Need help identifying individual chicks!!

[horsegurlxo16]

Hi everyone, I'm doing a school project where we ordered five chicks and are going to carfeully document their progress and how big they've grown. I need to tell which of the five chicks is which, (they all are Rhode Island Reds) and I would like to know if there is some sort of thing I can put on their leg at their age. They will only be a couple days old when we recieve them. I dont want to hurt their leg or anything, but i need to be able to identify them (preferably with something I dont have to go out and buy, but rather something that would be laying around school of the house)
Thankyou!

 

[BC_Farms]

Zip ties, marker....

 

[detali]

You could try tying a pretty colored string around each chicks shoulder, under one wing with a bow at the shoulder. A different colored string for each chick.

 

[lemurchaser]

different colored zip ties around the leg. Just monitor them, they'll get too tight as the chicks grow. I've found permanent marker gets rubbed off on the zip ties, so color coding is best. You could even do it with one color, so #1=band on right #2= band on left, #3= 2 bands on right, #4= 2 bands on left, #5= 1 band on each leg.

 

[dulcimer lady]

I would use a sharpie and make a small identifying mark on top of their heads. I'd be afraid something tied on them somewhere would get pecked or pulled at by the other chicks.

 

[Boo-Boo's Mama]

I put zip ties of different colors on my six 6 week old chicks. There was some pecking at first but the new wore off very quickly and no one seems to pay any attention to them now.

Our BO are just alike so I will have to use them on this group. The EE are different, SLW will probably need them and the BR.

I have started recording their names, breed, date of birth, where they were bought from, and will had when the go out to the coop, when they started laying and if possible their laying history. May add other things such as weight and if they go broody, etc.

 

[Chook-A-Holic]

What ever you decide, keep in mind not to use red or bright green. The other chicks will peck it.