Leg bands- does anyone use them??

[Scrambled Egg]

I do use the colored leg bands, they look like pretty colored anklets on my girls! Dominiques look so much alike that it does help me tell them apart. I use them on my Reds too and it helps me call them their appropriate names. I bought them off ebay, about 100 for 5 or 6 dollars I think. I believe there are ten colors. My chickens don't seem to mind them at all and it really helps my family tell them apart since they don't directly deal with them everyday --so yes, I would suggest you buy some chicken jewelry for your girls!!

 

[FluffyChickenMama]

ok.. I know there is no one today what would really do this but anyway.. when my great grandparents bought chickens Mommy (my great grandmother) got hers and Poppy got his.. Poppy would alway cut off one of his chickens toes that way when Mommy went to get a chicken for supper she would know to get hers and not his.. to bad they didnt have legbands..

 

[seminolewind]

Barg, you are TOO funny! I'm going to say that #1 and #2 are the same. So #3 must be Mrs. Nezbit

 

[Cara]

Some people use them to identify the origin of their birds, e.g which hatchery, breeder, who they got the eggs from, or which parents the birds came from.

 

[Scrambled Egg]

FluffyChickenMama - I can just imagine what the supper conversation would be!! "Ma, you done a good job on this ole toeless chicken"!!!! That sure shows how times have changed!! Guess Chickens have rights too!!

Speaking of Chicken toes, I laugh at their toes all the time! They look like pterodactyl toes!! They perch on their roost and one of those long toes will overlap the other and wiggle a little, it cracks me up every time!! --yes, I know, I am totally crazy!!

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

Hi!
I use the zip ties as leg bands to identify my breeders.
The Naked Neck x Silkie crosses are zip tied by what generation they are (f1 was black, f2 was white, etc.)

The pair of silkie-feathered hens that lay blue/green eggs are zip tied green so I don't confuse them with other silkie feathered crosses that look similar (I had another but accidently sold her as a Silkie cross and didn't realize she was one of my silkie feathered blue/green eggers til the next day).

I don't need to tell them apart by name (only a few have names and I know them by sight), but for breeding purposes and so I don't accidently sell someone I didn't intend to

Lisa

 

[k625]

My new chickens have leg bands on (zip ties) and It looks as if when they got older and legs got larger, that they would be too tight? How do you get them off? It looks like it would be difficult to do?

 

[Nichole77]

A true mother would have such a bond with her/his babies they would just instinctively know them apart. (yea right)

 

[allen wranch]

Yes, you have to take the zip ties off and put on new ones as the birds get larger. A pair of wire cutters does it very easily.

Cutting off a toe may be a little drastic, but people still punch the webbing between a chickens toes for identification.

Toe Punch Chart