I hate these leg bands

[Ridgerunner]

For bands or zip ties, let’s say we go with three colors, yellow, blue, and orange. When I say yellow over blue, I mean yellow is closer to the body and blue is closer to the claws. When I say blue over yellow, I mean blue closer to the body and yellow is closer to the ground when they are standing up. Some possibilities for the left leg are:
1. Bare
2. Yellow
3. Blue
4. Orange
5. Yellow over blue
6. Yellow over orange
7. Blue over orange
8. Blue over yellow
9. Orange over yellow
10. Orange over blue
11. Yellow over yellow
12. Blue over blue
13. Orange over orange

For each of these, you can do something with the right leg. For instance, if the left leg is bare, you can do these thirteen things to the right leg. If you use yellow on the left leg, you can do all these things to the right leg. With each of these on the left leg, you can do all these to the right leg, so you get 169 possibilities with these three colors and no more than two bands per leg. I’m not going to run through the numbers to determine how many you can get if you start looking at three bands per leg, such as yellow over blue over yellow. Let’s just say the number grows tremendously. Or you could add in a fourth color. The numbers are somewhat limited, but I think our imaginations may be limited more.

 

[Tim63]

I wing band my bantam Brahmas as soon as they are dry. I can't imagine wing banding an adult bird. When my Brahmas are grown, you can not see the wing bands without moving feathers. I use legbands also, the wing bands are just a better tool for keeping breeding records in my opinion.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:

wow I don't think i have the coordination for all that.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:
How do you use the combination? Do you put the same number on the wing band and the leg band, or do you have some fascinating combination that gives you more information? I'm very curious.

 

[Tim63]

I use a colored leg band to indicate which sire they are out of, and birds entered in shows have to be leg banded. The wing bands are numbered. I keep better records on my computer using the wing band number--date of hatch, sire and dam, vaccination records, etc.

 

[xoxocammyxoxo]

Don't they have bands that are numbered? I swear i've seen them before.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:
Yes, there are lots of leg bands that are numbered.


Quote:
Thanks, Tim. That's what i was wondering.

 

[xoxocammyxoxo]

So this website I went to go look at for wing bands. Do the wing bands go through the skin? It kinda reminds me of an ear tag on a cow.

Just trying to steer you in the right direction, considering the topic. Here`s a supplier with a wide assortment and some pretty good pics of the bands. One of the birds shown has a large commercial tag attached. A wing band would be applied in that location on either wing. Check out the whole site. You should find something that apeals to you......Pop

http://www.nationalband.com/nbtpoult.htm

 

[triplepurpose]

I've been using the really cheap, thin spiral leg bands made of colored plastic for a few years now--the ones that look a bit like a key ring. Years ago I bought two bags of them of assorted colors (on ebay, I think). I've never had one come off or cause an injury, and I find them easy enough to take off and put on...

 

[kara_leigh]

I have 21 chickens, and use 3 different colors of zip ties. Granted, I have multiple different breeds. For example, in my last batch of chickens I received 4 each of 4 breeds. I put a different color on 3 of each breed (yellow, green, and red) and one of them is bare. On my group of five that look alike, one has red, one yellow, one black, one green, and one is bare.

If I had all of the same breed, I would do JUST like Ridgerunner said, and double up and use math. One has one blue on the left, one has one blue on the right, one has two blue on the left, two blue on the right...and once I ran out colors for two on each leg, I would either move on to three on each leg or do multiple colors (left blue and red, right yellow, etc). There isn't an infinite amount, but a HUGE amount none the less. It is VERY feasible to use colored zip ties on a large amount of birds.

You can get colored zip ties at Harbor Freight, also.