if I pick 4 and post some pics for you guys to help ensure hens, is there a good way to mark those 4 as I work on rehoming the rest? Nail polish okay?
There are quite a few ways to mark chickens.
Yes, nail polish can work.
Or you can put plastic zip ties around one leg of each bird (leave it loose enough to not squish the leg, and cut off the loose end so they cannot pull it tighter.)
Or you can buy legbands (same idea as the zip ties, but officially made for the purpose.)
Or you can use food coloring or ink on some feathers (works well on light-colored chickens, not so well on dark ones.)
I have also marked chickens by cutting the ends off some feathers: either the flight feathers of the wings, or the long feathers of the tail. Either way, the next time the chicken molts, those feathers fall out and are replaced with uncut new feathers. Cutting the ends off the tail feathers is convenient if you want to recognize them at a distance but I think it looks a bit ugly, while cutting the flight feathers on a wing means the chicken does not look any different while walking around on the ground, but you have to grab the chicken and unfold a wing to see if it was marked.
Other methods include punching holes in the toe webs, or applying wingbands that go through the skin and stay in place permanently. I have never been tempted to try either of those, but I know they work for some people.
