Leg bands at what age?

[EmmaDonovan]

Our chickens are 11-14 weeks. We're thinking of leg bands to be able to tell same-breed chickens apart and for identification purposes in case one somehow gets out out of the coop and yard (we don't free range, there are a lot of predators around here and we're extremely careful, so it's unlikely but just in case). We're looking at these bands.

At what age can you put those on and they won't outgrow them?

 

[Rose the Legbar]

I personally just use colored zip ties as it is easy to get on and off. It worked well with chicks so I dont see why it wouldn’t with older birds.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

The numbers can be helpful if you have a breeding program, or to keep track of medications, etc. We put these on our chicks at probably 6 to 8 weeks old, and they are now about 7 months, and we haven't had to take any off due to them becoming too tight. We used the medium size bands; the birds are Sapphire Gems. It's not likely that these bands are going to come off, so if you put them on and they are big enough to spin freely, chances are they're not going to outgrow them. If you do see them getting too tight, they're easy to take off either by sliding one side up, or by cutting them with a little side cutter.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

 

[EmmaDonovan]

or to keep track of medications, etc.

Good point, I hadn't even thought of that.

Initially we planned to just consider them livestock and as such we weren't going to give them names. That lasted about two seconds after we got them.

We're getting more familiar with their individual personalities but every chicken we have looks nearly identical to at least one other chicken (except for one of the Easter eggers who is unique beyond just her appearance). We're letting them name themselves, just whatever attribute comes up naturally as we interact with them and talk about them.

So far only two have names but we're having trouble seeing consistencies in personalities in the rest because they look so similar. We can use the leg bands to tell apart individuals of the same breed.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I have six Sapphire Gems, really impossible to tell apart. And 15 lavender EE chicks, 7 or 8 of which are lightly barred, but the rest are solid, so good luck telling those apart, lol! Like you, of my remaining hens, most of them have at least one doppelganger.

 

[aart]

I've always just used zipties, from hatch to harvest.
Good to replace them once a year as some of them can break.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/leg-banding-with-zipties.68075/