I bought a set of thick writing different colored magic markers to color code my turkey poults so I don't get breeds mixed up when I move them from the hatcher to the brooder. I put a single line on the top of their head and it lasts for 2 weeks or more. Got that idea from Kevin Porter since that is how he marks his poults when he ships.
On the wing bands, I started using them this year and absolutely love them. They are so easy to apply and I only had one come off, probably I did not put it on correctly. I am doing several outcrosses this year and have hatched a lot of chicks. With the wing bands, I can keep track of individuals without a doubt. I keep a spreadsheet on the computer that tells me breed, parentage, date hatched, sex and comments as they get older; I sort the spreadsheet by wing band # and by breed; if a bird dies or is culled, I put a D or a C after the #, then when I resort, those get put at the end of the list. That way I can keep track of why I culled them, and who the parents were, all on one handy spreadsheet. Any time I move birds around, taking from one pen to another as they grow or I separate by sex, I have the spreadsheet and mark them off and make a note of where they are (I have multiple pens). I'm sure there are other handy tools one could figure out.
On the wing bands, I started using them this year and absolutely love them. They are so easy to apply and I only had one come off, probably I did not put it on correctly. I am doing several outcrosses this year and have hatched a lot of chicks. With the wing bands, I can keep track of individuals without a doubt. I keep a spreadsheet on the computer that tells me breed, parentage, date hatched, sex and comments as they get older; I sort the spreadsheet by wing band # and by breed; if a bird dies or is culled, I put a D or a C after the #, then when I resort, those get put at the end of the list. That way I can keep track of why I culled them, and who the parents were, all on one handy spreadsheet. Any time I move birds around, taking from one pen to another as they grow or I separate by sex, I have the spreadsheet and mark them off and make a note of where they are (I have multiple pens). I'm sure there are other handy tools one could figure out.
