How to tell chickens apart??

[6of6chicks]

I have six Buff Orpingtons, and when I got them as chicks I jokingly gave them Borg designations because they all looked like identical drones to me! For a few weeks I could pick out the smallest and the biggest, but then they all evened out. I thought maybe when they feathered out that some differences would show up, but they're almost 6 weeks old now and they all look and act completely the same! So far the only way I can tell them apart is if one of them gets poo on her feet!

People have such cute names for their chickens! I really want to think of them as pets, especially since they love being cuddled. But I can't even tell them apart enough to make sure they all get cuddled - for all I know I'm picking the same bird up over and over!

Any help? Is there some trick to telling them apart?

 

[ChaoSS]

Non toxic paint spots on their heads, or colored bands around their feet.

Just like twins, though, spend enough time with them and you'll be able to tell, go out once a day to toss them food and grab the eggs and you're not likely to be able to tell the difference.

 

[happyhens1972]

coloured leg rings are the way to go!!

 

[Studio2770]

I use colored anklets on my white leghorns. I also look at how their comb is flopped, 3 of the 5 hens have combs that turn/flop to the right and 2 have combs that flop to the left(one has the largest comb). One hen is also the smallest and has a crooked tail, and the hen with the largest comb has her foot wrapped from bumblefoot surgery.

 

[6of6chicks]

Thanks for all the replies! I'm so new to chickens that I didn't even know they made little plastic leg bands to ID them! I did some reading on zip-ties, Velcro, plastic bands, and spiral bands - and I think I'm going to try the spiral bands.

I've seen this company mentioned a lot, and wonder if they are the best to order from? http://www.cutlersupply.com/

Also, all my girls are Buff Orpingtons. They aren't full grown yet, so I'm thinking of waiting until then to buy the bands. Is size 12 appropriate for a full-grown Orpington? Somewhere I think I read that size 12 is right for heavier breeds, but I've lost that thread and I'm not certain I'm remembering right.

 

[WilhelminaD]

I recently gave up trying to tell my two Barred Plymouth Rocks apart. I added a leg band to one of them and now I can tell who's who.

 

[raro]

When I had my two Dominiques, they looked so identical we called them Freddie and Georgie (Can you tell my daughter is a Harry Potter fan?!). Usually we put zip ties on them if they are really identical, but we never bothered with those two. We just called them whatever name we remembered at the time! Then, sadly, one of them got taken by a raccoon, so, in true Harry Potter fashion, we figured that one was Freddie and now we call the remaining one Georgie.

 

[WilhelminaD]

Oh, Raro! That makes me sad. Cute story, though!

 

[Chicky Crazy]

Mm. If you haven't found a way to tell them apart yet it's going to be very hard. What I would do is buy a pack of chicken leg bands of different colors. Let each hen have their own color. If you don't like the colors you buy or only find a pack with one color paint the outside with you favorite colors and put your chickens name on it with a sharpie to keep it straight. Hope this helps! You could even name your chicken after the color of its leg band. Say you had a hen with a pink leg band and named it rose. To help you remember it.

 

[6of6chicks]

Well I finally got zip ties on them! I felt a bit like a prison warden strapping on ankle monitoring devices, but at least now I can tell them apart!