Ok, so I've been weighing and photographing a few members of my meaties flock to document how long it takes to grow them out, how much feed I'm using vs. the amount of weight they are putting on, etc. And this morning I was documenting their 3-week old numbers. I have 25 birds and record only the weights of 3-4 of them. I decided that if I wanted to chart the same birds each time, I'd have to "mark" them somehow so I know who is who.
I had the brilliant idea to use a red marker to color one of their toes so I could find them again. (You can already see where this is going can't you?) When I put the three that I colored back into the brooder, the other chicks began chasing them around pecking at the toes I colored. They thought it was food. The poor chicks I marked were so confused--after a few minutes of being chased they started holding up their foot to keep it away from the others. I had to take them back out of the brooder and wash their toes. Of course I used a permanent marker so cotton swabs, rubbing alcohol and warm soapy water took off most of it. I think they are OK now....
Ya learn something new every day.
You can see the colored toe on the chick in this picture.
I had the brilliant idea to use a red marker to color one of their toes so I could find them again. (You can already see where this is going can't you?) When I put the three that I colored back into the brooder, the other chicks began chasing them around pecking at the toes I colored. They thought it was food. The poor chicks I marked were so confused--after a few minutes of being chased they started holding up their foot to keep it away from the others. I had to take them back out of the brooder and wash their toes. Of course I used a permanent marker so cotton swabs, rubbing alcohol and warm soapy water took off most of it. I think they are OK now....
Ya learn something new every day.
You can see the colored toe on the chick in this picture.
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