# Banding hens



## morningsidefarmva (Nov 21, 2014)

Has anyone use bands on their hens to know who is laying and who needs to be culled. I have 30 hens from 3 years to almost a year and working on finding who is laying and who are not. I thought the egg laying one I would band. I saw ziptie bands. Has anyone used them?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

One of my girls has had hers on for nine years. The trick is to make sure there is plenty of room so it doesn't cause issues with the leg but small enough it doesn't get caught up in the foot. I guess my girl's will allow my pinky finger under the zip tie.


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## MikeA_15 (Feb 21, 2016)

morningsidefarmva said:


> Has anyone use bands on their hens to know who is laying and who needs to be culled. I have 30 hens from 3 years to almost a year and working on finding who is laying and who are not. I thought the egg laying one I would band. I saw ziptie bands. Has anyone used them?


 I use Bandettes and have been satisfied with them. Zip ties have a knob which can get caught on objects.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Nine years would say that the possibility of it getting caught on something is pretty slim. Many breeders use them when sorting out who to keep, who to sell. They're cheaper than regular bands and easy to change out if a different decision has been reached. Once they've made they're final decision then they will use bands that have more data built in.


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## morningsidefarmva (Nov 21, 2014)

Has anyone tried colored electric tape? I am trying to find who is laying and who needs to go.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Nope, not even sure that's a safe idea or will even stay on for long. 

If you do a search on the net, you will find topics and probably videos showing how to tell who is laying and who hasn't started yet. Unless you're talking about older hens, then you can put a couple of drops of food coloring in the vent of a bird. Use different colors on different birds, when they lay an egg it will have a bit of food coloring on it for two or three eggs.


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## chickenqueen (Jan 9, 2016)

You can actually put food coloring IN the vent and tell which hen is laying?Now I've heard everything!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

See, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve and a few secrets too.


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## MikeA_15 (Feb 21, 2016)

robin416 said:


> Nine years would say that the possibility of it getting caught on something is pretty slim. Many breeders use them when sorting out who to keep, who to sell. They're cheaper than regular bands and easy to change out if a different decision has been reached. Once they've made they're final decision then they will use bands that have more data built in.


In over 30 years of raising birds I prefer to keep it simple and go with what works well for me. A bandette will pull off instead of getting caught, where a zip tie won't. It must be cut off. Zip ties are very slim and generally don't have identification except for different colors, which can be hard to distinguish as they fade or when seen under dim light. Some of us get older and can't see as well as we once did. I prefer the numbered bandettes so I don't dose a bird twice when deworming or can identify one of the same breed who needs attention for one thing or another. The spring on and off so application is easy. Spending $6 for two dozen bandettes won't break the bank. I'll stick to bandettes.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Not saying you should do anything different Mike, I'm telling you of mine and other's experiences using zip ties. If you haven't used them you can't really say with certainty that one thing or another is going to happen. I have and have found them to be a safe substitute.


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