Ideal no longer carries dyed easter ducks and chicks :(

[P0U1TRYP3RS0N]

This makes me sad. I guess they were getting a lot of flack from...people.

Does anyone know of any other hatcheries that still do carry them? I recall a hatchery in Alaska, and Stromberg's at one point drop shipped them from somewhere, too, but that was it. Anyone know of any?

 

[Hollywood Chickens]

Maybe you wouldn't be upset if you knew how they are dyed.
http://chickscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/resources/egg_to_chick/coloring.html
or they are dyed with artificial food coloring that can harm them.

It is illegal in most states so I guess Texas made it illegal also.

 

[kla37]

It's illegal in a lot of states and European countries because the thinking is it turns animals into disposable toys.

 

[theoldchick]

Well, I'm glad they stopped dying those babies! Doing so is a gimmick to create a market for unwanted roosters. Living animals are not toys to be tossed away when the fun is gone. They are living animals who deserve to live a life as nature designed.

 

[P0U1TRYP3RS0N]

Hey did you know HOW they only have DYED cockerels? Obviously it isn't injected into the egg. They sex the chicks (which are normally colored when they hatch, btw). And then they put food coloring on the cockerels. You can't tell me you haven't written on a letter in sharpie, or put a strip of paint on a chicks back just to watch their individual performance of that chick. And it didn't harm him. Food coloring last time I checked didn't hurt anyone. I think that's why we put it...IN OUR FOOD.
I agree people shouldn't view animals as disposable toys. But coming from someone who's had birds for over a decade now, and has spent more thanmy fair shair leading 4-H meetings and in feed stores, if they're going to be flakey and buy chicks when they shouldn't, they will whether they are dyed or natural colored. It's ridiculous! The same thing for rabbits and ducklings too. The rabbits end up at the pound, or turned loose. The ducklings eventually end up at the pond at high end neighborhood, begging for bread. And the chickens end up on craigslist. People don't teach their children to be responsible. That's not food coloring's fault--it's irresponsible parenting.
HOLLYWOOD: Ideal doesn't color that way. I also would shudder at direct inject dye. Ideal dyes babies with food coloring after hatch.

 

[awesomefowl]

I've always wanted to try dying embryos. But I have no need to.

 

[elizabethbinary]

Quote:
Actually, unnatural food dyes are closely linked to a majority of diseases. The numbers you see on the backs of packets can be quite detrimental to your health.

http://www.traditionaloven.com/articles/122/dangerous-food-additives-to-avoid

Here's a link to some common food addtives and colours that are best avoided for association to disease. Might be informative.

 

[P0U1TRYP3RS0N]

That does definitely make sense. Thank you for the link

But even topically?
Still sad

 

[elizabethbinary]

Quote:
Honestly I didn't know chicks could be dyed topically! I thought it was all done in-shell because topically would wash off too easily.

(edit: a natural topical dye, I mean, would wash off easily... I'm guessing anything that dyes a chicken for a couple weeks is probably not natural.)


Why not order chicks, blend up some beets and dip them in beet juice? Might work...

 

[P0U1TRYP3RS0N]

By 2003 I was hatching things. But I'd had birds for a while before that. You could be right, it could be 9 years. 2001 to 2011 would equal 10 years. 2002 to 2011 would equal nine. If my sleep deprived brain has added right. I'm not attemping to be rude, I'm just saying it the way it is. Sorry if it was taken otherwise