Thanks Ron. Guess my biggest problem is ROI. If I've got 25 chicks, and I toe punch them, it's just for 'who's the mom.dad' right? Whereas a wing band marks an individual, and in the notebook you can write down who mom/dad/hatch etc.... do any of you guys have/know links to short videos on each method? I learn best by doing, for stuff like this, and second best is watching it happen. I am having the devil of a time understanding the pros/cons of each method, let alone the how. Like the wing-banding, sounds like that can happen as early as a week... does it grow with the bird or is it like leg bands where you have to re-band as they grow? People seem to have very strong opinions on every method, so there's the emotional haze to get through... It's hard to make a practical decision so far. Which is why at the moment, going to go with the multiple colors of vet wrap (Cheap n easy, grows w the bird, easy to remove, hard for a bird to undo itself). I might change my mind by the time my first hatch happens... We'll see!AletaG,
Toe punching is the easiest most permanent way to mark your chicks. I do it as I pull them from the hatcher.
It really is not that bad, for you or the chick. The toe punch tool works well and quickly. As soon as you show the chicks water and food, they have no thought of the toe punch.
If you can't make yourself toe punch you also won't be able to make yourself wing band, which is a much bigger hole.
Ron
