moral thoughts

[simplynewt]

Achickenwrangler#1 :

I think it just has 2 heads, prob a dye injected bird when hatched

 

[al6517]

The consences is that when folks buy these colored chicks because they are cute, these folks don't tend to keep them once they get bigger and the color wears away and the shine of the cuteness factor isn't there anymore. During easter time there is allways allot of this and it's true allot of States have banned the practice in order to keep these chicks out of the shelters.

 

[foxypoproxy]

From what i read most of these colored chicks will turn out to be roosters.
They choose roosters because they know when these chicks get older they will be killed or thrown away.
Roosters are perfect for this because there are too many.
These colorful chicks are sometimes known as "disposable chicks"
They are treated like merchandise.
Its cruel, just like those people who want puppies because they are "cute".
Once the puppy grows up or they realize how much work needs to go into it, they don't want it any more.
It ends up a stray, in a shelter, or just dead...

But i do know some people dye their white chickens, like silkies, with kool-aid for fun. (they even do this with dogs and bunnies)
If you want a colorful chicken, dye one of your adult white chickens with kool-aid.
That is safe and if its your pet, and its not a business, i don't see much wrong with it.
I don't feel comfortable doing that to a chick though, because they are so fragile.


Most colorful chicks are sold to people who no nothing about chickens and don't care what happens to them afterward.
So in my opinion i think the practice of producing colorful chicks to sell to the public is wrong.

 

[Tiss]

I think they're as cute as can be and don't seem to be suffering at all from the dye. It will wear off when they lose their down anyway. We eat green and yellow and red and blue food coloring, don't we?

 

[bobbi-j]

My opinion on this is, I don't see how it's cruel or inhumane to dye a chick if harmless dye is used - especially if it's injected into the egg and nothing causes the chick harm. That being said, I don't agree with the practice for the reason AL6157 stated. The result of ended up with an unwanted animal can and does result in cruelty to the animal. Abandonment, neglect, whatever. Not always, but even one time is too often.

 

[Oregon Blues]

"Cute" is a very poor reason to purchase a live animal.

Chickens should be purchased because you want a chicken, need a chicken, have a place to keep a chicken, know how to take care of a chicken, and intend to keep that chicken.

Dyed chicks generally have very short lives. They are killed by the children they are given to, die of starvation or dehydration or chilling because the buyers don't know how to care for them, or if they make it to several months, they are thrown away when they are no longer cute and start crowing.

I suggest that you never purchase form anyone who dyes chicks because it only encourages them. If you want dyed chicks, put some koolaid into a spray bottle and dye your own chick that you intend to keep, anyway. That way, you can enjoy colored chicks and will end up with a chicken you intend to keep and give a good home to.

 

[Blue]

I don't think dying the chicks is inhumane so long as it's done using non-toxic substances. However, I agree with what others have said in that many people who purchase these chicks are doing it for the wrong reasons. They think the color is cute, that it's quirky, that a bright pink or blue chick will make a great item for their kids' Easter baskets. Oftentimes, these chicks are seen as disposable fad items and living toys rather than as animals that will need to be taken care of for the rest of their lives.

Just as the deal with cute puppies, many people get them on impulse without putting any thought into the fact that they're buying something that will need to be fed, watered, and housed and may have the potential to live for quite a while; that the tiny baby will not stay tiny forever and will at some point grow into an adult animal; and that young children will generally lose interest in such chickens when the birds lose their bright colors and are no longer tiny and fuzzy. Sure, generally, it's easier to get rid of an unwanted chicken than an unwanted dog if you don't mind butchering your own chicken, but it saddens me that so many people get animals (any animals) without having any kind of plan for them, any idea at all how to care for them, and any sense or understanding of the commitment involved in owning said animals, and/or even any real desire to have a pet.

 

[mamaKate]

Cruel? Really? Considering that most excess roosters are thrown alive into a grinder, I'm thinking a little food color that might buy them a chance as a pet or at least humanely slaughtered is not such a bad thing.

 

[Evelle]

okay so it was a practice for identification A LONG TIME AGO!! these farmers could tell the differance between breeders
so lets say you have a flock and all those chickens were leghorns.. a long time ago they didnt have plastic or the aluminum leg bands for identification so they would take eggs from the females and inject the dye into the egg BEFORE it hatched.. so i dont know how they could pick roosters or not for you really cant tell what they are still in the egg

From what i read most of these colored chicks will turn out to be roosters

between days 13 to 15 of hatching..
studys thats a GREAT qestion!!! i mean if people who kept them and didnt toss them as soon as grew out of the dye.. that would be a GREAT 4h project!!!!!

Are there any studies comparing lifespan on chickens dyed as chicks compared to ones that aren't?

now the only thing i think is crule about this is that people drop them on the side of the road or over fill shelters with them because they grow out of this and they didnt realize how hard/messy chickens really are. people lets say in florida (because now this practice it banded) would sell them during easter and people compusively bought them for a child and said awww loook its purple shed love it. but it grows out of the color

The result of ended up with an unwanted animal can and does result in cruelty to the animal. Abandonment, neglect, whatever. Not always, but even one time is too often

so this i agree but if you have chickens and love your chickens then is this practice REALLY a problem?? the death rate for these chickens is less then 2% which is better (around the same) then hatching regular chicks isnt it???​