Wing Banding Chicks

[dannypritchett01]

I saw a photo where a person wing banded a chick that appeared to be a few days old. where and how do you do this. I always thought you had to wait til they got older, and I would band them right behind the bone. It was strange for me to think the chick may grow into the band. Or not have any skin to poke through.

 

[gritsar]

I can't really answer your question but I wanted to mention something. I got 5 chicks from the feed store that were banded by the hatchery. Because I intended to give them to my broody hens (and did) the first thing I did when I got them home was remove the bands. I was apprehensive about doing it, but it turned out to be easy. I just clip the center of the band with wire cutters and it came right off. So yeah, they do band them as day olds.

 

[dannypritchett01]

Hm, Which hatchery did that? I am about to start selling day old chicks by mail order but if I were to mark them I would be marking them another way. The only bands I have are NPIP Bands, and I would rather only band the ones I am keeping.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
The chicks I bought at the feed store were from Ideal Hatchery. Banding them for sale at the feedstore as "heavy sexed pullets" helps prevent mistakes should a customer pick up a chick and put it back in the wrong bin (happens all the time).

I should mention that I have ordered directly from Ideal before and asked that my cockerels be marked. Ideal (and other hatcheries I've read about) mark the cockerels or different breeds if you request it, with colored markers on their heads. The coloring fades in time.