marking my chicks

[cabincrazyone]

Quote:
Reading this thread makes me think that having banding equipment might be a good idea .... like a box of bands and a pliers, how much expence .... I'll Google and learn about them.

 

[cabincrazyone]

Quote:
After reading up a bit, I like the sound of the toe punching method. There are 16 different combinations of punching the 4 webs, which seems to be plenty of code possibilities.

Also, colored spiral bands for spotting individuals in the flock sound handy.

 

[mychookschick]

When they were chicks, I just used a marker of some kind on their legs. I used different marks or a series of marks for each... Then when they get older (dependign on the breed) you can tell who is who by their feathering!

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

You can use a Non-Toxic marker to mark chicks. Just don't use RED! Chicks will peck at that color.

 

[saladin]

Quote:
After reading up a bit, I like the sound of the toe punching method. There are 16 different combinations of punching the 4 webs, which seems to be plenty of code possibilities.

Also, colored spiral bands for spotting individuals in the flock sound handy.

I use the colored spiral bands to indicate the year hatched (red: 2010, blue: 2011, etc).

The toe punch is easy and it last a lifetime. Plus, they are very inexpensive. Sometimes the bands break or fade with age. That is why I only use them for the year and not to identify individual birds.