I was just curious as to what methods other breeders use to ID chicks from different breeding pens. I raise show birds on a small scale, and I simply don't have the room or hatch enough chicks to keep chicks from different breeding pens separate. I have toe punched in the past, but with bantams it rarely leaves a clean punch, and I would like to find a more humane solution. It is too expensive and time consuming for me to have to keep switching band sizes as the chicks grow. There has got to be a simpler way. I thought about marking the chicks with different color dots on the head, but I am not sure what paint, markers, etc. can be use that are non-toxic to the birds, if any. I think I've seen wildlife rehabilitators mark baby rabbits & squirrels with different colors of paint, anyone familiar with this? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Any other breeders willing to share their methods?