Breeders: what kind of banding or ID works best?

[cybercat]

I am using bandettes for now but will first hatch be toe punching also. Using the two systems makes things a bit easier ID parents and hatch mates as well as growth patterns.

 

[kswaterfowl]

We use several methods, we primarily use bandettes which we get from Twin City Poultry Supplies, but we also use colored cable ties on the other leg. We also have Atlas bands that you seal with special pliers. I really like the Atlas bands, but they are metal and the numbers are always easy to read. I have two sizes in those bands and use them on birds I know I am planning to keep. My turkeys are banded with the larger ones in the smallest holes, but we've had geese before that required them to be pulled "tight" to the largest hole.
I've also used perm. marker to ID birds for short times. It wears off pretty fast, but its nice in a pinch. We got a toe puncher, BUT misplaced it before I could ever mark any of the chicks.

K&S