Telling chicks apart?

[SplendidDogFeet]

So right now, I can tell my Jersey girls apart by the down coloring around their eyes, but that will obviously go away. I am trying to learn the differences of their beaks, but will that also change as they mature? For instance, one of their beaks is white on the bottom all the way to the chin. Should I expect it to stay that way or will it change/darken?

 

[The Coop Crew]

I’m not 100% sure on exact changes but I had a hard time telling all of my dark chickens apart when they were babies but as they grew they started to look completely different! I just got 4 new babies today and idk who is who at this point

 

[rosemarythyme]

You could use leg rings to easily differentiate the birds...

I don't have this issue because I don't get chicks that look alike, so they're always easy to ID.

 

[SplendidDogFeet]

I’m not 100% sure on exact changes but I had a hard time telling all of my dark chickens apart when they were babies but as they grew they started to look completely different! I just got 4 new babies today and idk who is who at this point

I was going to wait to give everyone their names, but since the constipated chick had to go in a separate space with a friend, I couldn't help but name those two. I just want to be able to keep telling them apart as they keep growing.

 

[Huntmaster]

I use these for hatchlings and small birds like Quail, work well for me. Safest leg bands I have used for hatchlings. They come in different sizes and multi-colored packs just not large enough for larger birds.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Some hatcheries mark chicks with food dye when you ask them to differentiate chicks. You have different colors to work with and you can put spots on different body parts. A green spot on the forehead might be one chick. A yellow spot another. A spot on the right hip could be one chick, a spot on the right and left hip both could be another chick. All kinds of potential combinations. You will need to renew the markings as they feather out or go through a juvenile molt.

Instead of food dye use permanent markers (different colors). Similar to food dye.

I have never done this one but use a one hole punch to punch a permanent hole in the membrane between the toes. Depending on how many toes yours have and which legs you use you can come up with a lot of different markings.

Use colored rings as mentioned. I prefer zip ties. With anything on their leg like that you need to monitor them so they don't get tight as the leg grows, it can cut their foot off. A lot of us use that method, you just have to be careful to check on it.

 

[aart]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/leg-banding-with-zipties.68075/

 

[saysfaa]

In Black Australorps, the beak colors change. At least, they do often enough to not be useful to tell the chicks apart.

I tell mine apart by differences in the points of the combs when I can't tell by behavior. By the combs is mostly not an easy way. It might be impossible if you have exhibition quality birds so that all the birds have evenly sized and shaped points and each bird has the correct number of points.

 

[Debbie292d]

I've never marked my silkies but recently had to as I sold two to someone who needed me to hold them for them for a couple of weeks. They had circled which ones they wanted on a picture, so in a group of a dozen fuzzy butts, there's no way I could keep them apart. Hubby is an electrician and brought me the cutest little zip strips. They worked! I snipped them off when she finally came to pick them up. I wasn't even positive I had the same two she circled but she was happy!

 

[SplendidDogFeet]

I

In Black Australorps, the beak colors change. At least, they do often enough to not be useful to tell the chicks apart.

I tell mine apart by differences in the points of the combs when I can't tell by behavior. By the combs is mostly not an easy way. It might be impossible if you have exhibition quality birds so that all the birds have evenly sized and shaped points and each bird has the correct number of points.

Ordered mine from a hatchery, so I doubt they are show quality. They are starting to get their combs and right now the combs look different, but mostly because they are coming in at different rates.