I hadn't order from there YET. I was just looking last night at some of the aluminum ones but I think the numbers would be to hard to see. Other then the numbers not being on there, I was thinking of going with the larger zip ties. I don't think they could pull them off. I would just wait until they got full grown to put them on. The size 12 works fine until they are about full grown. lol I'd just put a couple on each bird with different colors on each leg. Sort of like toe punching. lol
I have 11 on the girls. Actually if they are running around these are even hard to see. At least I think the metal bands wont come off. I used zip ties last year. They work good. But of course you can't identify each birds. They will tend to break after a year or so. But never had any issues will them getting there toes caught or pulling them off. For new people, just make sure you cut the zip ties very close to were they tread. Otherwise they will grab the end and pull and tighten them badly around there leg. Been there, seen it. LOL
Hey Ron, you are slowly falling into the class with Matt, Steven, Chris and Jeff. They are slowly getting to the place of being booted off the posse. Ha, ha, ha.
Quote: I hear those 3 eyed, 12 legged chickens are VERY valuable... just think of the out cross those would produce.
Quote: Dang, this sounds worse than ear tags in sheep.... started double tagging them years ago just to guarantee identification.
You mean I need to double band chickens?
To this point... here's what I have done...
For my production birds... which I have had for years... I use spiral bands that correspond to the international color for queen bees that year.
My husband has honey bees, so using those 5 colors has always worked well for us... for instance this year Red. I last used red in 2008, so I know the red ones that are no longer chicks are the ones that go in the freezer this year.
For those who are not familiar with queen bee marking standards... years that end in 1 or 6 are white, years that end in 2 or 7 are yellow, years ending in 3 or 8 are red, years ending in 4 or 9 are green, and years ending in 5 or 0 are blue.
Weird system... but since we've always had production birds and never want to keep one beyond 5 yrs, this system has worked well for us.
This year... I started off with the chicks using tiny zip ties. Hated them!
They were hard to cut off and had no room for error so I was spending several hours once a week changing everyone's zip ties.
Then I switched to vet wrap. LOVE IT! Wrap a small strip around the leg loosely and then pinch it at the back to make it the right size.
And they stay on very well.
There's more room for error so they don't need to be changed as often, and my flat, nub nose toenail scissors I use to trim them off make it really easy.
The "only" reason I was wanted to graduate the HRIR to leg bands is to begin specific id.
I wanted to have bands on before Steven came to visit so making notes about each bird would be easy and effortless.
In the meantime... I have never toe punched... but don't quite understand what that gets you anyway. It's not like you have enough toes to tell 12 hens apart. You can only toe punch in so many places. Unless I'm understanding the toe punch incorrectly, this just seem practical with a large number of birds.
Haven't even considered the wing bands yet, but maybe I need to.
So... here's another question... at what age do you consider "full grown" so you can put a metal band on without concern for sizing it wrong?
Thanks for everyone help (and entertainment)
Sheri... who is envisioning sheep ear tags on her RIR and it ain't purdy...
I'll just bet that those honey bees look funnier then the dickens flying around with those red leg bands on, WOW, they sure could pack a lot of honey. Oh my gosh, this thread is really making me crazy.Dang, this sounds worse than ear tags in sheep.... started double tagging them years ago just to guarantee identification.
You mean I need to double band chickens?
To this point... here's what I have done...
For my production birds... which I have had for years... I use spiral bands that correspond to the international color for queen bees that year.
My husband has honey bees, so using those 5 colors has always worked well for us... for instance this year Red. I last used red in 2008, so I know the red ones that are no longer chicks are the ones that go in the freezer this year.
For those who are not familiar with queen bee marking standards... years that end in 1 or 6 are white, years that end in 2 or 7 are yellow, years ending in 3 or 8 are red, years ending in 4 or 9 are green, and years ending in 5 or 0 are blue.
Weird system... but since we've always had production birds and never want to keep one beyond 5 yrs, this system has worked well for us.
This year... I started off with the chicks using tiny zip ties. Hated them!
They were hard to cut off and had no room for error so I was spending several hours once a week changing everyone's zip ties.
Then I switched to vet wrap. LOVE IT! Wrap a small strip around the leg loosely and then pinch it at the back to make it the right size.
And they stay on very well.
There's more room for error so they don't need to be changed as often, and my flat, nub nose toenail scissors I use to trim them off make it really easy.
The "only" reason I was wanted to graduate the HRIR to leg bands is to begin specific id.
I wanted to have bands on before Steven came to visit so making notes about each bird would be easy and effortless.
In the meantime... I have never toe punched... but don't quite understand what that gets you anyway. It's not like you have enough toes to tell 12 hens apart. You can only toe punch in so many places. Unless I'm understanding the toe punch incorrectly, this just seem practical with a large number of birds.
Haven't even considered the wing bands yet, but maybe I need to.
So... here's another question... at what age do you consider "full grown" so you can put a metal band on without concern for sizing it wrong?
Thanks for everyone help (and entertainment)
Sheri... who is envisioning sheep ear tags on her RIR and it ain't purdy...
