Banding · Identification
The Banding System
Colored leg bands are how we tell one hen from her near-identical sister at a glance — and, more importantly, how we tell our own birds from the ones we bought.
How It Works
Reading a Band
Every banded bird wears a plastic colored leg band as its individual ID. Each band is a unique color + number combination — green #2 is one bird and only one bird — and every assignment is confirmed with a date. The records live in flock-profiles.json.
The leg the band is on carries meaning all by itself:
Left leg
Ornitharchs
Our founder breeding flock — birds from our own breeding program, hatched here on the farm. A band on the left leg means the bird is one of ours.
Right leg
Non-ornitharchs
Purchased birds — anything not out of our breeding program. A band on the right leg is the at-a-glance tell: right leg = not from our line.
So a field ID is two reads: which leg tells you whether the bird is a founder or a purchase, and which color and number tells you exactly who she is.
Current Assignments · 23 Jul 2026
Confirmed Bands
| Bird | Band | # | Leg | Ornitharch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelbird | blue | #7 | left | yes |
| Birdadotta | orange | #10 | left | yes |
| Birddor | yellow | #1 | left | yes |
| Birdimir | red | #3 | left | yes |
| Birdsilla | white | #3 | left | yes |
| Henridotta | purple | #12 | left | yes |
| Henriella | pink | #3 | left | yes |
| Henriessa | pink | #8 | left | yes |
| Horstabird | yellow | #2 | left | yes |
| Ingebird | green | #2 | left | yes |
| Bobirda | white | #6 | right | no |
| Robirda | orange | #1 | right | no |
Every left-leg band above belongs to an Ornitharch; every right-leg band (Robirda, Bobirda) belongs to a purchased bird — the rule holds. Henridotta's purple #12 is assigned but her leg is not yet confirmed.
The Roster
Every Named Bird
Not every bird is banded, but every named individual is on the books. Turkeys run separate from the chickens; the historical section is the birds no longer with the flock.
Ornitharchs · our breeding flock
- BirddorEaster Egger — yellow #1 left
- BirdadottaEaster Egger × RIR cross — orange #10 left
- BirdthazarEaster Egger lineage (cross TBD)
- HenriellaWyandotte × RIR cross — pink #3 left
- BirdsillaEaster Egger lineage (cross TBD) — white #3 left
- BirdimirEaster Egger lineage (cross TBD) — red #3 left
- IngebirdEaster Egger lineage (cross TBD) — green #2 left
- HenriessaGolden Laced Wyandotte cross (Henrietta line) — pink #8 left
- HorstabirdEaster Egger lineage (cross TBD) — yellow #2 left
- HenridottaGolden Laced Wyandotte cross (Henrietta line) — purple #12 left
- AdelbirdEaster Egger lineage (cross TBD) — blue #7 left
Other active named birds · non-ornitharchs
- BirdsulaEaster Egger
- BirdadonnaEaster Egger × RIR cross
- Tractor Supply juveniles (2 of 4 remaining)Brahma or Cream Legbar (uncertain)
- Barred Rocks (2)Barred Plymouth Rock
- Plymouth Rocks (2)Plymouth Rock (variety TBD)
- Cackle Hatchery cohort (15)Mixed — Exotic Island Fowl Special (5) + Rare Chick Special (10)
- March juveniles (3)Red/Gold Laced + Blue Laced Red Wyandottes (3) — Boss-corrected 2026-06-26 (was mis-logged as incl. 3 Cream Legbar)
- Scissor BeakBlue Laced Red Wyandotte
- RobirdaGolden Laced Wyandotte — orange #1 right
- BobirdaRed/Gold Laced Wyandotte — white #6 right
- Tractor Supply May batch (6)TBD
- ChonkersBuff Ranger
- ChonketteBuff Ranger
- RavenessaBantam (breed TBD)
- QuasibirdoPolish (bantam)
Turkeys · separate from the chickens
- White turkeys (3)White Broad-Breasted Turkey
- Bronze turkeys (2)Bronze Broad-Breasted Turkey
Deceased · historical
- BirdathaRhode Island Red
- BirdgitSpeckled Sussex
- HenriettaGolden Laced Wyandotte
- Little Big Red JuniorRhode Island Red (likely)
- Whitey Red LegsEaster Egger × Rhode Island Red cross (rooster)
- EE hen 2Easter Egger
- Black Australorp henBlack Australorp