Leg bands?

[Russ Blair]

Hello everyone I was just wondering if anyone uses the ABA leg bands? If you do what size are you using for Ameraucana's. I usually use 11 & 9 for LF and I believe 6 for bantams but it looks like the ABA bands go by mm? Just looking for a more permanent type of band to easily identify my breeders. Since I may keep a good reproducer for up to 3 years I think this will help. Thanks for any input

[Beth Curran]

I haven't tried them but I imagine you would have to be pretty accurate on sizing - I've had those spiral bands grow into legs and it's not pretty.

I put zip wing bands on chicks when I move them from the incubator to the brooder. They work well for permanent ID because they stay on for years - out of about 700 I've put on, less than ten come off, almost all because of human error in applying them. But it's a pain to catch the bird and dig through feathers to read them, so I use butt-end aluminum bands on the breeders (I try to match up the last two numbers when I can so that 2083 becomes 83 unless I happen to already have an 83 of the same variety).

[Myrna Hall]

hello, my name is Myrna Hall.  I am from Worthington, Indiana.

I have been breeding ameraucana,s since 2013.  I use the standard #9 for hens and #11 for cocks to identify the individual chicken.  I then use zip ties to ID the family of the bird and the year it was born.  I  ID my chicks by the rooster/cockerel.  I assign each male breeder a color of band and band each chick with his color band on the right leg for family recognition.  I also assign a color zip tie for the year the chick was born and place it on the left leg.

I can quickly see the year it was born from the pen and the father.  The # band then Id's the individual chick and I can repeat numbers the next year if need be and it won't be confused because the year band will be a different color from the previous year.

I hope I have been of some help.

Yours Truly,
Myrna Hall

[Rebecca G Howie]

I used the ABA bands this year. Size F for the bantam pullets and size G for bantam cockerels. I ordered late and had to split some to get them on, so I suggest ordering early so you have them on hand for when the half grown chicks are big enough but not too big. Using zip ties and leaving a long tab will help keep them on until the chick grows into them. Also you have to watch the placement and keep the band above the spur when they start coming in. The zip worked well for that also, just by placing it above the spur bud and leaving a tab. So far only one pullet has lost hers, but she is my escape artist any way    

I will be ordering them for 2018, they will be a different color so it is easy to know the year at a glance. I also plan to use the wing bands as Beth does and zip ties for quick ID of family.