BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[bnjrob]

I was really thinking of the baby chicks until about 6 wks or so.

Our babies would still pick those off. Tried wrapping with vet wrap - they picked it until it came off. Put something on their little legs and those chicks can't help but start picking at it. Once they're older they seem to ignore leg bands more often but as babies, they always like to pick at them.

 

[LindaB220]

Our babies would still pick those off. Tried wrapping with vet wrap - they picked it until it came off. Put something on their little legs and those chicks can't help but start picking at it. Once they're older they seem to ignore leg bands more often but as babies, they always like to pick at them.

Maybe I'll just paint their heads for a week or two. Nail polish?

 

[gjensen]

Back before I knew about toe punches etc. I learned that with chicks that they outgrew most things too fast. You really have to stay on top of it. The temporary marks are just that. Temporary.

Really it is best to take the time and purchase a toe punch and learn the process. Just monitor and re punch as necessary. Or do as one poster does and cuts the webs. I realize some might have some aversion to doing these things, but neither does method does the birds no real harm. The identification is permanent. When they are ready, put some colored bands on them.

What I have an aversion to is losing their identification, or leg bands cutting into their legs.

 

[bnjrob]

Maybe I'll just paint their heads for a week or two. Nail polish?

 

[MargaretYakoda]

Maybe I'll just paint their heads for a week or two. Nail polish?

Actually, that's exactly what I was considering. Nail polish will rub off toes and beaks pretty quickly, but it stays on the feathers until the feathers fall out. I used it to mark an injured australorp many months ago and it's still obvious.
Also, bluekote stays on the feathers for quite some time and works pretty well to mark a light colored bird for a couple of weeks. But that's more expensive than the bottles of nail polish I've already got on hand. LOL.

 

[Bill Matthews]

TO: bmvf......You can take anything you read in any of the Storey Guide Books with several grains of salt......The factual errors are numerous and much of the advice is simply wrong or silly...

 

[Turk Raphael]

Maybe I'll just paint their heads for a week or two. Nail polish?

There is some pretty serious green dye on the heads of my DC cockerels. I don't know how long it will stay but it's holding up pretty good...

 

[LindaB220]

There is some pretty serious green dye on the heads of my DC cockerels. I don't know how long it will stay but it's holding up pretty good...

Just redab them!! That's what I plan to do.

 

[bmvf]

TO: bmvf......You can take anything you read in any of the Storey Guide Books with several grains of salt......The factual errors are numerous and much of the advice is simply wrong or silly...

What are some of the worst errors?

 

[jonsccm]

All this about marking your chickens has been fascinating! To be honest I knew people did it but I did not put much thought into why it would be helpful to me. My wife makes fun of me all the time because out of 53 birds in my coop I can tell each one apart. But that takes some time to get that way. It would have been a lot easier to just put some colored marking on them. Then my wife might stop harassing me about spending to much time with them.... Feeling a bit awkward, I spend way to much time out there!