Dyed eggs/chicks for easter (or whenever)

[LTygress]

I know this is controversial, but I'm hoping not to stir up THAT debate. I saw an article about how this was done recently, and had some questions that the article didn't answer.

First, why do the eggs have to be injected with the dye at the END of incubation? Why not the beginning or the middle? If it doesn't harm the developing chick inside of the egg, then why wait until the end? I read that the chicks dyed roughly a week prior to hatching will actually poop some of the dye out. So they still absorb some of the dye into their bodies, obviously. Thus waiting until they are close to hatch doesn't keep it all on the outside.

Second, does it actually help with hydration of the eggs themselves? Since you're adding liquid to the egg, does it help prevent shrink-wrapping? Of course humidity is always a factor when hatching the eggs out, but when you already have that liquid inside of the egg, does the egg not need to absorb as much from the air?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Probably because it needs to go on the feathers and not in the chick.

I doubt there's enough liquid to impact hydration. And it's the humidity outside the egg that affects shrink wrapping rather than in. There are two membranes and the liquid would be inside the inner membrane. The humidity needs to be between the two membranes.

The are just my assumptions but there has to be a reason and that's the best I can come up with.