Chicks are Not Appropriate Easter Gifts

Pets are, or should be, a lifetime commitment, sadly many people get chicks for their children at Easter time.  These chicks are brought home on a whim, an impluse, purchased because they were "cute" with no other thought. 

Chicks are living animals, just like kittens or pups.  Most Easter chicks are not prepared for, not cared for, and most die within days, or a few weeks, or the owner simply comes to the realization that they now have a baby chicken... and what do they do with it!?!

Most people who get Easter chicks do not keep them as pets, and do not provide proper care for them (for example they need heating lamps), even though they are living animals, purchased as pets.  Chicks are at risk for stress, and can be hurt if held too tight by a child.

To make matters worse some of these chicks have been dyed.  While this is sometimes done safely and humanely, it is sometimes done with toxic dyes, the sellers knowing that the chicks are probably not going to live anyhow.  As the chicks are often dyed while still in their eggs, mistakes can occur.

photo source

There is no reason to bring home a chick as an Easter gift.  Pets are not novelty items, toys for kids, they are lifetime commitments, this applies to chicks too!

Read More

Chicks and Bunnies are Not Easter Gifts

Keeping Pet Chickens

Which Breeds of Chickens are Best as Pets

How to Raise Baby Chicks

Will I find an Unhatched Chick in the Eggs from the Store?

Have you ever wondered what are the chances of finding an unhatched, but partially formed chick, are in the eggs you buy from the grocery store?  We sometimes hear "stories" of this happening, but does it really occur?

Chances are what some people think is a growing chick is actually the tiny strands that hold the yolk in place in the center of the egg.  These strands are white and break when the egg is cracked.  They snap back next to the yolk and could look like a tiny growing chick.

Blood spots in eggs are also natural and are not a growing chick.

There are actual reasons why the chances of finding a chick in an egg from the grocery store are zero.  In fact the ONLY way this would happen in grocery store eggs is if somebody intentionally took a fertilized egg and stuck it in with the other eggs as a prank.

In the egg industry chicks are sexed at the age of one day, females have their beaks cut, wings cut, get vaccinated, and get sent off to grow up.  Male chicks are mostly put into a meat grinder.  As such there are no males with the hens that will be laying eggs.  Mature hens lay eggs daily even without a male present.  With no rooster around the eggs are not fertile and cannot grow chicks.

Further more the eggs roll away from the hen instantly and are chilled; as such even if a rooster had been with the hen the egg would never be incubated (warmed) enough for a chick to grow inside.  Before they are put into their cartons, they are screened and any egg with an anomaly is removed, so even if there was a chance of an unhatched chick being in an egg, the screening process would have those eggs culled.

On rare occasion when people claim they find an actual chick in the egg it is usually a prank or a major mistake with "farm fresh" eggs; if somebody was very sloppy in collecting the eggs and took one that had been incubated for at least 10 days.

One of my hens.

Read More to Learn Why Chicken Eggs Won't Hatch

Read How Chicken Eggs are Formed - freaky pictures - be warned

Remember, to buy eggs from happy hens, always pick those sold at the farmer's market where the hens are cage free.