replaced so often.

Some hatcheries use food dye to mark chicks when they ship if the buyer requests it. The problem with that is that they shed down and grow feathers, then shed feathers pretty often. Again, you have to really stay on top of it to keep the coloring there but at least there is no danger of them getting a foot cut off due to lost circulation.

Some people paint the toenails with toenail polish. I don't know how long that lasts. I would not use red since red seems to attract attention, but with all the different colors out there you can come up with something.

You might investigate toe punching. You punch a hole in the membrane between their toes so you can always tell them by that hole. You can get details through an internet search.

As fast as they grow, I'd be careful on putting a band on their legs, but my reason would not be an attack.

 

[happyhens1972]

I am very 'hands on' with my chicks and they are usually silly tame within a couple of weeks so staying on top of the sizing issue won't be a problem at all. I can imagine if you had dozens and in outdoor penning where you are less involved, it would be a problem but I will only have a maximum of 15 chicks, hatched at the school where I work, surrounded by 200 kids every day, handled several times a day and kept a very close eye on so I am confident there won't be any issues with bands tightening without being noticed....but I very much see your point. Obviously the rings will only be on the suspected cockerels too, so even fewer to worry about....unless I get a full 15 boys, then I might just give up chicken keeping altogether!!!! Lol!

Thanks for your help and fingers crossed for an all female hatch eh?

 

[Celizwalsh]

I decided to use leg bands on my babies this spring and I was concerned about the same thing. I put them on at about a week of age and none of the chicks really noticed or cared after a few pecks here and there. They are between 3-4 weeks now and have had no problems. I ordered the next size up a few days ago so I can switch them out since the ones they are wearing now are getting a bit snug.

 

[happyhens1972]

That's reassuring to hear. I am planning on ringing then when they are two or three days old as this is apparently the best time to feather sex them. It seems to have worked a treat with my other chicks but they were (I think) four girls so I didn't need to ring any.