Leg Bands?

[ChickQueen77]

Is there a leg band that I can put on my chickens and it won't hurt their leg?

I want to get bands for my show chickens so I can tell them apart and the ones I put on them now are always slipping off and they will slide down and rub on their leg so I have to take the band off and then at that point bands are kind of useless if I have to put them on at the show and take them off after and then I don't know which chicken got which ribbon.

All I want to put on the band is a number so I can tell them apart and I want the number to be big enough so I can read it without picking it up.

 

[GoosesGeeses]

the only experience i have with bands are these: https://www.chewy.com/happy-hen-tre...5spxYc1IcGRfSGko3ELHlfhW9n9BHqAhoCzTAQAvD_BwE

They fell off a lot so we just didn't bother anymore.

 

[ChickQueen77]

the only experience i have with bands are these: https://www.chewy.com/happy-hen-tre...5spxYc1IcGRfSGko3ELHlfhW9n9BHqAhoCzTAQAvD_BwE

They fell off a lot so we just didn't bother anymore.

Those are just like the bands I have now and they will fall off the hens and slip down & they get caught on the roosters spur

 

[GoosesGeeses]

https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...1601580502931.html?mark=google_shopping&seo=1

this style looks like it is adjustable and wont fall off very easily

 

[Altairsky]

https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...1601580502931.html?mark=google_shopping&seo=1

this style looks like it is adjustable and wont fall off very easily

I was considering this model but it actually has a cutting edge against thd bird leg and it might cause injury.

 

[Cloverr39]

I use plastic closed rings. They're placed on at around 4 weeks old, and stay on for the chicken's entire life. I've been using them without issues.
In Europe, it's required for show birds to have closed rings that are placed on at an early age and cannot be removed unless cut open, which would then make the bird unshowable. Every year there's a new color, and each breed has its own ring size, so the rings fit them well and don't cause any pain or discomfort. You have to watch them a bit while the chicks grow and make sure the band stays above the spurs when they start growing on cockerels, but that's nothing a temporary ziptie can't fix. I think they're much better quality than any cheap plastic rings that snap open, and ensure you'll never misidentify any birds.
This is the website I believe they can be ordered from
https://rings4wings.com/en/products/e-z-rings/e-z-orings/

https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...1601580502931.html?mark=google_shopping&seo=1

this style looks like it is adjustable and wont fall off very easily

I've used these before too. I usually use them for any breeds that don't fall into the category of the closed ring size I use or to mark specific keepers for easier identifying from afar. I haven't encountered any issues with them in terms of injuries. I've had some break, due to being in constant use for more than a year, but in general they hold up pretty well and don't snap open. The fact that they're adjustable is a plus.

 

[NatJ]

All I want to put on the band is a number so I can tell them apart and I want the number to be big enough so I can read it without picking it up.

Have you considered plastic zip ties? You can use different colors rather than numbers, and that makes it easy to tell which chicken is which from a distance. If you have more chickens than colors, you can re-use legband colors on chickens of different colors (white chicken with a red band, black chicken with a red band, buff chicken with a red band). You can also use a two-leg system. (Chickens with a red, blue, or yellow left legband can also have a red, blue, or yellow right legband.)

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/leg-banding-with-zipties.68075/

 

[Debbie292d]

Have you considered plastic zip ties? You can use different colors rather than numbers, and that makes it easy to tell which chicken is which from a distance. If you have more chickens than colors, you can re-use legband colors on chickens of different colors (white chicken with a red band, black chicken with a red band, buff chicken with a red band). You can also use a two-leg system. (Chickens with a red, blue, or yellow left legband can also have a red, blue, or yellow right legband.)

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/leg-banding-with-zipties.68075/

That's what we use. Got ours on Amazon.

If grown chickens, I presume you'd check them every few months. We only use them on chicks, so we check them every few weeks. I have a toenail clipper for getting them off.