Copper leg bands?

[Cammo77]

G'day everyone, I'm just curious to know if anyone has made leg bands out of copper flat bar? I am trying to reduce the amount of plastic I use plus the ones I have used end up breaking. I'm currently using coloured zip ties they fade and look like crap. I don't like the idea of aluminium on their skin either. I was thinking of using 10mm x 2mm flat bar, number punching it while flat and then making it round with pliers or a jig before putting it on. I'd round off the edges as well before putting it on. I wear a copper bracelet every now and then and it doesn't really rub my skin. Interested to hear your thoughts. Cheers.

 

[Not-so Slick Chicken]

Any particular reason for using copper or not using aluminum?

I'd think the biggest negative to copper is it's heavier.

 

[Cammo77]

Any particular reason for using copper or not using aluminum?

I'd think the biggest negative to copper is it's heavier.

I have a bit of a pet hate for aluminium and plastic. I'm swapping out all my plastic feeders/waterers for stainless steel now too. I don't want my chooks to have to wear something close to their skin that I wouldn't wear myself. Copper is heavier but I doubt they'd really notice it.

 

[SourRoses]

The extra weight doesn't have to be enough to make it hard to lift their leg to cause them problems.
We tend to think of their legs as scaly, but as scales go, they are rather soft. The flesh underneath can be bruised, and the scales can part to allow tissue damage, pretty easily.
When you take a hard object, put it next to a soft object, and bounce it up and down, wiggle it back and forth, that can damage the softer object. The heavier the hard object, the more likely damage is going to occur.
As a human, you can take the copper bracelet off. You can move it up and down your arm. And you are more likely to adjust the way you move to accommodate the bracelet than an animal is.
As well, your body mass compared to the size of the bracelet is much better than a bird with a leg band (unless you made it a size to fit their toe rather than leg).

An actual comparative size could be calculated by weighing yourself vs your bracelet, then a chicken vs the proposed leg band. I think the size you propose would be analogous to you wearing a metal bracer from a set of armor.

But aside from that, I agree that natural materials are a lot nicer.
I've always wanted to create something with leather, that has a small metal tag on top of part of it with the identifier. Copper would be lovely for that.

 

[Cammo77]

The extra weight doesn't have to be enough to make it hard to lift their leg to cause them problems.
We tend to think of their legs as scaly, but as scales go, they are rather soft. The flesh underneath can be bruised, and the scales can part to allow tissue damage, pretty easily.
When you take a hard object, put it next to a soft object, and bounce it up and down, wiggle it back and forth, that can damage the softer object. The heavier the hard object, the more likely damage is going to occur.
As a human, you can take the copper bracelet off. You can move it up and down your arm. And you are more likely to adjust the way you move to accommodate the bracelet than an animal is.
As well, your body mass compared to the size of the bracelet is much better than a bird with a leg band (unless you made it a size to fit their toe rather than leg).

An actual comparative size could be calculated by weighing yourself vs your bracelet, then a chicken vs the proposed leg band. I think the size you propose would be analogous to you wearing a metal bracer from a set of armor.

But aside from that, I agree that natural materials are a lot nicer.
I've always wanted to create something with leather, that has a small metal tag on top of part of it with the identifier. Copper would be lovely for that.

I really don't think they'd notice that small of a weight. I put the size of the tag in an AI calculator and it came out at 0.07% of the total bodyweight of the chicken. I personally wouldn't use leather as I've seen what happens to saddles, boots, bridles etc when they don't get oiled. They turn very abrasive especially when sand or grit impregnate into the porous material. It's also another area that could harbour pests, bacteria or disease.