ink markings?

[Suess hens]

I went to get a few new babies today after our horrid escape chicken fiasco....I noticed that some of them had pinkish redish ink splotches. Is this something they do to mark the roos? They were all 2 day and 9 day old chicks, BRs, that I saw them on.

 

[Chickndaddy]

Ordinarily hatcheries mark the young cockerels with a dot of ink/paint after they are sexed.

 

[Smitty's Farm]

They do mark the cockerels, but they will also color code if requested to distinguish between different breeds to be able to tell them apart.

Last year Cackle Hatchery upon request color coded all my diff pullet breeds w/ diff colors, so I could tell them apart.

You can wish it's for the later reason.

Why don't you call the store you bought them from and ask to talk to who ever ordered the chicks for the store, b/c they may know what each color stands for.

 

[Suess hens]

Smitty's Farm :

They do mark the cockerels, but they will also color code if requested to distinguish between different breeds to be able to tell them apart.

Last year Cackle Hatchery upon request color coded all my diff pullet breeds w/ diff colors, so I could tell them apart.

You can wish it's for the later reason.

Why don't you call the store you bought them from and ask to talk to who ever ordered the chicks for the store, b/c they may know what each color stands for.

I know the owner and he pulled out pullets for me...none of mine have the coloring. I remembered reading somewhere about ink marking just couldn't quite remember why. And the owner usually knows his stuff when it comes to breeds.​