Identifying chicks after hatched

[Gagirly]

I'm having much more luck with this batch of eggs than the last. One completely hatched and one about half way through so far. My question is : is there anyway to mark these chicks so I'll who their parents are ? I marked the eggs. They don't make leg bands that small do they ? They are OEGB.

 

[Sphinx]

I'm planning to use little tiny zip ties on my chicks so I can keep track of who hatched from which egg.

You could also use a little bit of food coloring to paint an edge of a wing to differentiate.

 

[Ukiah]

You could use colored cable ties on their legs & write down in a notebook, what color means what.

For example -

Green Cable tie Means - Parents are ____ & ____
Red Cable tie Means - Parents are ____ & ____

Just be absolutely sure to keep check on how tight they are on the legs, and change them
out as the chick grows. Another way of identifying chicks, is to punch a small design in the
webbing between their toes using a toe puncher. I know, I know, it sounds and looks painful,
but it's not as bad as it seems & it's a good way of marking them.


Info & charts on toe punching -

http://www.polishbreedersclub.com/toepunching.htm
http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/toe_punch.html
http://www.dominiquechicken.com/Toe_Punch_Chart.html


I don't recommend painting their toenails. It won't stay on long at all! I personally like the cable tie
idea. I use them on my birds

You should be able to order REAL leg bands, aswell.

Good luck

 

[ChickenCanoe]

They do make leg bands that small but it takes 2 people to put them on and take them off.
Not having a second person I've held their toes together and slid their feet in.

ETA:
I think the zip ties are simpler for babies since you have to change them as they grow anyway.

 

[georgiagail]

This site sells legbands for a wide variety of exotic birds:

http://www.lmbirdlegbands.com/

Gail