The Official Forum of the Ameraucana Breeders Club > Housing, Health & Hatching
Leg Bands vs. Wing Bands
dak:
--- Quote from: Beth C ---
Do you use the food color with your Ameraucanas? I tried last year, but it didn\'t show up. Do you use regular food color or the paste type they use for icing? That would make my life easier. I don\'t have enough breeding cages to keep everyone separate, so I have a group of hens in a run with one cock, and rotate them in & out of cages to collect & mark eggs. Which means I can only ID half my eggs on any given day.
--- End quote ---
I use the liquid food color. I have to apply it 2 -3 days in a row and then only get a few realiable days of streaks on the eggs though there will usually be a hen or so that it will last much longer. It is only a short term thing so I can identify who is laying what. I had a green egg layer in my Black pen last year and was able to isolate her pretty quick.
greeneggsandham:
--- Quote from: dak ---
--- Quote from: Beth C ---
Do you use the food color with your Ameraucanas? I tried last year, but it didn\'t show up. Do you use regular food color or the paste type they use for icing? That would make my life easier. I don\'t have enough breeding cages to keep everyone separate, so I have a group of hens in a run with one cock, and rotate them in & out of cages to collect & mark eggs. Which means I can only ID half my eggs on any given day.
--- End quote ---
I use the liquid food color. I have to apply it 2 -3 days in a row and then only get a few realiable days of streaks on the eggs though there will usually be a hen or so that it will last much longer. It is only a short term thing so I can identify who is laying what. I had a green egg layer in my Black pen last year and was able to isolate her pretty quick.
--- End quote ---
Well that\'s an interesting method. Could you tell us how its done? How much food color do you use and do you just use a syringe to insert it? Does it affect the chick or hatchability at all?
dak:
--- Quote from: greeneggs&ham ---
--- Quote from: dak ---
--- Quote from: Beth C ---
Do you use the food color with your Ameraucanas? I tried last year, but it didn\'t show up. Do you use regular food color or the paste type they use for icing? That would make my life easier. I don\'t have enough breeding cages to keep everyone separate, so I have a group of hens in a run with one cock, and rotate them in & out of cages to collect & mark eggs. Which means I can only ID half my eggs on any given day.
--- End quote ---
I use the liquid food color. I have to apply it 2 -3 days in a row and then only get a few realiable days of streaks on the eggs though there will usually be a hen or so that it will last much longer. It is only a short term thing so I can identify who is laying what. I had a green egg layer in my Black pen last year and was able to isolate her pretty quick.
--- End quote ---
Well that\'s an interesting method. Could you tell us how its done? How much food color do you use and do you just use a syringe to insert it? Does it affect the chick or hatchability at all?
--- End quote ---
I turn the girl upside down and drop 7-8 drops on their vent, similar to what you do when you AI a female. Most of it gets pooped out. There are only faint streaks on the egg. I have not see any issue with fertility/viability. It will stain feathers around the vent and below on a light colored bird.
Rachel Carlberg:
(I'm hoping that this is going to bump this topic back to the top)
I'm planning to hatch quite a bit this spring, hopefully obtaining eggs from a few breeders as well as hatching from what I have now.
I really want to start right in being able to keep the birds organized, as I don't have multiple pens to keep them separated as they grow.
Sharon Yorks, I really like your idea of the rubber bands, but are they difficult to put on?
Is there a tool to apply them?
I tried the suggestion from another forum of using tiny elastic hair ties, but the chicks seemed to easily be able to remove them, and I was terrified they would eat the bands.
--- Quote from: Sharon Yorks on January 30, 2012, 08:44:50 PM ---I\'m not sure if anyone else uses these, but here is a link to an ad on Ebay that is for little colored rubber bands. I use size 4 for when they first hatch, then I switch to size 5 when they are 10-14 days old. I really like them. It\'s just a temporary method for when they are real young. I am planning to get bigger sizes to see how well it works as they get bigger. Just another idea to ponder that is softer and more flexible than zip ties. All 6 colors come in one bag. They sell 100 bands for $7 no shipping. And you can reuse them. They stretch easy when trying to put them on and take them off.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/100-LEG-BANDS-CHICK-POULTRY-BIRD-QUAIL-EGG-SMALL-SIZE-5-/320365726791?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4a97490c47
--- End quote ---
Additionally, I am looking for a recommended option for banding the older birds.
I found these reusable, numbered bands on Twin City Poultry Supply and thought they might be a good option.https://www.twincitypoultrysupplies.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=8_69&zenid=5666fd99ec3980e5ece8ef3e04897d8b
I would greatly appreciate any suggestions!
Beth C:
Everyone's set up is a little different, so what works here may not be the best for you, but here is a run-down of my experience since I started this thread several years ago:
I have tried just about everything at this point (even resorted to tattooing one year, but couldn't read them after a few months), and my best luck by far has been with zip end wing bands (item 890 from National Band )
I have had very little luck with plastic bands. I had more break than I had stay on and the ones that didn't break the numbers rubbed off of.
The adjustable aluminum bands the NPIP guys use start coming off in a matter of days.
The aluminum butt end bands are pretty good on adults, although I've had a couple come off after several years, but you need multiple applicators to apply different size bands.
I haven't tried the steel butt end bands.
I have found that rubber bands come off more often than not.
Zip ties stay on better but even if you can write a number on them it will rub off and it is imperative that they be removed and replaced on a regular basis because they will not break or stretch as the bird grows and will grow right into their leg.
With any leg band you have to continuously change them as the chick grows and try to match up the numbers or keep track in your records where #27 change to #53 etc. (and chances are you're going to drop and lose at least one #27 band before the bird is grown), so I don't like them for chicks, although they are easier to read than wing bands on adult birds.
I've given up on using leg bands for growing birds. You can put the wing band on as soon as the chick comes out of the incubator and, applied correctly, it will stay on for years. (I had a few come off the first year because I didn't get them sealed right). They rarely come off. I've only used the zip bands, so I don't know how they compare to the jiffy or tab end bands.
A final thought, if you are pedigreeing your birds and tracking is essential, what ever type of band you decide to go with you may want to buy 2 sets of each number and put one band on each leg/wing because nothing is fail proof, and it is beyond frustrating when you have a great bird (or worse, a really terrible one) and can't identify where it came from because the band came off.
Edited to add: I think Patty was referring to wing badges instead of bands, but I'm not sure. Sure do wish she was here to ask... :'(
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