Blue Copper and Splash Copper Marans Discussion

[DMRippy]

Quote:
Found them THANKS. I think I will get some. I will only use them on some birds. I could not keep up with the growth on all my chicks. I love that they are elastic so they will stretch some.

 

[Runawaylobster]

Found them THANKS. I think I will get some. I will only use them on some birds. I could not keep up with the growth on all my chicks. I love that they are elastic so they will stretch some.

Donna the elastic bands are really nice to put on, but make sure that you get the smallest ones for day olds, if i remember correctly it's a #4 but check it. I used one size up (#5 I think) on day old BTB and Wheatens and they took each others bands off... you would think they would have stayed on but they seemed to like the colors and were taking them off each other. LOL!! I think the one size down from the ones i used would work but i'd get at least 2 sizes they grow quick for the size bands.. I got them on Ebay.

 

[pinkchick]

Since I do hatch A LOT of chicks.... I may pick the ones I think are best and get second opinions on the keepers.  I really don't mind keeping 1 or 2 per hatch if that is what it takes.  If my flock grows by a hand full of really good birds this year maybe next year it will grow by 2 hand fulls of really good birds.

I am sure you will get good birds Donna. You have been working very hard on them and it will show.

 

[pinkchick]

on the elastics they have a size chart on the listings, the other plastic ones are just for tiny birds. I have a lot of bands so I can fit to the birds as they age. Anywhere from a 9 to 11 on the hens and 11 to 14 on the males, depending on how big they are

I was going to say that I have had to use a #11 on a couple females because they were so big.

Since I have been keeping so few roos until maturity of late, I will only band them if I must or to keep them marked as youngsters so I know the parentage.
If I have lots of excess boys I am growing out they are in a separate pen. I will band the young cockerels in the cockerel pen and as they grow out and I start making my culling desicions as to who is going to go and who is going to stay, the bands are removed from the ones who don't get a get out of jail free card and the boys who will stay remain banded until I have culled the non-keepers. Once I am down to about 3 or so cockerels I am going to watch I remove the bands completely. By this time, I know who is who and with so few of them I don't need the band and I don't like how it monkeys with their shank feathering by rubbing it and breaking it off.

 

[pinkchick]

on the elastics they have a size chart on the listings, the other plastic ones are just for tiny birds. I have a lot of bands so I can fit to the birds as they age. Anywhere from a 9 to 11 on the hens and 11 to 14 on the males, depending on how big they are

I was going to say that I have had to use a #11 on a couple females because they were so big.

Since I have been keeping so few roos until maturity of late, I will only band them if I must or to keep them marked as youngsters so I know the parentage.
If I have lots of excess boys I am growing out they are in a separate pen. I will band the young cockerels in the cockerel pen and as they grow out and I start making my culling desicions as to who is going to go and who is going to stay, the bands are removed from the ones who don't get a get out of jail free card and the boys who will stay remain banded until I have culled the non-keepers. Once I am down to about 3 or so cockerels I am going to watch I remove the bands completely. By this time, I know who is who and with so few of them I don't need the band and I don't like how it monkeys with their shank feathering by rubbing it and breaking it off.

 

[desertmarcy]

Depends on how many I'm watching to be honest. I have two different kinds of bands I use, they come in different colors, and just keep a legend so I can keep track in my records. If I'm watching quite a few, I just raise them in separate brooders and put a tag on the whole brooder so I know who is who. If you are talking the small spiral bands that look just like the bigger spirals used on older birds, they are a giant pain in the you know what.

You can say that again. I used those small spiral bands one year and never again. I am using 4" colored zip ties now. I get them on EBay, 7 different colors for around $12 with shipping. There is another seller who has 10 different colors but they are more expensive. They are easy to cut off with a short metal snip (I forget what that tool is really called) and cheap enough I don't feel bad removing them and putting on another as the bird grows.

 

[desertmarcy]

I was afraid of that... that is why I have not used them. I hate ZIP ties so these didn't see any better really. What kinda of bands do you use?

Ha ha, I posted then went to the next page where you say you hate zip ties! The zip ties are the same as the spiral bands in that you really need to keep an eye on the growing legs to make sure they don't grow into the band, but they are MUCH easier to put on and take off! And a lot cheaper. I bought some metal wing bands but haven't tried them yet. I have found no method (other than the wing bands maybe) that is fool proof because I have had every type of band come off at one time or another. So I have been double identifying. I toe punch, but maybe I'm not doing it young enough, because some of them have grown back over. I really like a colored or numbered band that I can see at a distance so I don't have to catch the bird. So in addition to the toe punch, I use the zip ties on the chicks--that tells me who the parentage is. Birds I plan to keep for longer I use the numbered bands. They get them off on a regular basis unless they are just the right size I think. I banded 4 Royal Palm turket hens the other day because I couldn't tell them apart. I put numbered bands on one leg and different colored spiral on the other. By the time I was on the 4th bird, the numbered bands had already come off on the other 3! They were used bands, so maybe they weren't wound tight enough.

 

[DMRippy]

I think 2 methods are good. I will continue to toe punch, but another method for the easy ID will be good. I have a good method for when they are older that works great. I saw those numbered plastic color leg bands. I wanted to know if they work well..... are they easy to get on and off if needed?

 

[snowbird]

I always toe mark and band at about 4 weeks. If the toe punch is growing back, make sure you wipe the punched skin out of the web. If you leave the punched skin there sometimes it will grow back. I wing band them and when older I use the permanent leg band, the band has three different holes in it and you use the hole that fits the leg and crimp it with the applicator tool. This is what the Gamefowl people use is the wing Band and permanent lag band.

 

[Runawaylobster]

I have questions about moving the rotation of roosters discussed earlier and wondered if anyone could help me out.

1. If you put pullets in with the rooster that he doesn't know, into his pen have you ever had problems with him attacking them.

2. If you move a rooster to a pen with lots (12-13) of 1 year old layers do they attack him or does he just settle in as the boss

3. When you do the rotations am i correct in assuming that the females have their own pen and you put the rooster into their pen?


I am short of pens for now, for making lots of moves around and I would like to see what kinds of chicks i get from Spike, but
he is in jail from previous aggressive behaviour so i am a bit nervous of putting the two BCM pullets that i have that are laying
in with him because it's his pen, and I don't have another pen to move all of them into so they would all be on unfamiliar territory.

In general... how do you physically move the roosters? I know this sounds crazy but they are big and picking them up or even
catching them for that matter makes me nervous. If grabbing them and carrying them is how it's normally done then i will
get out there and do the job, but i was wondering how you all actually physically move your roosters around.... Twizzler is HUGE
and Spike is very big too..

sorry for asking such dumb newbie questions but i see myself moving them around alot, and I plan to keep 4 marans roosters so i better
get used to it and learn how to do it right.