colored chics

[robinh]

is there a safe way to dye chics at home? i was thinking foood coloring and water in a spray bottle but wasn't sure. i would love to give some to my neices and nephews for easter, they would love that. so if you its safe and you have any ideas could you please share?

 

[chickbea]

Due to the horrible history connected to coloring chicks for Easter, and the neglect the chicks generally suffered after, very few people approve of doing this anymore even if the dying methods you use are safe. DO NOT wet or spray the chicks. That will chill them.
Do your nieces and nephews live where they can raise the chicks appropriately, or were you going to take them back home with you? Tiny chicks make very poor pets for kids; they are delicate, and chill easily. Being toted around and squeezed by kids in the midst of a boisterous Easter celebration is generally not ideal.
I'm sorry if I'm coming across as too opinionated, but I just think it's a bad idea. What about stuffed animals? They make all colors of stuffed animal chicks for Easter, and kids can take them to bed with them!

 

[robinh]

my neices and nephews are old enough to know not to do that to them and yes they have somewhere to keep, them, they have a pin, and when they get older they will come back to my house, and the chics that i was going to dye will be a month old, so will is still be a bad idea?

 

[chickbea]

What breed are they? Will they still be in fluff or starting to feather?
I guess I don't know the answer...anyone else?

 

[mudhen]

This is only my personal opinion, but I do not think it is a good idea to dye a living creature for fun or any other reason. What you are suggesting can only be stressful for the chick and it really gives a poor idea of treatment of animals to a child. No creature is here to suffer for our entertainment.
If they are old enough to take care of chicks themselves with adult supervision and you want to give them some to raise, then do so in their natural colors.
For color, give the kids jellybeans or dye hardboiled eggs instead.
Again, this is only my personal opinion on this subject.

 

[robinh]

im not sure which ones i am going to dye yet, and they will actually be two months old,i was thinking easter was sooner, i just know that i always see them at feeds stores and i thought i could do it at home, if it's not safe im not going to do it.

 

[mudhen]

It is unfortunate that some places still sell them like that, many states have banned sales of dyed chicks/ducks/etc.
As an alternative, since the ones you want to give your nephews are older, how about a colorful little 'jacket'?
There are some folks on this site that have posted photos of their chickens in outfits of sorts.
The most recent I've seen is on the new map.
Check it out.

 

[robinh]

ok, thanks for your opinion, i think i'll just buy then silkies, each of a diff color!

 

[robinh]

i know what i will do, i will make them little carriers out of pop cycle sticks and paint them a diff color and give them to my neices an nephew like that and then they can put them in their own brooder and raise them. still a colorful solution with a chic and i wont be harmong them! oh and where could i get the outfits, if i hav to make them im sol cuz im not that crafty!

 

[SpottedCrow]

That's a great idea, Robin!
You can get a cheap bandanna and tie it around the chick like a cape.