Every day new things appear in the world. Some are designed to make life easier for a person or make it more interesting. For others, the goal is less noble - to obtain momentary profit. For example, all active users of the Network could see photos of colorful chickens - small fluffy live lumps with charming bead eyes painted in the craziest colors. Do they really exist? And is it worth it to have such a pet at home?
Natural color of chickens
It should be noted right away that not all chickens are yellow by nature. The color of the chick depends on the breed of chickens and on the hereditary traits inherited from the mother-chicken and father-cock. Chickens can be multi-colored, brown, speckled, gray, black and many other natural (!) Shades. Some breeds of chickens are decorative, and the chicks from the first minute of birth boast long feathers on their legs and on their heads and a bizarre color.
But in fashion today, completely different - multi-colored chickens. They are painted in bright acid colors, which are not found in nature.
Painted Chicken Fashion
The fashion for colorful chicks appeared originally in China, India, Morocco and some other countries of Asia. Soon it was picked up by the whole world, and today this living product can be found even in the United States. Chicks are hatched and sold all year round, but they are in greatest demand on the eve of Catholic Easter. That is, such fluffies serve as a peculiar and not the most successful replacement for painted Easter eggs.
Also, colorful chickens are bought as a gift to children. These kids are so charming that they cause a sea of joy and fun. However, animal advocates are indignant and urge buyers to refrain from such a purchase.
How do you get colorful chickens
The technology for producing chickens with amazing colors is very simple. The chicken egg should lie in the incubator for 21 days. After that, a chicken emerges from it. In order to give a bright color to the fluff, on the 18th day the eggshells are carefully pierced with a needle and dye is introduced. After that, the opening is sealed with wax to prevent excessive evaporation of moisture and protect against infections. As a result, after three days of staining, the dye completely saturates the nest's fluff, and a chicken with an unusual color appears.
Birds do not retain a beautiful color for life. In just a couple of weeks, the chicken will begin to grow with feathers, which will have a natural color. And over time, the bird completely molts.
Manufacturers claim that they use only natural pigments. And they do no harm to birds or the environment. However, animal advocates doubt the veracity of these words. And there are a number of reasons for this.
The opinion of animal advocates
The multi-colored chickens, which are obtained artificially, have a very bright color of fluff. Some chicks, among other things, are able to glow in the dark. The intensity of the color allows one to doubt the words of manufacturers who assure that all dyes are of natural origin.
The fact is that most natural pigments obtained from bark, leaves, flowers and some minerals are rather pale. Bright natural dyes are an expensive piece of goods. So, synthetic substances are clearly used to color the chicks.
In addition, there is no way to control how many chicks actually die due to the introduction of the dye. The norm for the removal of ordinary chicks is considered to be 87-90% of the normal young of the number of eggs loaded in the incubator. Animal advocates believe that with the introduction of artificial substances, these numbers do not change for the better.
Among other things, multi-colored chickens tend to die in the first few days or weeks after purchase. Some are from improper care, others are thrown into the street after they lose their attractive appearance.
Why you should not buy painted chickens
Multi-colored fluffy chicks are not the best purchase. There are a number of arguments against, namely:
- Chicken or rooster is rarely kept as a pet, and not without reason. They can not be accustomed to the toilet, therefore, you need a cage, and much larger than for a hamster or a parrot.
- Hens are pretty dumb creatures. They are practically not able to give their owner in terms of emotional communication. They can be compared with fish or turtles, that is, it will be nice to watch, but it will not work. A chicken will communicate with a person only in one case - if the owner is present at the time of hatching and in the first few days of his life he himself will actively talk with the chick. Then the mechanism of imprinting will work, and the chicken will consider the person "mother."
- Buying a live product as a gift to another person, you put him in a difficult situation. Not everyone is ready to keep a bird at home, and throwing it outside is cruel.
- Chickens often die from the fact that they are often stroked and pressed to themselves. A tiny chick is not a puppy and he will not survive a strong hug.