title: Research notes: passive integrated transponder tags as markers for chicks.
abstract: Passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags have been used to mark a variety of organisms and have potential for marking poultry chicks. We examined the effects of PIT tags subcutaneously implanted in 3- and 7-d-old Leghorn chicks and found no significant differences over 40 d in survival or rate of daily body mass gain among tagged chicks and controls. The PIT-tagged birds were not more susceptible to pecking by other chicks than controls. No birds died, but 1 of 20 chicks lost its tag during the study. We believe that PIT tags provide a viable technique for marking individual juvenile birds, if tag loss can be reduced. Costs may be prohibitive in studies involving large numbers of birds.
authors.affiliation: Kansas State University, Division of Biology, Manhattan 66506-4901, USA. bej7790@ksu.edu
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Jamison
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Beyer
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Robel
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Pontius
mesh_terms: D000823:Animal Identification Systems; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D002645:Chickens; D008297:Male; D015430:Weight Gain