Naming your chicken?? Question?

My chicks all have their own names, but they only respond to chick! chick! chick! and usually leave immediately if I don't have something good to eat in my hands!


Oh, and none of mine look remotely like the other! I have read about the little leg bands you can buy, but since I never needed them I didn't pay that much attention...Sorry. Somebody will respond shortly to that though, I'm sure!

 

Food coloring. On the backs of their necks. Or little girls hair elastics in different colors. Or colored zip ties....cut off the long end (I get them at dollar tree). Depending on how many you have, you may want to keep a list of which chick is which color.

Good luck!

 

Leg bands are the easiest. Some chickens "know" their names. Most just come to "Here chicky, chicky, chicky."

 

I use colored spiral bands.

 

I used the little yellow poultry bands with numbers on them. I got mine at my feed store and only bought the amount that I needed. I think they are the easiest to put on. I have 4 buff orps that look so much alike that I'm really glad I got the numbers:
17=Sweetie
19=Ruby
47=Lilly
41=Lucy
At 11 weeks, Ruby is the alpha pullet and Lucy is at the bottom of the pecking order....

 

I deliberately got different breeds because I was positive I wouldn't be able to tell them apart otherwise. (Never had chickens before I dove into this Chicken Thing last October.) Imagined if I had a flock of six RIRs, it would be like, "Good morning, Rhoda. 'Morning, Rhoda. How are you, Rhoda? Good morning, Rhoda. And you too, Rhoda. Oh, mustn't forget you, Rhoda, good morning!" So I bought all different breeds.

However, when I bought two Golden Lakenvelders from another BYC member, I did see the difference between them and now can say, "Good morning, Millicent! How are you, Minerva?!"

And as to whether they know their names or not... well, Carl the rooster does, and Betsy the BR does, and so does Matilda the BA and Ellen the bantam lavender Cochin. The rest of them, not so much. Not even Rhoda the RIR, but she's still young.

EVERYBODY comes when I make my chicken call, "Chickens! I have CHICKENS!"

 

Both of my roosters come to their names and I used to have two other roosters that did too! My chicks, Coral Rose and Wafers, know their names but don't usually come to them and my three onther hens, Tiny, Chloe and Flower... Well Tiny knows her name. lol I haven't needed to mark mine yet but I am thinking about buying 20 or 15 Buff Orpington hens so I might need to! lol So most of my chickens come to their names!

 

I have 4 Isa Browns in my younger flock. Two sets of twins I thought initially.
But interestingly there are differences enough that I can tell them apart.
The younger two Maisie and Daisy can be told apart from their combs. Daisy's comb has a "wave".
The older two, Edna and Lotty I can tell apart not from their faces but only as they walk away because poor Edna always has a dirty bottom!!

 

Too funny!!! Mine all have names. they're all different breeds so no problem telling them apart. they don't seem to know their names, but they ALL come running if i call "YOGURT"! Gotta love 'em!