Does Anybody Else Think This Is Irresponsible?

Leggadine08

I was on Facebook earlier and saw a post from DFs aunt asking if anyone knew who had baby chicks for sale and whether anyone would take them once they are "grown". She thinks its a fabulous idea to give her boys chicks in their Easter baskets.

Her boys are 5, 4 and 2 and wildly rambunctious. I dont think giving them a baby chick is a good idea and I also think its a wrong to get them for the cute factor then give them away. It reminds me of the bunnies and chicks they used to dye for Easter who never lived long because they got poisoned from the paint.

DFs grandma posted that it was a "great idea" and keeps talking about how cute it is. Some people...

iris427

Yep.

NJMom050911

I hear of so many people doing this. Recently a facebook friend of mine found a place that would let you take the hatchling eggs and once they are hatched you keep them for a little while (I guess when they're cute) and then you bring them back to the farm. I guess that's a little more humane than just buying them and then needing to find  a place or person that would take them. Suggest that she looks for a place that lets you "foster" chicks. I personally think they're cute but they're not a toy and should not be given to little kids.

theaustins05

You reminded me of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luZHL39v4qI

Watch it, it's funny!

Lisa Frank

I don't even want to think about what my 2.5 year old DS would do to a baby chick.  Not only that, but I don't really want chick poop all over my house and my little boy either.

 

Kristin&Kelly09

I agree, totally irresponsible.  Never heard of dyed bunnies and chicks before.

pandi02a

I hate people.

Leggadine08

Kristin&Kelly09:

I agree, totally irresponsible.  Never heard of dyed bunnies and chicks before.

Well they dont do it anymore because its animal cruelty but my mom said she got a dyed chick every year and they died shortly after Easter.

AnneShirleyBlythe

I hate people that do this. Add them to the ones who give bunnies as Easter gifts. 

An animal is not a toy. If you are not planning on keeping it, being a responsible pet owner, don't buy it. Ugh.  

tokenhoser

That's beyond irresponsible. It's teaching your kids that living things are disposable toys. That's pretty terrible parenting.

And chicks are really easy to kill by accident. They're babies and very fragile... and they poop on you a lot. Not an ideal "pet".

MissMommyMac

Although I do find the idea cute, I definitely find it irresponsible with such young boys.

kristennd

Oh it's all kinds of wrong.

Considering they apparently won't care about the chicks inevitably being killed, you could always try the angle that they frequently transmit salmonella to the children.

Even the federal govt issues warnings about that every year : https://www.cdc.gov/Features/SalmonellaBabyBirds/

00tedsgirl

I wish we could do chicks because we would love to raise them.  DS loves chickens and we love fresh eggs.  But our city doesn't allow them on less than 2 acres.  I would never, however, want chicks just to give them away.  I'm having a really rough day today because I'm sending my adult cat to a farm and I planned on her being with me forever.

MrsD1

That's absolutely disgusting. A chick is not an object; it's a living animal.

I would tell her to stick with chocolate covered chicks and bunnies. 

kjbarber86

Yea...  That doesn't seem very humane to me.  Poor chicks.

Temp38995750004016

AnneShirleyBlythe:

I hate people that do this. Add them to the ones who give bunnies as Easter gifts. 

An animal is not a toy. If you are not planning on keeping it, being a responsible pet owner, don't buy it. Ugh.  

SFBayMrs

AnneShirleyBlythe:

I hate people that do this. Add them to the ones who give bunnies as Easter gifts. 

An animal is not a toy. If you are not planning on keeping it, being a responsible pet owner, don't buy it. Ugh.  

Agreed.

sparkymcgeee

mullenem:

Wow, that's terrible.  I really hope that this plan doesn't work out...

When I was in elementary school, the 4th grade classes would each get an incubator with eggs from a nearby farm and we'd monitor them and be able to watch them hatch.  They'd stay in the school for a week or 2 after hatching then go back to the farm.  But, it was a 'deal' that the farm had set up with the school and everything was pretty carefully monitored.  You couldn't just go and pick up a chick whenever you wanted.  Maybe she should just find a petting zoo to take them to...

My mom is a librarian and they do this every spring. Children aren't allowed to hold them or pet them. Observe and appreciate only. Maybe if they found a facility that did something like this the children would get the fix the mom wants for them.

kacelle

tokenhoser:

That's beyond irresponsible. It's teaching your kids that living things are disposable toys. That's pretty terrible parenting.

And chicks are really easy to kill by accident. They're babies and very fragile... and they poop on you a lot. Not an ideal "pet".

I agree with this.  My in-laws have chickens, and I wouldn't think it was strange to bring the baby chicks to family Easter to let the children play with them.  But I wouldn't give them chicks as gifts, and I'd be SUPER careful to monitor them while they petted the chicks. 

Shelly203

I can't stand people who buy chicks or bunnies for Easter just for the novelty.  And the people who adopt black cats just before Halloween just to do awful things to them.  Seriously, what is wrong with people?!

oh_maria

Bad idea unless they want to raise them for future dinner meals
(They do that in the country...)

Leipock

Around here they still do the dyed chicks, but the dye or paint isn't toxic like it use to be. We had one last year that was blue and it was funny to watch his blue feather grow out and turn yellow. We however own chickens so we didn't just buy it for the cute factor. We will probably get another one this year for DS but again it will just be added to our flock.

heysupnatalie

oh boy. this is the worst. LOTS of animals are killed in shelters because of people like this