Inexpensive leg (identification) bands

[buildingmyark]

I wanted to be sure to give each of my chicks equal attention (as any good mother). The problem was, I could not really tell them apart at souch a young age. As I walked through Walmart, I racked my brain for a solution to this problem... Lo and Behold...I found the perfect item on the hair accessory aisle! These hair rubber bands have worked perfectly for me, plus they come in a variety of colors and 3 sizes, so you can move up a size as the chicks grow! Cost: around $3.50.

My two models:

 

[malignstar]

Good idea! I thought about using small colored zip ties too. You couldn't use them until they stopped growing though because they can only be shortened, not lengthened. They'd be quite a bit more durable too.

 

[VioletandBodie]

zip ties work but you need to mack shure to change them as they grow

 

[woolychicken]

THANKS WHAT A GREAT IDEAL!!!

 

[LizGled628]

Another person on here used colored straws for her babies...she cut off a 1 inch piece of straw, then split it open and wrapped it around a leg. I'm always amazed by all the thrifty ideas here!

 

[Luke13:34]

http://www.cutlersupply.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6_88&products_id=562

I got this assorted bag of different sized spiral bands. I don't have that many chicks (coming Tuesday!!), so maybe it would be more expensive if you have a large flock.

 

[GrandmaAnn]

Thank you for this idea. I'd like to be able to tell one of my RIR's from the others as she belongs to my granddaughter.

 

[Kedreeva]

yeah, I went with cutlersupply bands too... they were pretty cheap and look sharp, plus they were really easy to put on and were 'soft' to clip off when they needed to be changed. I could have taken them off the same way I put them on but they were cheap enough that I didn't really care.

 

[buildingmyark]

Luke13:34 :

http://www.cutlersupply.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6_88&products_id=562

I got this assorted bag of different sized spiral bands. I don't have that many chicks (coming Tuesday!!), so maybe it would be more expensive if you have a large flock.

You're very smart to order these ahead of time. That's not a bad price at all.​

 

[buildingmyark]

One more thing about leg bands (probably applies to any elastic/stretchy ones).... Yall may already know this, but I thought I would throw out a word of caution just in case. It's very difficult for one person to slip the band over the chicks very-spread-out toes while holding it at the same time. I would highly suggest that one person hold the chick while another person slips the band on. I tried to do this by myself and my finger and the chicks tiny leg were stuck in the band. I about had a stroke trying to figure out how to get my finger out of there without twisting or hurting my babies leg. Can never be too careful