tellin the difference between our chicks

[bene449]

hey thanks for all the great replies but i read somewhere that the chemicals in the nail polish is very bad for them/ kill them!?

 

[Donna in Montana]

I'm surprised having a 'spot' on their head or back doesn't cause another chick to start pecking at the spot? I had thought of marking the topknots of my White Crested Black Polish chicks when I first got them because they were identical but when I saw pictures of how they'd look as adults I figured I could tell them apart okay when grown.
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We put our babies in their little coop yesterday. They didn't come out into the run until today but really loved running in and out of their door. Had a great time scratching in the hay on the ground and looking for something to eat. I can tell the mother hens do a lot of teaching on what to eat. These are the first chicks I incubated and I have learned more then I'd expected about their 'chickhoods'... very interesting!

BTW... those little new feathers coming in have these 'protectors' on the feathers that look like the plastic pieces on the ends of shoelaces. Do other birds help peck those coverings off or do they just split open with age? Have been wondering about those for awhile but not seen anything about it..

Thanks for an answer...

 

[AZSummer]

The food coloring dot works. The other chicks will leave it alone. Just make sure the feathers are completely dry when you put her back. I had two BRs. One had pasty vent. I was tired of chasing one around the brooder to clean her behind only to catch the wrong one. Her nickname is now "Blue" even though she is most definately black and white.

EDIT: I just had a thought. Post pictures of your girls. I'm sure the good folks here can help. The first week, I couldn't tell our 2 Americanas apart until my DD pointed out that one was wearing eye liner. Now I look at them and wonder how I couldn't tell the difference (but they also have more feathers now too).