I purchased a toe puncher a few months a go, and decided to use it on some chicks I had hatch today. It worked pretty well, the chicks are doing just fine. I have tatoo my goats in the past, it is quite similar. I got a nice notepad today, and have made a chick record section. I put the chicks toe punch record in there, with information on each chick, and spaces to put down if the chick is kept, sold, or died. It seems like a pretty good system. Bands and spirals seem like a hassle, you have to keep changing them as the bird grows, and if you forget to it embeds in the leg, and they can get rather expensive as you have to buy groups of 25, and if you have several breeds like, it could add up to a lot with the different styles, colors, sizes, and numbers. So the toe punching seems like a good alternative, and it is cheap and it last forever. Not too gross or cruel either. But I was just reading today that it can cause problems as the birds get older. Should I be concerned? Does it cause the bird problems because it is missing part of what holds the toes in place? Does it cause crooked toes?
Ashlyn
Ashlyn
