Why You Should Never Give Baby Chicks to Children as Easter Gifts

Fluffy chicks and ducklings are popular Easter gifts—they're adorable, soft and irresistible, but they're not always an appropriate gift choice. While spring and Easter cards, children's books and toys tell a sweet story of fluffy chicks, they fail to tell the whole story of these real, live birds and why they should never be given as holiday gifts.

Chicks and Ducklings as Pets

Chicks and ducklings are not novelty toys, they are live, domestic birds that require special care and dedication to keep as pets.

Unless you are experienced in keeping livestock or plan to raise the birds for food, it is important to realize that they require both indoor shelter and outdoor exercise areas. Ducklings also require a safe location for swimming. Both of these birds have special requirements for feeding that a typical pet store cannot meet, and they will also need appropriate care from an agricultural veterinarian experienced with farm birds.

If you are prepared to meet the bird's needs to keep it as a pet, first check local zoning regulations. Many cities consider chickens and ducks to be livestock rather than pets, and they may not be permitted in residential zones. Then, investigate the breeds of chickens and ducks available to be sure you are choosing one that you can properly care for throughout its life — these birds quickly outgrow the cute, "Easter" stage and will live for years. If you are not willing to make the commitment for the bird's lifetime, it is best to avoid becoming involved with animals you cannot handle.

Salmonella
When sweet, peeping chicks are offered for sale each spring, many would-be buyers don't realize the hazards that Easter chicks and ducklings can present, particularly to the young children they may be given to as gifts. These small birds have sharp talons and bills, and they can easily scratch and bite.

The more dangerous threat, however, is salmonella contamination.

Salmonella is a bacterial disease that can be spread through the feces of chicks and ducklings, as well as through contaminated water. When these birds preen, the bacteria can be spread over all their plumage, and simply holding or petting them can transfer the bacteria to humans. The disease causes a range of symptoms, including diarrhea, fever, aches, nausea and abdominal cramps lasting for 5-7 days. While hospitalization for salmonella infections is rare, the elderly and the very young are especially at risk, as is anyone with a compromised or suppressed immune system.

Avoiding any contact with chicks and ducklings is the easiest way to minimize the spread of salmonella. If you do handle these birds, even briefly, washing your hands thoroughly with an anti-bacterial soap immediately afterwards is necessary.

An Unfortunate End
Too many Easter chicks and ducklings are sold as gifts to people who succumb to the birds' cuteness but have no desire or intention to care for adult chickens and ducks. After a few days, children lose interest in the birds and the birds lose their appeal as demanding house guests, and they are often abandoned in local parks or fields to fend for themselves.

Unfortunately, these are domestic birds with no knowledge or experience at foraging or evading predators, and death is inevitable. Those that may survive become part of feral colonies of domestic and hybrid birds that cause problems for park cleanliness and native wildlife. Many cities have been faced with mandatory culls of the birds when the populations grow too large.

Easter chicks surrendered to animal shelters do not face better chances of survival. In the spring, many shelters and humane societies are overburdened with former gifts that have become unwanted chickens and ducks, and finding suitable homes for them can be a challenge. Many of the birds will eventually be euthanized because they are not adopted.

A Note About Dyes
One of the most bizarre practices surrounding Easter chicks and ducklings is dyeing the birds in bright colors to make them more appealing.

While many areas outlaw this practice, it is still possible to buy dyed chicks in the spring. The birds can be dyed in the egg when coloring is injected during incubation. The birds do not appear to be harmed by this practice, but there have been no extensive studies about the effects of the dye on chicks that are not fully developed. When the birds molt, the colored feathers are shed and their typical plumage colors return. Recent hatchlings may also be sprayed with bright or pastel colors that will eventually wear off, but could be ingested as the birds preen. The spraying process may also cause great stress to the birds.

The greater damage caused by dyeing these birds is that the bright colors turn them into a novelty item. This emphasizes the birds as a gift rather than a live pet, and encourages many people to make an uninformed purchase of a bird they will not want to care for when it is no longer pink, purple, blue or green.

Alternatives to Easter Chicks and Ducklings
Instead of giving a live bird that could be dangerous and requires a lifetime commitment of care, there are many more responsible alternative gifts to choose from, including:

• Toy chicks and ducklings, including plush or bathtub toys

• Chocolate and candy birds and eggs

• A visit to a reputable, educational petting zoo

• Spring or Easter-themed coloring books, storybooks or games

• A bird house or bird feeder to attract wild chicks

• Chick or duckling figurines or Easter-themed décor

• Seeds to grow in the spring

By understanding the needs of chicks and ducklings, you can decide if these birds truly are a good gift choice. This allows you to make a better decision about celebrating spring and Easter without harming birds or risking the potentially unpleasant effects of owning unwanted pets.

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Do You Know the Biggest Risks to Pets at Easter Time?

Brightly colored plastic grass, plastic eggs, Lilies and chocolate pose the biggest risk to pets at Easter time. These items may be symbols of the season but they can also make dogs and cats very sick and even result in death.

“Lilies can be very toxic to cats,” cautions Dr. Julia Georgesen at Blum Animal Hospital in Chicago. Georgesen is also resident pet expert for Eye on Pets on WBBM Newsradio and cbschicago.com. “All parts of the plant, the leaves, the stems and the pollen cause severe kidney failure in cats and it can happen 6-12 hours after they eat the plant.”

Georgesen says there is no antidote for Lily poisoning in cats. The best chance of survival for a cat is early veterinarian intervention. Early symptoms of poisoning are vomiting, dehydration, staggering and seizures. Cats may even stop producing urine.

“If you have a cat, you should avoid having Lilies in your house. That includes Tiger Lilies and Day Lilies,” she says. Cats can get sick from drinking even a small amount of water from a vase of Lilies.

“The pet poison center says calls increase 200 percent during the week of Easter,” Georgesen says and many of those calls involve chocolate – another common Easter treat that is toxic to pets. “Chocolate contains a chemical relative of caffeine that causes vomiting, diarrhea, hyperactivity, abnormal heart rhythms, seizures and death in both dogs and cats.” The darker and more bitter the chocolate, the greater the danger.

Plastic and/or aluminum Easter grass can also cause problems for pets and may lead to a serious intestinal blockage that might require surgery. “The plastic becomes stringy and can anchor at the base of a pet’s tongue or stomach, making it difficult to pass.” Georgesen says consider using straw, tissue paper or shredded newspaper instead to line Easter baskets.

If you are having an Easter egg hunt, be careful with plastic eggs. Georgesen says they can be broken, chewed and swallowed by pets, causing vomiting, diarrhea, and obstructions. Hard-boiled eggs can spoil quickly and make pets very sick, so keep track of all the eggs you use.

And while a fluffy little duckling or bunny might seem like an appealing Easter gift, Georgesen says they are anything but. For example, the average domestic duck relieves itself once every 15 minutes.

“Once that novelty wears off and the daily responsibility of feeding, cleaning and exercising sets in, a lot of these animals are dumped in parks or shelters,” says Georgesen. “Play it safe and buy your child a plush stuffed rabbit or chick instead.”

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Veterinarian Says Parents Should Resist the Urge to Give Live Rabbits and Chicks as Easter Gifts

A Purdue University veterinarian says parents should resist the urge to give live rabbits and chicks as Easter gifts.

Lorraine Corriveau, a pet wellness veterinarian, says the live chicks and rabbits available in many pet stores this time of year require more maintenance and care than most people realize.

"Often many folks think rabbits need only a small cage and don't need much attention," Corriveau says. "The truth is they have dietary requirements that include a balanced diet of pellets, fresh lettuce and other vegetables, and grass hays. They also require daily exercise and enough space to perform three consecutive hops in a cage. When you get a rabbit, it's potentially a 10-year commitment because the average life expectancy of most rabbits is 10 years."

Young children tend to be rougher and not understand that they can easily injure a rabbit's back. In addition, rabbits have long toenails that leave deep scratches if handled improperly.

Chicks can carry salmonella and E. coli, which can cause diarrhea and possibly even death to young children. Chicks also can be dangerous when they get older.

"Chicks grow into chickens," she says. "Roosters can potentially become aggressive when they hit sexual maturity. Roosters also tend to make a lot of noise in the wee hours of the morning before the sun comes up."

After Easter many shelters are overwhelmed by the number of rabbits admitted and have to euthanize several. Rabbits are the third-most relinquished pets to animal shelters, which are usually equipped to handle only a few rabbits and rodents at a time.

Rabbits also are often released to the wild to fend for themselves, and those that don't starve become easy prey for predators, she says.

"Those cute, long-eared, baby bunnies with their twitching noses and the soft, yellow, adorable chicks are not toys, and they grow up to become rabbits and chickens that carry big responsibilities," Corriveau says.




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Rockland Farm, Poolesville, Maryland - Plan that Didn't Hatch: Chicks for Rent

It was an Easter promotion that didn't quite go off as planned.

Rocklands Farm in Poolesville, Maryland was offering to rent young chicks to families over the Easter holiday.

But Friday, Montgomery County Animal Control stepped in, and said the farm could only rent chicks that were three weeks or older.

Some families who showed up today walked away disappointed, but understood the county's decision:

Erinn Foster says she decided against bringing home some older chicks, saying they weren't as cute.

She says instead of chicks, she'll now fill up her kids easter basket with some toys.

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