I really appreciated seeing this set of tools and identification methods. I deal with mostly bantam Ameraucana and have struggled with good ways to mark bantam chicks as they come out of the hatcher in their pedigree bags. I’ve had epic fails with little leg bands, no luck with wing bands on the little tykes (I do have success with them on peachicks and large fowl chicks), and have mostly resorted to brooding bantam chicks with of color varieties together from clans to save space and for efficiency sake. On the farm I use three colors for my families (orange, green, blue). The best strategy I have come up with is to raise the orange clan chicks from the different color varieties together until they are large enough for leg bands. Sometimes that is still really inefficient because I may only have a small hatch and less than 10 chicks from orange clans across the varieties of bantams. A fellow Ameraucana breeder uses toe web clipping instead of punching for his bantams and reports good results.
I would love to hear what strategies others use for bantam, mini, and smaller size chicks when it comes to identifying them right out of the hatcher.
Thanks!
Michael