Leg bands

[Katy]

I've always wanted to be able to know who's who with my chicks and know where they came from. I've always used bandette leg bands or electrical zip ties in the past. I was looking at the spiral leg bands...do you just slip them over their foot to put them on and remove them? Are they hard to remove?

 

[sara]

My chickens and ducks somehow remove those spiral bands. I'm using zip ties not, problem is, you have to take them off and put a new one on as their legs get bigger.

 

[Gindee77]

We removed the zip ties we had on our chicks. I know them well enough now to know which ones I had marked that I THINK are roos. We used wire cutters and it took two of us. We were very careful but it was sort of scary. I was so afraid we'd hurt one. They fought and struggled but we finally got the job done. Just make sure you cut off the zip ties before they get snug or it may be very difficult to get them off.

 

[Katy]

Yes, I always change the zip ties as they grow. I have a small pair of sharp scissors that works pretty well to snip them off. I was just wondering about people's expereince with the spiral bands. I like the bandettes, but was looking at other options.

 

[CUDA]

You can put wing bands on them, or toe punch them.

 

[Katy]

I've got a toe punch that I got to use on my call ducks, but I can't make myself use it!

 

[CUDA]

It's really not a big deal. I cut the webs out of my chicks as soon as I pull them out of the incubator to keep track of all my different breeds.

 

[ridgefire]

Toe punching?

 

[CUDA]

Toe punching is marking your fowl, normally as chicks, by punching a hole in the webbing between the toes. You can also remove the webbing because sometimes the hole punched with a punching tool can heal back closed. You use patterns so you know what chick is what breed.

 

[KKluckers]

Quote:
I thought that to Katy. It took me five minutes just to get up the nerve to do the first chick. The key is just to be quick. The chick didnt make much of a fuss. I thought for sure it would chirp loudly. It didnt though and its way easier then messing with the zip ties or bands.