Banding/marking new chicks?

I'm going to start hatching some new birds soon, but I'll be going in on an order with a friend. I'm wondering if/how to band or mark young chicks for ease of identification. I tried zippy ties, but they kept coming off the chicks foot, around their silky soft little toes. Am I just being overly afraid of doing them too tightly, or is there a better chick-marking solution?

Have a look for some of the coloured elastics they use for braces. I got some last year and the worked pretty good. A few of them slipped them but not to bad. You do have to keep and eye on them and have a few sizes, they grow out of them pretty quickly!
Found them on ebay.

Does anyone here use the toe punch? I am interested in trying that out.

coopslave wrote:Have a look for some of the coloured elastics they use for braces. I got some last year and the worked pretty good. A few of them slipped them but not to bad. You do have to keep and eye on them and have a few sizes, they grow out of them pretty quickly!
Found them on ebay.

This is a good idea. I'd definitely watch out for growth, that's what scared me so much about the zip ties, I didn't want them to be too loose that they'd fall off, but i didn't want them snug at all either because they grow so fast.




Sue -- Toe... punch?

I used those little elastics last year, and then went to zip ties when they were older

I use only the toe punch method now. I tried several other options including little colored hair bands but nothing else was completely reliable. Once you have marked a chick with a toe punch, they are marked for life, no mistakes can be made or plastic bands growing into legs.

KathyS wrote:I use only the toe punch method now. I tried several other options including little colored hair bands but nothing else was completely reliable. Once you have marked a chick with a toe punch, they are marked for life, no mistakes can be made or plastic bands growing into legs.

Hrm.. It sounds so... well, it sounds harsh. However I'm interested, I'm going to look into this, just to see what it is

A toe punch is less invasive than an ear pierce. There is a tool you can buy...very sharp...and you use it to punch a hole in the thin skin between the toes of the chick. Your record keeping must be good though. You need to keep track to left and right, and which webbing has been punched.

Kathy, whe did you buy your punch?

Are you looking for long-term identification, or something shorter term? If it's short term, and the chicks are light coloured, could you not just mark them with a non-toxic marker (Crayola) or a dab of food colouring? You could re-apply as needed.

authenticfarm wrote:Are you looking for long-term identification, or something shorter term? If it's short term, and the chicks are light coloured, could you not just mark them with a non-toxic marker (Crayola) or a dab of food colouring? You could re-apply as needed.

I thought about that, but I think many of them will be dark chicks.

I read online (looking for toe punch info), that you can use fruit containers inside the incubator so they hatch into the little containers for easy sorting... has anyone done this?

Sweetened I know it does sound a bit cruel. The first time I punched through that tender skin I had to bite my lip and dig deep to muster up the courage. But it was just the same for me when it came to ear-tagging calves or giving needles to the goats. After the first time it becomes routine and I hardly think about it now. There is no bleeding (or very minimal) and to me the benefits are worth it. I am absurdly meticulous with my chicken records. I have several pictures of each bird in the breeding pens, their pedigree as much as I know of it and any remarks regarding health, egg laying, etc etc etc.... I am anal to a fault and tend to take things to the extreme when it comes to my chickens.
I ordered my toe punch through Berry Hill online, Sue.

Oh, and yes I do use little individual baskets in order to keep track of the chicks in the incubator as they are hatching.

Thanks Kathy. I will order one.

I have seen people use two of those dollar store plastic organizers with slots on the side to separate chicks. Put the eggs inside one, invert another over the top and twist tie them together.

As far as using the toe punch, I too will be squeamish the first time, but no more so than putting defective chicks down at birth.

My chicks are mostly black and I mark them with a blob of water colour paint that comes in a tube. Like squeezing a little toothpaste on their head. This is NOT the dry stuff in tablet form. Gloppy stuff, in tubes.

Yellow, white, orange, red, green, purple, blue..how many colours do you want? Splot, on the head. It does flake and drop off as fluff grows out, but it's easy enough to re-blob when one gets too faded. And once they are a bit bigger, then move on to banding of some sort.

They look like a collection of punk rockers. BUt it is easy to see at a glance who is who.

I find this very effective for short term marking.

About separating eggs in bator..I bought some sheets of perforated plastic from craft stores. Flat, like a placemat. Cut it into 2 or 3 inch tall strips, depending on the clearance in your bator. Attached these strips as needed with pipe cleaners ( I use them instead of twist ties, can cut to length) to make longer strips, then make round corrals, size as required. If you make them too short, chicks can glump out. I like that the strips can be wired and unwired to make bigger or smaller for next hatch.

bingo dabbers?

Bingo dabbers or felt pens are not the right kind of colour/dye. What you want is something gummy, sticky, and opaque. Like that pre-mixed water colour paint. The stuff I use is actually an artists watercolour set, not cheapy kindergarten stuff. Just a little dab/smudge on top of the head and it dries on. Sticks ON the fluff, does not soak into the fluff where it would be much harder to see.

for long term id. Wing bands! You can put them on at a day old ( i do mine at 7ish days old)

Where do you buy your wing bands, Call Ducks? Can you show a bird with a wing band?

Just checked Berryhill for a toe punch. $6.59 but the shipping is $12.00!

Is there a place that has a better shipping rate? Sheesh!

Schipperkesue wrote:Where do you buy your wing bands, Call Ducks? Can you show a bird with a wing band?

100 wing bands is 8.99 from the states [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

the tool is 22 bucks, you could use normal plyers. shipping is not 4.00 bucks as they say on the site, but should be decent price.

Sue, i have a couple extra. I bought 3 or 4 at once at cultler for like 3.50 a piece or something. I hung mine on my keychain, so i know where it is always and looks sharp!

Are you willing to sell one Piet?

Pm me with mailing adress, I am in a gifty mood.

Piet! You prince!