Have you noticed the colourful leg rings on your neighbour’s flock?
Is it a fashion statement?
Are these feathered creatures part of a ranking order?
These and many other questions might have cropped up when you visited the next-door chicken coop. And we are happy to help you with the answers. So without further ado, let’s start investigating the fascination with these rings.
Here are a handful of poultry-keepers discussing why they use leg rings:
1. The Breeders
Most of the farmers in the chicken business are avid breeders that raise chicken families and mix breeds like nobody’s business. Now, it would have been fine if your feathered friends had names and distinct features like we do. But the thing is that they don’t. So it’s necessary to find a way to tell them apart.
Arthur says,
“My coloured leg bands are an integral part of the line-breeding plan. They help me to identify the mating pairs from the rest of the flock. It’s also a nifty way to tell the different generations apart.”
2. The Track Support
Do you have a huge poultry barn? Is it hard to keep track of the different flocks and their hatchlings?
Then you can take a leaf out of Elizabeth’s book and start tracking your chickens with these multi-coloured fixtures.
Lizzie tells us that,
“They can help you monitor the birth rates, ages and pedigrees and any arbitrary thing you want. All I do is put codes on the leg rings before placing them on their legs. Then that code goes into my spreadsheet and I keep updating it with details about that particular chicken. So I can easily identify the bird from its ID number when a problem occurs.”
3. The Identity Crisis
Ever lost a pullet in the farmer’s market?
This problem has occurred one too many times and farmers are left debating whose feathered fiend it is when they break into other stalls. Think of the leg rings as a way to brand your flock when you are taking it out for an auction, marketplace or any other commercial area.
Stuart says,
“There is always one sneaky chicken that slips through your fingers. Catching it is never easy and debating over ownership can get pretty heated if there are other poultry breeders around. The leg rings are a clever way to claim your flock.”
In the end, it looks like the leg rings had a purpose after all. So don’t just roll your eyes when you see a decked up chicken on the loose. Try to contact its owner or better yet get your own flock adorned in these identification bands. We guarantee that you’ll never lose track of them ever again!
Considering leg rings?
Then look no further than Little Fields Farm. They’ve got a wide variety of assorted leg rings that’ll help you keep an eye on your growing flock. Moreover, you can also browse through their impeccable range of poultry supplies and other knick knacks for your farm.
