Most people are probably familiar with the bright colored marshmallow chickens that people find in stores, but some people don’t know about real colored chicks.

In room 401 the agriculture 1 classes are studying animal growth and development. To help them understand how the feathers are shed and how they grow back, the students colored the feathers.

To color them, the students injected a ½ cc (ml) of food dye into the eggs for the chicks. So that they could ensure the chickens were not injured in the process, the students used candling to find the embryos. Candling is done by placing an egg over a flashlight and making a mark on a non-shadowed area.

Students placed the thin needle into the egg carefully after disinfecting the shell. The dye was injected on day 14 of incubation, according to Lindsey Wilson, student teacher and leader of the project.

“It’s been really hands-on,” Wilson said.
While Wilson thinks that all the baby chicks are cute, she admits that the pink one, Hamm, is the cutest. Of the nine that hatched, four of the chicks have unnatural coloring. There is the vibrant yellow one named Charlie Brown, one with minimal green named Hulk, Hamm, and a bright green chick named Dino.

The animals were named by the students who colored them. Even though the naturally colored birds are not quite as interesting to look at, they are still adorable and fun to see.