It wasn’t so long ago that this time of year brought hundreds of baby rabbits, chicks and ducks on the market, some of which had been dyed like Easter eggs, to be sold to those who would gift children for Easter.
While the practice is nowhere near as large as it used to be, there are still those out there that would gift these creatures to children. Old habits die hard.
So here’s the good thing– the lower number of animals available make it less likely the animals will be an impulse buy.
If you are one of those thinking of gifting a child with a bunny, a chick or a duck this Easter, you should first learn what sort of care that animal will need. If you’ve never raised a chick or duck before, make sure you do some research online. My Pet Chicken is an easy-to-read resource for learning what care of a chicken entails, what supplies you will need, and what sort of time commitment is involved.
If it’s a rabbit you’re interested in, you should know there are many rabbit rescue organizations in the US that would love to talk to you about adopting a rabbit. It’s preferable to just buying a baby because you’ll know what you’re getting and you’ll know the animal is healthy. Keep in mind that rabbits and small children don’t mix well. And rabbits bought as pets are not the same as the wild rabbits you see in the field. You can’t just dump a domesticated rabbit and expect it survive, because it won’t. If you do have your heart set on a rabbit as a pet, the ASPCA has an info page devoted to rabbit care.
I don’t want to discourage any responsible person from taking on a pet. I just want to remind them do first do their homework, because these animals do require a great deal of care.
Happy Easter!
Dogpaddling Through Life 
Little bunnies, chicks, and ducks always look so cute and they are cute. But one thing people generally don’t think about is that they won’t be that way for long; they grow up. I’m sure that most people who buy them don’t think beyond a few weeks, if that long.
A cute chick becomes a chicken and smell so unless you have a farm or land, what are you going to do with a chicken?
A cute bunny becomes a full sized rabbit and therefore has different needs.
As for a cute duck, is your bathtub big enough so he can swim around. They are not dry land animals.
Then there’s always the medical costs and feeding, and commitment to spend time with them, doing cleanup, and care of a living thing including finding sitters to care for them when the people go away.
The bottom line is DON’t buy an animal for yourself or another without do research. DON’T surprise someone with a live animal. Think about it. Hold back from impulse buys.
As for dying the chicks – I think it’s cruel. They lick themselves and ingest the dyes. I feel the same way about dying dogs hair or fur.
They inject food dye in the eggs before they hatch.
I got a couple of rabbits when my kids were young. We had a fairly large fenced backyard that I lined with chicken wire and that was their cage! I also had a small wooden storage I converted into a shelter for them. They were so adorable! During the cold part of winter, and bad storms and such, they had accommodations in our spare room. But, you are so right, they take a lot of care and I spent a lot of time cleaning the shed and cages in the house.
I can imagine!
Mom says that she used to have a rabbit when she was young before I came here and had to pay lots of attentions to look after the rabbit who was not attacked by wild animals.Fortunately the rabbit lived very long. In fact, at that time, she had no idea that in US, people celebrate Easter which relates to rabbit.
Happy Easter, to you, too! 🙂
I hope people who think about a furry or feathered gift, will follow your advice. And I hope they will know that a rabbit, a duck or a chicken is not just for easter :o)
Thanks for sharing this! I think people should stick to stuffed animal bunny’s and chicks!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
I LOVE stuffies myself!
I definitely think gifted bunnies at Easter should all be chocolate… but that’s just me. The nearby town of Canmore has long had a feral bunny problem due to people releasing their domestic bunnies in the ’90s – and the bunnies surviving and multiplying and, well, now it’s a problem.
Wow! That’s sad.
Unless you live on a farm, why buy chicks? Chocolate works for most Irish people at Easter.
Doing lots of work with rescues means that I get the newsletters with the warnings about the likelihood of lots of bunnies coming in soon after Easter. Last year two of the rescues I help really struggled with the “bunny boom” as they call it. Now is a really good time to donate some time, money, old towels or blankets, unwanted toys, food or even spare hutches and cages to rabbit rescues.
And please, if you are thinking of getting an Easter pet, do your research and decide if you can really commit to a pet.
Pet shops irritate me at this time of year too with all the extra rabbits they have in, it just encourages people to impulse buy. There were double the number they normally have when I popped in to buy a new water bottle over the weekend. And they have posters saying “Buy your very own Easter bunny today” It’s so irresponsible. I told them so and they said it was “just marketing”. Grrrr! So annoying, I sent an email to their head office moaning about it so hopefully that does something but I doubt it really.
Sorry, rant over!
Great post.
~ Amy
We so agree wif ya Rumpy n Miss Jen…we nose bunnehz n birdiez are fer life….long life n dey deeserve to bee in furever homez….not just fer a few weekz or monthz…
N WHAT DA KAT IZ WIF DYIN CHICKZ PURRTY COLORZ????????????
Siriuslee???
*shakez head* Sumtimez me wunderz about peeple; don’t ya too Rumpy n Miss Jen??
Much lub Nylablue n Sherriellen Mum ❤ ❤
I ahve never seen this before. Maybe I have lived a sheltered life, or maybe it doesn’t happen this side of the pond. If not, I hope it never catches on!
It’s very sad that there are people prepared to sell animals as though they’re just another item on a holiday shopping list.
My idea is that if there weren’t stupid people and enough depraved to buy it… you wouldn’t find on the market of such aberrations! Nothing eslse to say…
I always felt terrible for the baby chicks. I doubt a tenth of them survived being “gifted.” On the other hand, my sister in law had a pet rabbit for many years. I didn’t even know rabbits could live that long. My brother was allergic to almost every other animal in the world, so they settled on a bunny and he would hop around the house like every other family member. They wanted a dog. The bunny had to do 🙂
Reblogged this on teenstodayproject.
I like my chicks and bunnies natural – they are painted just perfect. We had a Rex rabbit which grew really big. He lived in an enclosed open roof atrium with the plants and a rescued school guinea pig as a companion (and those do get along quite well – no matter what anyone says) Free range as much as possible – cages just too sad. So delightful to watch through the windows. Bunnies are cool, but need to research and realize they live a long time before getting one!
Happy Easter Rumpy!
Makes me sick how some people see animals 😦 x Happy Easter Rumpy and Co xxx
Adopting would be a great help especially many bunnies are abandoned after Easter. Adopting a bunny is like adding a new member in the family, so this requires a lot of thinking. If you think you could commit and be responsible enough to provide and to take care of a pet then please adopt one.