Tagging system?

[black_cat]

Hi! I'm helping out at a farm and we want to tag all of the chickens with numbered leg bands. I'd love to hear people explain their tagging system! I'd ideally like to have each bird have a unique number.

 

[Kiki]

With these?

How many birds are you talking?
Are they all the same age?

 

[Dottie the Chicken]

Hey, BC! Good to see you!

In the past I've just used a different colored zip tie to mark different batches of hens. Aka- I raise some ISA Browns every year, and they can get hard to tell apart, so I like to put a zip tie around one of their legs for the whole batch. Of course you have to use a different colored zip tie for a while, until the older batches circle out. (Although I do admit, I still haven't tagged last year's batch... also, these sometimes come off for whatever reason, must not have made them small enough.)

This probably isn't what you're looking for though if you want every chicken to be differently marked.

 

[black_cat]

With these?
View attachment 3066154


How many birds are you talking?
Are they all the same age?

There are currently 18 birds, with plans to add at least 10 more this year. There are three groups that are all in together, all different ages and sourced from different places.

 

[black_cat]

Hey, BC! Good to see you!

In the past I've just used a different colored zip tie to mark different batches of hens. Aka- I raise some ISA Browns every year, and they can get hard to tell apart, so I like to put a zip tie around one of their legs for the whole batch. Of course you have to use a different colored zip tie for a while, until the older batches circle out. (Although I do admit, I still haven't tagged last year's batch... also, these sometimes come off for whatever reason, must not have made them small enough.)

This probably isn't what you're looking for though if you want every chicken to be differently marked.

I thought about that, but it would be great to have every chicken be uniquely marked if possible.

 

[calboy147]

I thought about that, but it would be great to have every chicken be uniquely marked if possible.

I do the colored numbered bands. I do not have a big flock and have just recently began breeding for the appearance and temperament. They work fine as long as i am with religious with the paperwork. Mostly i look at the color and which leg it is on to keep a visual inspection and count. Soon as i see a problem i revert to the paperwork .

 

[RojoMarz]

We do a color a year (ie blue for 2020). That zip tie goes on left leg. Then another color zip tie goes on right leg, to identify which bird from 2020. 2021 got a different color, for use on left leg.

 

[black_cat]

We do a color a year (ie blue for 2020). That zip tie goes on left leg. Then another color zip tie goes on right leg, to identify which bird from 2020. 2021 got a different color, for use on left leg.

I really like that!

 

[MGG]

I use leg bands from Avian ID in the UK. They have tons of different bands and they're customizable. You can add initials, the year, and numbers. They're quite inexpensive too.