How do you identify individual birds?

[Kenneth Flippen]

what methods do you use? wing bands? leg bands(I'm not fond of #'s wearing off have seen metal bands fall off only a couple though) I'm leaning toward wing band and want to know more about them I used some years(6-7) ago don't remember much on it though and don't have the stuff for it I would like to take my breeding seroious and wan't to idenify individuals would like something permanent.


Kenneth Flippen

 

[briteday]

I use the spiral plastic colored, numbered bands...from Cutler I think. Each year I buy a different color so I can keep track of the flock from a distance if necessary.

 

[Illia]

One - Just plain get to know your birds.

Two - colored zipties. They work like legbands, but can be cut off, are cheap, and come in a lot of different colors.

 

[Tala]

Wing bands hide in the feathers of adult birds (at least in my experience)

I use metal legbands from ketchum mfg. but when you get metal they are all one color you have to look closer to see the numbers. The numbers are raised/imprinted into the metal rather than just painted on, so they don't really "wear off" I had mine ordered with my last name on them for reasons of birds going missing with suspected human predators. they could still be cut off but it would be harder than if there was no ID.

If you want to ID them from a distance, I'd go with a multi colored pack of plastic bands, so you can tell the colors without having to see the numbers. I have 3 white Leghorn hens that I really can't tell apart, but I use colored zip ties on them like someone else said. If I have two hens who look similar, I put their metal bands on opposite legs, one is "righty" and one is "lefty"

 

[Kenneth Flippen]

I've got about 3 roosters I would like to mate to 3 or 4 hens each and want to keep up with which mating produces the best quality birds I will be single mating them. I don't think colored bands will give me enough options as I will be switching roosters aound with the hens after they hatch a few in the end one rooster will be mated with about 6 hens. I have numbered plastic bands now on my breeders most of the numbers are wore off and a few have fell off. I guess racing pigeons has spoiled me as each has his own band ID and will never be duplicated.


Kenneth Flippen