I just received a phone call from a teenage friend who is selling some of her laying hens, she was wanting ideas on how to mark the hens she would like to keep. She has 40 hens that look pretty much the same.
I suggested maybe using food coloring on light feathers, but the hens are all dark. I also suggested foot bands of some sort. She tried that with twisty-ties and the hens pecked them off.
Can anyone suggest any inexpensive way to mark hens?
Thanks in advance.
This message was edited Jul 14, 2008 3:02 PM
Ideas on how to mark chickens?
good thing to ask I would also like to know
My son had a black Australorp that was his favorite when they were little and we couldn't tell them apart. He wanted something so he could tell which was his. He took a very small tie strap and put it around the ankle loose enough so that when it grew it wouldn't be tight. It can easily be cut off but to this day it is still on the hen though he knows which one is her. We never had a problem with her or any of the others pecking it. We used the tie straps that are about 1/8 of an inch wide and only a couple inches long and of course not the colored ones but the generic pale yellowish color ones. We cut the excess strap off. They can be purchased at any stores that carry hardware accessories.
LOL...
OK , you could either wait for TamaraFaye to tell you the easy ways, or you could go down my list of how to look very silly, even stupid to some in your family..
I have used assorted color perminent sharpie markers
I also grabbed a bunch of different bottles of nail polish and painted 29 chickens toenails, yep, four toes on both feet!
tf mentioned useing zipties... I think thats a cool idea... our Rural king here carries several colors.
zip ties are very inexpensive, silkiechick turned me on to those. i think about 5 bucks for a package.
for permanent bands, the best are the nubmered colored ones. you buy them in sets of 25... think i got a great deal about 5.95 per box plus shipping...
nail polish sound slike fun to me, but after three boys i dont' even remember how to use the stuff LOL
tf is busy, don't EVER wait for her answer LOL
If you use the zip ties on immature birds (and I do) put them on as loosely as possible--just tight enough not to slip over their feet. The little devils grow so fast, if you are not careful, they can start to dig into their legs. Ask me how I know.
yes very good point. and the ones i mentioned seem to expand, whereas the "spring" ones i used in the past did not.
keets grow even faster, ask me how i know. had to doctor some bloody legs when i couldnt'; get the bands changed fast enough...
Thats what I was talking about, zip ties, tie straps, same thing. We just call them tie straps.
you know smedge, i am guilty lately of just scanning through... iread your first line, then skipped to post really quickly... i am in texas, i should be calling them tie straps, might explain why the hardware stoe owner didn't know WHAT i was talking about...
lol yeppers ok so now i know what yall ment, I have gobs of them things around ehre, they are handy when you need to put up a fence real fast to keep who or what in or out
I asked for zip ties at the big box store and the (male, of course) employee looked down his nose and said, "Oh, you must mean cable straps". Never heard them called that either.
Anyway, I found a bundle of tiny ones at the dollar store that came in 4 neon colors.
I got those too at Big Lots--every store I go to I look for colored zip ties now...You can get a lot of colors very cheap and they are useful for putting together pvc chicken tractors with chicken wire.
I used to work in purchasing for a company that cabled for computer network systems. I bought a ton of tie straps and that is what they were called then. Those things come in all sizes from tiny to huge.
L2G, my husband has used them as well to put up a fence fast. They work great for a lot of stuff.
Actually when I worked for walmart.. they call them safety ties.. that was the only way I knew them until my dh and I argued about 100 times about what the heck I was talking about.. then he very politely taught me that they are most definitly zip ties.. can't wait to show him this thread... and show him they most definitly are called what ever we want..
tee hee.
Funny this question should come up now. A couple of days ago I had to mark 5 chicks that came out of the incubator to know which they were and to be able to tell them apart from the ones being hatched by the broody hens so lacking the zip ties I had heard about here I used nail polish....also heard about that here! Five chicks are now sporting hot pink nail polish.....my 5 year old DD giggled and giggled! They were no problem. A little more of a problem was the 1 year old hens I had to mark so I knew which ones had been broody and I had tried to break so I could tell if they took back to sitting on eggs or if they were broke. They were not very happy about it to say the least. Didn't get all the toes and got some polish on me for sure but I'll tell you, every time I pass one outside I laugh and laugh. Nothing seems to set off hot pink long nails like green grass or dirt! LOL
That said, I got zip ties today. I went to the farm and home store and asked for zip ties and the guy knew what I was talking about. They only had clear and black so I passed. At Walmart, I found them with the screws and hooks and stuff but they were called Cable Ties....and they came in 4 neon colors.....20 for $1.xx something or 100 for almost $5. Then I was poking around in the automotive department (kids were looking at toys and playing so I was passing the time) and came across a nice plastic canister with 650 Cable Ties (zip ties) in 4 inch lengths and 8 inch lengths in yellow, green, red, black and clear....for almost $6. SCORE! Knowing that we would at some point be marking a lot of chicks and chickens I got that deal. I figure the clear ones can even further my color possibilities by using nail polish....hee hee! Can't seem to paint my nails....it just flakes right off anyway so I will paint DD's nails and zip ties. : )
I'm tickled to hear that they stay on and no one pecks at them.....I'm going to merrily set to zip tying critters tomorrow! : )
About 2 weeks ago I did put a drop of blue food coloring on a yellow baby turkey poult and it is still there, but I'm thinking it's not a good long term solution. It seems to be fading some, but it did work really well for the short time I needed it.
Christy
ah, food coloring!
yep, I was going to use red and then I thought it might make the chicks think of blood and peck at it, so blue it was......they don't even seem to notice it!
Christy
We use the zip ties to put up temporary fencing and cages, I took everything down in the fall and didn't get to pick up the cut ties before it snowed. When I went out to do it in the spring, they were all gone and I assumed that hubby did it. Later I found a blue jay nesting in the spruce and guess what the nest was made of! Grass and zip ties. At least a hundred of them.
OMG how funny, can you call that recycling?
how neat is that? Recycling at it's finest I would say! It's amazing what a bird will take interest in to make their nests with.
Christy
that is just too cool jyl... btw weren't you wanting some mroe ducks, and a few bantams???
oh boy.....she's showing up EVERYWHERE! LOL : )
I know she is lol
Don't you need some more L2G? Those little tiny bantams you have look like they have almost tooooo much room.....look like they could use some company too......
mine need some company!
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO they are cramped as it is. I am waiting on the coop to be built then I can open up the other brooder for the tiny bantams.
uh oh....it tf gonna bite......again? Need any zip ties? hee hee! got several colors.........: )
oh, no i reserved some last week.... just devating on the ducks still... last week i debated and lost...
can you resell the ducklings?
that is my plan. olive can only hatch out so many, and i listed ducklings in the ad...
uh oh, I sense you caving....the phone is within reach........
i called and left message, but i still don't know what to get...
How about 2 of each breed and then tell them to surprise you with the others
I am wonder if tf has stock in this company?
yeah i wish... but i have stock FROM them LOL
lol
Here is a cheap idea, Call your states dept of agriculture and ask about the NPIP program, they will come out and test all your fowl for Pullorium-Typhoid, and avian influenza, and then band them for you, with perminant locking numbered legbands. For only 10 cents each. you will also then be certified to sell chickens or eggs LEGALLY. All this for only a dime per fowl. not so many know, and it has not been enforced so much yet, but the HSUS is leaning on the USPS constantly. IT is illegall to ship fowl, or eggs out of your state without them being tested, or from tested facility. (Your farm)
By the way these legbands are made from aluminum, and if the need arises can be cut off with a regular pair of scissors. you can call your NPIP rep. and they will come and reband with larger size
Young fowl can be toe or beak marked, and can be recognised thier entire lives, for that matter any age fowl can be marked, but beak marking alone will only give you 4 groups. whereas beak and toe will give you 45 posible permant markings without any bands.
great idea. i do the state testing, but not NPIP. and so i don't get bands... will look into that. meanwhile time to get my fall testing scheduled so i have papers to send in with my fair entries.
btw, did you find a home for those jersey giants?
tf
Just a note on the nail polish on chicks.......I looked in the chick pen last night and....where are they? The 5 I marked.....oh no, all the polish is gone! Dang! I don't know if it was the type of polish (60 seconds to dry type) or if it was because the nails are so tiny on chicks, but it is gone. Guess I better grab the zip ties.
On zip ties.....DH pointed out something to me that I didn't know or even think about. He said that unless you have self locking ties, they can close down on the leg all by themselves. The ones I have now don't self lock.......has anyone had a problem with this type of zip tie just closing up tight on the leg?
Christy
No--all mine have been self locking--although you have to put them on correctly or they won't lock. The problem I have had is the chicks growing so fast they outgrow the size you've tightened them to. Put them on as loosely as possible and check frequently!