I was gone for a while, and it took me some time to read all the posts that were here when i returned.
I got to thinking about the metal band thing though, and it occurs to me that "they" use something similar to that on wild birds for tracking, right? They're in the elements a lot more than my birds are.
I have used zip ties before, back when i had six girls to tag, but the color combinations for 40 birds or more is just not agreeable to my mind.
I know it would seem like my bands were the wrong size, but one of my roosters had the same problem as the hens, and i am sure that his was not too big. I did get him the next size up, but i saw how it fit on him. It was above his spur (small as it is), and he still managed to push it off. I saw it down around his foot one day and on the floor of the coop the next. Maybe i just have rowdy chickens; i don't know. But i do know that this isn't working for them. I have country chickens, who spend a lot of time in the woods and whatnot, so maybe that makes a difference. Either way, i can't say that i'm willing to try the plastic numbered bands again. I can see using the spiral bandettes for the babies because they're temporary, and they're sort of cheap. I'll just resign myself to one time usage.
As to the adults.
Pop, i followed your link (thank you), but i really need some pictures to understand how the hole punching and piercing and whatnot works for toe punching and wing bands. The whole idea makes me cringe, but i might be willing to give it a shot. I don't want to spend $25 on an applicator tool before i'm pretty sure i really want to go that route.
