Colored Easter Chicks

[screager312]

I know Easter is a few months away. I am just curious if any hatchery or farm or anyone will be selling the colored Easter chicks next Easter? I know a lot of people are against it and it is illegal in some states.

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[Pele]

It's actually illegal to sell in most states, because it encourages impulse buying of the chicks, which leads to animal cruelty.

I do know that you can get eggs that have been injected with dye (which later leads to colored chicks). I'm not sure if those type of hatching eggs are illegal to sell in the US.

Something that you may want to consider, however, is dipping your babies into warm Kool-Aide. This is a safe dye for chickens. Just be very careful not to let them get chilled during the process, and dry them off thoroughly afterwards.

 

[screager312]

I will check into dipping in kool aid.

I did contact Ideal Poultry and they said they no longer will sell them dyed.

 

[Kevin565]

As previously stated it is going to be illegal in most states. However, you can still look into your states laws regarding this. I agree that Kool Aid is a much better alternative.

 

[bobbieschicks]

Or you could do what I accidentally did. I put blue food coloring in my bator so I could more easily see the water level. It worked great for that. However the bad news is it also dyed my chicks. They were temporarily tinted green because their yellow feathers soaked up the blue dye. It never occurred to me that they would soak up the blue water from the bator. I now understand better the concept of humidity within the developing egg. Of course it didn't last long but it was disappointing to see what I had done to my poor little ones.

 

[OldChurchEggery1]

I think most of the places that used to sell dyed chicks were just selling male leghorn chicks anyway. Make sure if you do the kool-aid thing that you don't add the sugar- that would make them really sticky!

 

[Pele]

Quote:
Lol would that officially make them Peeps?

 

[BlazeJester]

Quote:
Lol would that officially make them Peeps?