What do people mean by "it's animal cruelty to dye a chicken"?

[Illia]

My two cents - It's fine to dye an adult bird, it is not to dye a chick. And there are many reasons with the chick issue, the best probably being that dying chicks is a common lure of people looking to buy an Easter chick or some temporary gift for their kid

 

[bhazell123]

I was just wander how do u actually dye the chickens ? And with wat I'm just wandering

 

[summermom]

Okay, I'm a newbie, so I'm just discovering the chicken-owner subculture here, but... I don't get it at all... WHY would anyone want to DYE an animal? Is it the chicken equivalent of dressing up a pet in costumes or ribbons?

At first I thought it was just an individual whimsy but now it's sounding like something that is ... the "done" thing! Is this a common phenomenon or is it unusual?

 

[rittert3]

Quote:
My husband works at a livestock auction/sale barn...glue and chalk, paint are used every time to label and identify the animals. the dyed silkie is adorable...its safe, non-toxic and can't hurt them. Have you ever seen the TLC shows where they do all that stuff to the dogs, spray paint, etc to make them look like other animals? What's the difference?

http://www.bestweekever.tv/2010-06-10/a-dog-is-a-tiger-but-a-tiger-is-not-a-dog/

It is the coolest thing ever though!

I've worked at sale barns, also, for the last 5 years.

 

[rittert3]

Quote:
yes, except for the easter chick dying we've been talking about, which is just a crappy marketing scheme that results in negect and death of the birds.

 

[Moochie]

I do it because I want my animals to be different, I guess. I don't go parading around with my somewhat pink BO, I want my pretty little angel all to myself. When my Angel was younger and wasn't a fatso, I used to dress her up and take pictures. I was mostly inspired to do so from a magazine called The Hollywood Dog.
All these big brand names and model dogs.. I was so jealous, I wanted my dog to be a model. I remember a $400 wedding dress on a chihuahua, with matching veil and all.

 

[Moochie]

I see no harm in dying a white chow to make it look like a panda.

Take two really adorable things and put them together and you get... Words cannot describe it..
If I had the chance to do it, I would! I don't think it's legal to keep real pandas anyways! Nor is it safe.. I've seen those China specials on the Travel Channel and pandas play pretty rough. And they have huge claws.

 

[sunnysongbird]

We have chicks that are spraypainted, but some people insert dye while the chick is still in the egg as an embryo and I feel thats wrong because it shortens the chick's lifespan. Our chicks were sprayed with colors later on after they were born but their wings are starting to come out and they are turning whiter now.

 

[Pele]

I think 'cruelty' is a bit of a stretch if you're talking about an action that in no way causes the animal distress. Most animals can't see all of the colors we an anyway, so what do they care if they are brown or electric green?

It'd be different if we were talking about free-range chickens who might have their camoflage patterns compromised and thus be exposed to predators. But most of the birds that people dye are the big floofy kind that you wouldn't free-range like a RIR anyway.

There are so many words I'd use before 'cruelty' to describe fluffy chicken dying: 'hilarious', 'curious', 'a tad odd to me', and 'aaaaaaaw' if it's done right. Humans love love loooove to alter nature, which is why most of us are sitting in air-conditioning while we post to the forums. It's our nature. As long as we arn't harming the animal in the process, it's a heck of a lot better than most of the other stuff we do on a daily basis to compromise nature (IE using toilet-paper, washing hands with soap, driving cars, etc).

One technicolor pampered chicken isn't a bigger sin than all the other 'unnatural' stuff we do without a second thought.

 

[Orange Ribbon]

Quote:
Playing devils advocate only for the sake of argument...in this instance, the child was able to agree to it.

Frankly, as I said before, if it isn't harming the chicken, we should all mind our own business. Unfortunately, there will always be people thinking they have the right to tell you what to do and how to behave.

Hey you advocate for the devil! HA! My kid face painting comment was in jest. I agree that everyone should be able to do their own thing, especially on their own property. If somebody wants to dunk their chicks in the Kool-Aid, that is fine by me.