Color marking adult chickens to identify who is who

[Carolyn252]

I have two Buff Orpingtons that are very similar in appearance. I can tell who's who if they're standing up next to each other, because Laverne is a bit larger than Shirley.

However, if I see one without the other, I don't know which one it is.

Leg bands won't help me if the hen is sitting down.

Has anyone tried using bluekote to color the top of the shoulders or maybe to color a hen's comb?

Is the bluekote permanent or will it fade in a few days?

Thanks.
-Carolyn

 

[ellie32526]

Just a word of caution - marking a chicken with anything may cause the others to begin pecking her. What we see as a simple change to make identification easier, the chickens might look at as an invitation to attack something different.

 

[Rachel'sFlock]

I have two Buff Orpingtons that are very similar in appearance. I can tell who's who if they're standing up next to each other, because Laverne is a bit larger than Shirley.

However, if I see one without the other, I don't know which one it is.

Leg bands won't help me if the hen is sitting down.

Has anyone tried using bluekote to color the top of the shoulders or maybe to color a hen's comb?

Is the bluekote permanent or will it fade in a few days?

Thanks.
-Carolyn

Is there some reason you need to know which is which while they are sitting down?
Mostly they are walking about, and a leg band works great for this. I have 16, all identified with bands I applied when they were old enough for them not to fall off. I have BAs and use size 11. BOs are a touch bigger and might need size 12.