Do people really dye baby chicks for Easter?

Pink, purple, green and yellow are the colors of Easter. You’ll probably be dying eggs at an Easter celebration this weekend, but did you ever dye an Easter chick to give as a gift?

We’d never heard of this, but apparently dying baby chickens is an Easter tradition in some parts of the country.

Dyeing Easter chicks doesn’t appear to be a common practice in the Northwest. I called feed stores, poultry associations, the health department and the agriculture department asking if they’d even heard of the practice, and most in Washington said they haven’t.

Only one of the feed stores remembers having dyed baby chicks around Easter, but that was back in the late 1960’s.

But a recent report from the New York Times says the colorful hatchlings are an Easter staple in some areas.

The New York Times reports that to color the chicks, babies are dusted with dye shortly after they hatch or dye is injected into the eggs about 18 days after they’re laid. The chicks come out of their shell in the color of the dye.

In both cases, the color goes away as their baby fluff molts away. Experts say the practice doesn’t hurt the chicks, but they say it’s never a good idea to give live animals, like chicks, to children for holidays.

Animal rights activists are against the practice, and much of the chick dyeing these days is reportedly under the radar, as the practice has become more controversial.

Have you ever seen dyed baby chicks for sale? Do you think it’s an appropriate practice?