Dyed/Colored chicks @ Ideal Poultry?! Disturbing!!

[chickenbutt]

I agree completely. Animals shouldn't be messed with and I believe it leads to buying compulsion. If you want a pastel animal buy a stuffed animal toy. How would everyone feel if they dyed orphan children different colors around easter? Seriously, write a letter and say that x many people from a chicken club also think it is inhumane. I don't agree that meat chicks are meant to die so why not sell them. I have meat chicks and shower them with affection. I don't eat meat and if I could rescue every factory farm animal I would. Every animal should have respect. Even if the dyed chicks are broilers and will be killed in a few months - a child shouldn't take one home and have it overeat and die. Another poster said three dyed chicks turned white, buff, and brown so not all of them are broilers in some cases.

Katie Graham from VA.

 

[ksacres]

I don't think dyeing a chick is the problem. That's like blaming the media or video games for violence. I played Mortal Combat when I was young, but I don't go around with a machete cutting off heads and throwing them at the decapitated bodies. Maybe I think about it...

Anyways, the issue is not the marketing, it's the consumer. It always has been, it always will be. We are a society of instant gratification and a "me, me, me" mentality. Wether or not these chicks are dyed, there will always be those who get hold of a catalogue and order 25 chicks before they even know what happened, before they are prepared, before they have even learned that all chicks aren't yellow, and all birds aren't white, and the list goes one. Some will take on the responisibility with grace and good humor and some won't.

I also don't agree that no one should buy chicks before they have "experience." My question is, how do you get experience without, well, experience? When I decided I wanted chickens, I jumped in with both feet and never looked back.

 

[idealpoultry]

I just want to clarify that the chicks are not dyed in the egg. The chicks that are dyed are primarily white leghorn males that would have been disposed of at a local leghorn hatchery that destorys the males as quickly as they are hatched. The chicks are colored with Adams food coloring and water and then put into an incubator to dry.

The poster that pointed out that it is the consumer's responsibility is correct. We have care instructions on each invoice and we also state in our sales information for the customers to check local and state laws concerning the sale of colored poultry. It is not illegal in Texas to dye chicks, actually only about 6-8 states haved banned the 'sale' of chicks within the state, even fewer have banned possesion, therefore they can purchase the chicks, they can just not resale them. But the laws do vary in some cases by city so we encourage our customers to be sure the chicks are legal in their jurisdiction.

As far as the colored chicks being meat birds only about 3000 of the 90,000 colored chicks we sell are meat birds. The others are male chicks that would have not made it out of the hatchery. If they can provide even a little joy for children for a while then why not offer that. Who knows it might just be the next subscriber to your board.

If you have any other questions concerning the process involved in dying chicks please contact me at [email protected]

 

[jenichick]

Thank you for the facts and posting!

 

[countryboy]

and don't get any dogs or cats from animal rescue because they have been bathed and perfumed!

 

[kstaven]

If you look back on the history of this board and the other BYC you will find many that came to these forums because of those colored chicks. Impulse buys yes. But many have come to this forum panicked after the purchase and reality set in. They have been given a great deal of valued advice by the good people here and become hatchaholics like the rest of us.

As much as I am not a fan of the practice of dying chicks I have to say ideal made a very good point.

It is much like blaming pollution on huge gas guzzling vehicles. People have a choice and have a brain to make an informed choice. Yet they would prefer to blame the auto manufacturers for that pollution.

 

[SeaChick]

Hmmm.... well, personal responsibility is obviously the bottom line, and I think all of us agree that far too many people acquire pets -whether they're kittens, puppies, chicks, whatever- because they're cute babies but don't think through the long term reality. It's a crying shame and we could go on and on about the causes, modern consumer culture, lack of teaching real responibility, etc.......

On the other hand, I do believe that selling colored chicks ENABLES that sort of behavior, and, yes, contributes to more animal suffering. IF someone really wants chickens, and they research the care and reality of them, they can then buy chicks pretty easily someplace. It doesn't need to be an impulse buy. Personally, I would rather see all those baby cockerels euthanized humanely at the hatchery (let's HOPE it's humane!) than sold to irresponsible impulse buyers. I have just heard waaaay too many first-hand stories from paople like, "oh, I remember my Dad brought home chicks for us kids at Easter one year. We put them in a box by the furnace to keep them warm but they died. It was really sad." My guess is that the percentage of colored chicks that go to homes where they're well-cared for is pretty darn low.

Around here, they don't sell dyed chicks. It may even be illegal, I don't know. We also have a state law prohibiting the sale of less than 6 chicks at a time. The state Veterinarian told me that law was put in place EXPRESSLY to stop impulse buying of chicks!!!!! Sure seems like a good idea to me.

Just my 2 cents.

Stacey

 

[lurky]

Sea Chick....you said it better than anyone could have and i would LOVE to see the mods lock this thread on that note!!!!!!

 

[Iceblink]

"We also have a state law prohibiting the sale of less than 6 chicks at a time. The state Veterinarian told me that law was put in place EXPRESSLY to stop impulse buying of chicks!!!!! Sure seems like a good idea to me."

Um... I have to disagree on that point. I bought my 3 girls, since 3 is my limit, and I'm glad for the small order programs that some hatcheries have. If I had to have 6, I couldn't have chickens.

That said, I have feelings both ways about the whole dyed chick issue.

1) I don't think that animals of any kind, dyed, young, seasonal, whatever, make good gifts. The decision to get an animal should be a conscious one, with planning beforehand.
Not an impulse decision, or one foisted upon you.

2) Children do not make good pet 'owners.' If a child is too young to understand how to handle an animal, they are too young to care for said animal. In those cases, the parents should understand that in reality, it will be their responsibility.

I have worked at animal shelters, and it is heartbreaking to see all the dumped dogs and cats after the holidays. People who got an animal for their child as a gift, and the novelty has worn off, the animal was given to them, they didn't realise how much work/money/commitment it took, ect. Same thing happens after Easter with rabbits and pocket pets.

I applaud the hatcheries that try to give their male chicks a chance, and the people who have ended up being responsible owners of easter chicks.​

 

[PurpleChicken]

We were not able to find ANY chicks, even colored ones around Easter last year.
People would not sell them because of all the impulse buyers. This fact alone
tells me enough to form an opinion. It seems obvious the majority of the colored
chicks end up dead or dropped off at a farm or feedstore. I'm sure there are exceptions
to this.

Talking about this here is "preaching to the choir".

Lighter side notes:
I'm VERY guilty of impulse breeding, well hatching. With our 50 misc chickens, in 2
different brooders and 2 seperate coop areas, were all just given fresh food and
water, a little kiss on the beak, and tucked in for the night.

Purplechicken contains no dyes whatsoever. He is perfectly natural.