Leg bands

[hinkjc]

I tried the little tiny spiral leg bands and I was so afraid I was going to break their tiny little legs trying to get it on. Then I stretched it so far to get it open it broke. I gave up on that idea.

Food coloring works well on light colored chicks (buffs)

and takes a while for it to grow out.

Jody

 

[TerrasCritters]

If you get spirals that just slip over the feet, they will slip right back off, you have to kind of untwist the spirals to open up enough and put them on pretty much like you put new keys on your key ring. But like the zip ties you will have to take them off and change to bigger sizes as the birds grow, because they will start to outgrow them and you ever see the animal control shows where the dogs usually have there collars imbedded in there skin. Same thing happens with the zip ties or spirals or anything wrapped around a area of a animal that it continues to grow or if its to tight. (I know you knew that already

)

I use the spirals size 4 I think on my quail, could maybe use on chicks for the first week?

You could also use a drop of food coloring to mark your chicks.

 

[KKluckers]

Quote:
My buffs are four weeks old and still red and green

 

[Tuffoldhen]

I use colored velcro strips...I have hens almost a year old that have not lost them....I just cut them to size and keep an eye out that they didn't get tight...

 

[Katy]

Thanks for the thoughts everyone. One reason I had never tried the spiral is because I thought they looked like they'd be a pain in the you-know-where to get off when I needed to change them. I might have to give velcro a try. The bandettes are made so they kind of grow with them for awhile so I don't have to change them so often....if I'm careful when I'm taking them off I can even re-use them. I mainly am want to keep different lines designated when I combine brooders.

 

[SoccerMomof7]

The velcro thing is a really good idea, I am going to try that.

 

[Katy]

Welcome to BYC! I see you're a fellow Kansan. There's not many of us here, but there's a few.

 

[SoccerMomof7]

Thanks, this is my first time with chickens so I am pretty new to this whole thing.

 

[nutz4critters]

Quote:
Hi, Chicken Masters

Dummy here would like to know what the velcro strips are. Dummy would also like to know how you use food color to mark your chicks. I tried food color in a spray bottle (coloring and water) and that did not work well. Had a pink dog for a while, though!

Daisy, my dog, decided to jump up at the chicks in their pens and got squirted for her efforts. (It was that or a swat from a hoe -- figured the colored water was better

) I guess hair absorbs dye easier than feathers.

I ordered some of those elastic band things on ebay. Probably wasted my money, but who knows?! Maybe I got lucky. They look like tiny glorified rubber bands to me. We shall see how they work.

Okay -- the dummy is going back in the closet for now.

 

[ozark hen]