Colored Chicks Got Dye Injection While in Eggs - Neatorama

I've always thought that 1) buying baby chicks - cute as they are - for little children's transitory enjoyment on Easter is kind of cruel and 2) colored chicks get to be that way because they are sprayed with dye after they are hatched.

I don't know if you agree with me or not on point number one, but I guess I was wrong on the second part: chicks can actually get colored by injection of dyes a couple of hours before hatching time!

The scanned article above came from a 1947 Mechanix Illustrated, but it seems like the technique is alive and well today: Link - Thanks Jon Jason!

I remember seeing plenty of coloured chickens and rabbits when I was little, at fairs and the like. They were made that way by putting food colouring in the water.

Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)

Can you do the same thing with humans?

Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)

Humans aren't oviparous, Lasse.

Why do we need coloured chicks, exactly?

Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)

"The dye, which the farm insists does not contain chemicals [...]"

Whut? I find that hard to believe.

Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)

I think it's very cruel. Even dying them after birth seems like an unhappy situation for the little chicks..

Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)

I admit, they are pretty, but won't the feathers fall out as the grow and return to their natural color?

Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)

I had a colored chick when I was 11. His feathers grew in normally (white), and he ruled the house. He rode around on our Airedale's head. When the weather warmed up, my mother insisted that he live outside (he was getting bigger, too). He proceeded to eat all the petunias she had planted in the window boxes. Then he started crowing.

A friend who lived on a farm volunteered to take him, promising that he would live free and happy. Two weeks later, the guy showed up and complained that Chirstopher had been tough! I was devastated.

Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)

Barbara, I think you misunderstood when he said Christopher was tough. I belive he meant that Christopher kicked his ass!

Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)

I actually knew a girl that did this for our junior high school science fair. Injected the eggs herself! Dying Easter eggs just wouldn't be the same after that.

Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)

Really? I thought these colored chicks is being dyed when they are about to be sold.

Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)

if this were from 2007, i'd say it was photoshopped, anyway. look at the feathers around the bright pink one . . . this photo was doctored.

Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)

Login to comment.

Click here to access all of this post's 11 comments

This website uses cookies.

This website uses cookies to improve user experience. By using this website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Privacy Policy.