Identifying chicks

[gemd]

once my chickens are grown, I will buy little identifying tag things, the little "bracelets" for their leg. But for now, since i Dont feel like going to the store and dont want to have to re-fit the bracelets....can I use sharpie marker on a tail or wing feather? My girls are 3-4 weeks old. How long will the marker last and when do they-chicks, not sharpies- molt?

 

[chickenlittle21]

You could put slightly loose rubber bands on their legs

 

[DobieLover]

once my chickens are grown, I will buy little identifying tag things, the little "bracelets" for their leg. But for now, since i Dont feel like going to the store and dont want to have to re-fit the bracelets....can I use sharpie marker on a tail or wing feather? My girls are 3-4 weeks old. How long will the marker last and when do they-chicks, not sharpies- molt?

Are they all the same breed? How many do you have?
Chicks go through about 3 mini-molts as they grow so the marked feathers are likely to molt out.

 

[gemd]

I dont want to give them poisoning. I have 6 leghorns so they're all odentical.

 

[DobieLover]

I dont want to give them poisoning. I have 6 leghorns so they're all odentical.

They will not stay identical.
I have two WLHs that I tell apart from a long distance away.
Their personalities, comb size and shape, little differences on their legs, the way they behave, are all different. Why do you want to mark them?

 

[chickenlittle21]

I dont want to give them poisoning. I have 6 leghorns so they're all odentical.

What type of leghorns?

 

[gemd]

What type of leghorns?

I'm not sure, white ones from Tractor Supply.

 

[DobieLover]

I'm not sure, white ones from Tractor Supply.

WLH
White Leghorns.

 

[gemd]

I want to label them somehow, now, as my kids have picked names but want to know who is who.