When is a good age to leg tag my Rouen ducks?

[vanambu3]

I have 6 Rouen ducks that are 7.5 weeks old. I am preparing for them to be let into our pond here shortly (whenever their feathers are done coming in), and I was considering putting some zip ties on their legs to be able to identify them (mostly so our niece can tell the difference between them). At 7.5 weeks old, would that leg band be a good size for them to wear permanently? Or would I need to keep watching them to make sure their legs don't grow to big for the ties? I'm concerned that their legs might keep growing, and I definitely don't want to have them get to tight. I'm also trying to avoid chasing them down after they are free range to re-do their bands, so if that is the case, what would be the best age to put the bands on? Thanks for any help!

Here is a pic of our babies at 6 weeks old...they grow so fast!

 

[Amiga]

I think I put leg bands (velcro wraps, soft side in) on ours when they were four or five months old.

And most of them are still on!

They have gotten their legs hung up on vines a few times in four years. Nothing scary, but minor rescue was needed.

 

[grolschie]

Sorry to necro this thread. I also have this question. I am wondering about what age the leg stops thickening so I can fit a permanent leg band.

I have a Pekin/Rouen cross that's 2.5 months old and very large already. An 18mm spiral band is quite loose on him. Thinking of trying 16mm band, but I'm cautious if he's gonna grow more and cannot be re-captured to remove it.

 

[Ratchnick]

Yeah i would say he will grow more, sexual maturity is about 6 months right? I think most of the growth is in the first 16 to 20 weeks

 

[grolschie]

Thanks for that. He's pretty much the size of his parents already. I will keep the 16mm on perhaps, and maybe re-capture him in a few months and swap for the 18mm. He is a rescue and will be re-introduced gently/slowly to the local wild (but not that wild) Pekins and Rouen population again. Tomatoes are his weakness.

The spiral and is so that he doesn't get removed and relocated, as some of the population might be in the future.

 

[SolarDuck]

Thanks for that. He's pretty much the size of his parents already. I will keep the 16mm on perhaps, and maybe re-capture him in a few months and swap for the 18mm. He is a rescue and will be re-introduced gently/slowly to the local wild (but not that wild) Pekins and Rouen population again. Tomatoes are his weakness.

The spiral and is so that he doesn't get removed and relocated, as some of the population might be in the future.

What do you mean by local wild Pekin and Rouen population? There are no wild Pekins or Rouen they are domestic ducks, if they're in the wild by you it is because people dumped them.

 

[grolschie]

There's a stream that runs through the housing subdivision where I live. I think someone dumped a pekin years ago, so a resident bought 3 more as friends for him. Then rouens and Black Swedish ducks turned up, probably escaped from a farm. Anyway, they have been here for years and are well loved and well fed. But the pekins are absolutely useless at raising ducklings, so the ducking I have raised is the only survivor of 12 ducklings.

 

[grolschie]

What do you mean by local wild Pekin and Rouen population? There are no wild Pekins or Rouen they are domestic ducks, if they're in the wild by you it is because people dumped them.

Further to my reply. The Rouens are decent at raising ducklings, and some may be relocated (not by me) because the population is getting large, so the leg band is so mine doesn't get nabbed.

Mine came from a clutch of 12 (7x yellow, 4x yellow/brown mix, and 1x brown). Mine is the brown one and looks like Rouen. Mumma is a Pekin.