The Moonshiner's Leghorns

[Kung_pao]

Thank you. I’m in the middle of making divinity but I’m sure I’ll think of more questions.

 

[KF0002]

Thank you. I’m in the middle of making divinity but I’m sure I’ll think of more questions.

Sure, ask away! I can take pics or a video the next time I do it. There are also videos on Youtube on how to apply them.

 

[AinaWGSD]

We tried wing bands for the first time this year. The chicks actually screamed about the leg band application way more than the wing bands. And I like that we didn't have to keep sizing up the wing bands, just one (seemingly) mildly uncomfortable application and they're marked for life. A few chicks pulled at their own bands for a day or two but nothing enough to cause injury and then they got used to them and forgot about them

 

[BlueBaby]

We tried wing bands for the first time this year. The chicks actually screamed about the leg band application way more than the wing bands. And I like that we didn't have to keep sizing up the wing bands, just one (seemingly) mildly uncomfortable application and they're marked for life. A few chicks pulled at their own bands for a day or two but nothing enough to cause injury and then they got used to them and forgot about them

That's great! I've been thinking about using those in the future.

 

[AinaWGSD]

The only downside to wing bands over leg bands is that you can't see them unless the bird is in hand after a few weeks. Which means you can't use them to tell birds apart at a distance.

 

[KF0002]

The only downside to wing bands over leg bands is that you can't see them unless the bird is in hand after a few weeks. Which means you can't use them to tell birds apart at a distance.

I actually don’t mind that because we catch up potential breeders to check them out anyway. It isn’t too much bother to catch them or go into a pen to get them to check their wing band. It is far better than having a bird lose their leg band and having no clue which bird is what because it is unmarked. We also toe punch but that only tells you the line, not the specific pair they came from or the year they were born.

 

[KF0002]

I will share another strong reason I prefer wing bands to leg bands in chicks. When you brood the volume of chicks we go through, it can be easy to miss up-sizing a leg band. When we first started using the zip ties, I hadn't wing banded young chicks before, so I would keep upgrading their leg bands, and we would toe punch them like always. Well, I missed one. By the time I realized it, the zip tie was pretty much imbedded into the chick's leg. I removed the zip tie and the chick was eventually fine, but it bothered me. From that point on, I wing banded every chick that needed banded at 2-3 weeks of age.

I have a method of marking chicks so that no one gets missed. I lay hands on every single chick that moves from a stock tank and look them over, making 100% sure any zip ties are removed before they go into the wire bottomed brooders. By the time they are old enough to out-grow the stock tanks and old enough to start flying out, they are old enough to easily apply their wing bands. By 2-3 weeks, they have outgrown their zip tie and are ready for their permanent wing band. So I want to caution anyone applying leg bands of any kind of chicks to double and even triple check that you are upsizing and/or removing the smaller leg bands or zip ties.

Wing bands can technically be applied to newborn standard-sized chicks, and I have wing banded them straight out of the incubator before. BUT you have to watch them so very close if you do that because their tiny wing can get folded up and stuck inside the wing band before their wing feathers develop. So I choose not to wing band them that early for that reason, and I use the color-coded zip ties to leg band them right out of the incubator, then wing band them at 2-3 weeks. Also, by 2-3 weeks the wing web is strong enough to hold the wing band very well and there are just a few tiny capillary vessels in the thin skin of the wing web, meaning there is no chance of causing any significant pain or blood loss if applied correctly. The chick will cry out a bit when you push the wing band through the wing web, sure it smarts a bit. Probably like an ear piercing or something similar. But it's over very quickly and it doesn't cause them any harm or pain beyond that.

If you wait too long though and the chicks are beyond around 3 months old, the skin of the wing web becomes thicker and tougher, and the wing band cannot be pushed through the wing web manually. The wing band will literally bend and not puncture through the wing web. So in that case, you have to use a sharp knife tip to create a puncture hole in the wing web to put the wing band through. The older the bird is, the more bleeding you may notice, but if applied correctly the bleeding should never be more than a scant amount.

Also, when wing banding for the first time it is my recommendation to get someone to help hold the bird so that the person doing the banding has more control to keep the bird still and positioned. I wing band birds by myself but I have years of experience holding them and positioning them with one hand and applying the wing band with the other.

The types of wing bands I prefer are the ZIP wing bands, style 890. I cannot recommend the Tab or Jiffy wing bands because I do not like them. The Zip wing band pliers used to apply the band are the same pliers as the Zip leg bands, so if you purchase one you do not need a different set for the other. The Zip leg bands are okay for cock birds with spurs because the spur helps hold the band on the leg. They are also good for turkeys but they are generally too big and will fall off young chickens and hens.

One more thing, when applying the wing band, the band tip goes up through the BOTTOM of the wing web from underneath the wing, not down through the top in order to be in the right position for the numbers to be on top facing up to be easily read. If you accidentally apply one upside down (been there, done that), you can still lift the wing up and read the number from underneath, but it is kind of annoying. lol

I hope any of this info helps someone.

 

[Kung_pao]

Three batches and 4hrs later I’m finally done, one cherry, one black walnut and one pecan. Now back to chickens, I think I’ll order some wingbands. Have you ever put them on older birds? I have some around two months old I’d like to keep track of.

 

[Kung_pao]

I’m always scared to do leg bands on chicks. I worry I’ll end up forgetting and have a bunch of one legged chickens.

 

[KF0002]

View attachment 4270528
Three batches and 4hrs later I’m finally done, one cherry, one black walnut and one pecan. Now back to chickens, I think I’ll order some wingbands. Have you ever put them on older birds? I have some around two months old I’d like to keep track of.

Yes I have wing banded chickens from day-old to full grown. You can try to push the wing band through on 8 week olds, but if the band bends and won't penetrate the wing web you will have to use a knife tip to make the hole. It sounds worse than what it really is. you make one small puncture with the knife tip just big enough to get the band through, not a huge gash or anything. I have wing banded 8 weeks old and it seems like I was able to push the band through, best of my memory. However, I do know that by the time they are closer to 3 months old you have to use the knife tip method to make the wing band hole. From my experience with my husband's Game chickens I have wing banded at that age anyway. The cockerels' wing webs get tougher faster than the pullets, I do remember that.