How do I tell my chickens apart?

[Three Little Bunnies]

Hi!

This post is basically an introduction of my birds.

Sometimes people look at me like I am crazy when I quickly name off all fifteen of my hens. This post is so you can tell them apart too! The girls all have leg bands, but if they are laying down, you can use this to tell them apart. Also, the leg band colors have a theme behind them, we didn’t randomly put them on/name them.

Part 1: White Leghorns.

The White Leghorns are actually really easy to tell apart if you can see their combs. They were named after places we’ve lived.

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Tucson’s comb flops over and has no scars/blemishes. She has a purple leg band.
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Fayed’s floppy comb has a small white scar on it. She has a yellow leg band.
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Holly has a straight comb with no blemishes. She has a green leg band.

Part 2: Rhode Island Reds.

The Rhode Island Reds are probably the hardest to tell apart. I almost always use their leg bands. They each have a unique cluck, though. The Rhode Island Reds were named after red gemstones. If I get another, I will name her Carnelian, most likely.

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Ruby is VERY loud. Her band is purple, because P and R have a similar letter shape.
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Topaz is very quiet. You almost never hear her make noise (except the egg song). She has a yellow band, because T and Y have similar shapes.
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Garnet is not super loud. Her cluck sounds deep and inquisitive. Her band is green, because Garnet and green start with the same letter.

Part 3: ISA Browns. The ISA Browns are fairly easy to tell apart if you can see their heads, despite the fact that two are nearly identical. The ISA Browns were named after desert plants. If I rename Dorothy, she will probably be Yucca.

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Cholla is the easiest to tell apart. She has a yellow leg band. She is the darkest of the three ISA Browns. She is at the bottom of the pecking order, so her comb and the back of her head are scarred. She makes a cluck that sounds a bit like crying.
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Vera’s head and comb are mostly without blemish. She has a green leg band, since aloe vera is green
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Lantana has some blemishes on the comb and head. Her leg band is purple, since lantana can have purple flowers.

Part 4: Barred Rocks.

The Barred Rocks are fairly easy to tell apart, even just by looking at their size. They were named after black rocks. This is the only breed that doesn’t have a story behind their leg bands.

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Onyx is the biggest chicken. Her eyes are slightly white-rimmed and her comb is large and red. Her leg band is yellow.
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Obsidian has a small comb with some blemishes. She is the smallest of the Barred Rocks. She has a green leg band.
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Ebony is the medium-sized Barred Rock. She has a shorter top beak since she broke part of it off on the fence. Her comb is not without blemish, and her leg band is purple.

Part 5: Liberty, Dorothy, and Jenny

Liberty is an Americana. Dorothy is an ISA Brown. Jenny is a Buff bantam Cochin. They all look different from the others.

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Liberty has a rose comb and a purple leg band.
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Dorothy has no leg band.
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Jenny has no leg band.

This probably isn't interesting to anyone but me, but it is still kind of cool, right?

 

[HappyClucker7]

People always think I'm crazy when I point out each hen and name her without hesitation. They always ask me how I can tell them apart, and I always say, "They look totally different!" Then, of course, they look really closely at each chicken and say something like,"Oh, I see! This one has a bigger comb!" Then I always tell them that, yes, she does, but that's not how I tell the difference. Each chicken has a different face. No two chickens look alike! Then they think I'm even weirder.

 

[Three Little Bunnies]

People always think I'm crazy when I point out each hen and name her without hesitation. They always ask me how I can tell them apart, and I always say, "They look totally different!" Then, of course, they look really closely at each chicken and say something like,"Oh, I see! This one has a bigger comb!" Then I always tell them that, yes, she does, but that's not how I tell the difference. Each chicken has a different face. No two chickens look alike! Then they think I'm even weirder.

Same! People are like, what? How do you know which chicken that is? I'm like, she bawks differently.

 

[HappyClucker7]

Same! People are like, what? How do you know which chicken that is? I'm like, she bawks differently.

They totally do sound different! I can be in my house, hear one of the chickens, and be like, "I hear you Maisie!" (or whatever chicken is yelling.) I always get some strange looks when I do that.

 

[Three Little Bunnies]

They totally do sound different! I can be in my house, hear one of the chickens, and be like, "I hear you Maisie!" (or whatever chicken is yelling.) I always get some strange looks when I do that.

For me, it's usually Tucson!