About those Dyed Easter Chicks

[Clarissagirl]

Hello to the members of the backyard chicken community. My husband and I have a 48-year-old Cockatoo and he feeds the squirrels, chipmunks, birds and deer. We do not have any chickens, but I am very interested in their behavior because I am writing about a fictional family living on a farm.

I have heard about people dyeing the baby chicks various colors at Easter time and giving them away as gifts. I have also heard of these baby chicks being dumped on a farm after Easter when the recipient of this gift is no longer interested in taking care of them.

I would love to know if anyone has any knowledge of this. If a farmer already has hens on his farm, would the hens take the baby chicks under their wings, or would they be rejected? If they are rejected, would they be
accepted at a later time when the babies shed their fluff and the colors grow in normal?

Any information about this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Nomadicus]

Hello and Welcome to BYC! Glad to have you in this poultry loving community. Dyed chicks are no longer a thing. They would be rejected but not because of the dye. Broody hens on a nest can and will sometimes take chicks but timing is very important for them to do it.

 

[Clarissagirl]

Hello to the members of the backyard chicken community. My husband and I have a 48-year-old Cockatoo and he feeds the squirrels, chipmunks, birds and deer. We do not have any chickens, but I am very interested in their behavior because I am writing about a fictional family living on a farm.

I have heard about people dyeing the baby chicks various colors at Easter time and giving them away as gifts. I have also heard of these baby chicks being dumped on a farm after Easter when the recipient of this gift is no longer interested in taking care of them.

I would love to know if anyone has any knowledge of this. If a farmer already has hens on his farm, would the hens take the baby chicks under their wings, or would they be rejected? If they are rejected, would they be
accepted at a later time when the babies shed their fluff and the colors grow in normal?

Any information about this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Hello and Welcome to BYC! Glad to have you in this poultry loving community. Dyed chicks are no longer a thing. They would be rejected but not because of the dye. Broody hens on a nest can and will sometimes take chicks but timing is very important for them to do it.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge about this topic!

 

[Debbie292d]

Hiya, and welcome to BYC!!

 

[janiedoe]

Welcome to BYC!

 

[Callender Girl]

Good luck with your writing! Are you writing a book, a short story or something else?

 

[KathiQuacks]

Welcome to BYC Unfortunately, the dumping is real, regardless of dye. Yes, chickens’ll really only accept chicks they believe to be theirs (e.g., they’ve been nesting for awhile, and you sneak a chick into the nest). The dye could affect things, as some birds will only take in chicks that all look the same, but it wouldn’t be the main reason for rejection. Ducks are the same. I’ve heard of geese being very maternal / paternal to goslings that aren’t theirs, however.

 

[N F C]

Hello, dying chicks is frowned upon (at least in the US) and actually may be illegal depending on location. Chicks are dyed to appeal to the impulse buyer as a novelty and all too often little to no thought is given as to what will happen to the chicks once the novelty wears off. The Audubon Society has an interesting article about them you may be interested in: https://www.audubon.org/news/colored-chicks-raise-concerns-after-easter-many-face-fates-worse-dye

 

[Callender Girl]

Some truly disturbing stuff in the Audubon article!

 

[Loving my girls]

I would go Nuts if someone gave me a dyed chick. Seriously, someone would have to intervene before there was bodily harm.
It’s quite likely that the alternate spelling would be n the offing !!!!
Oh dear I hope this doesn’t get stopped by the mediator