Experiment injecting dye into chicken eggs ruffles feathers in Seward

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Seward Public Schools received some backlash online Wednesday after posting about a science experiment.

In the post on Facebook, the district said an animal science class that was incubating eggs injected them with food coloring to study early feather growth.

Some comments on the post called it inhumane, fearing for the health and safety of the animals.

“This is absolutely horrible!” one commenter said. “Do you people not realize how fragile baby chicks are?”

But Superintendent Josh Fields said that the dye does no harm to the chicks and that it only lasts a few weeks.

In statement, he said the chicks are part of the Future Farmers of America program and will grow up to be laying hens in its chicken coop.

“There is no harm to the chicks with the dye and our FFA students take care of the chickens throughout the school year,” Fields said. “We support our teachers in being innovative and developing an appreciation and passion for agriculture for our students.”

As of Thursday afternoon, the post no longer appeared on the district’s page.

Experts said dyes are often used in livestock to determine if they’ve been vaccinated.

There are also machines that inject vaccines into fertile eggs without damaging the embryo.

And according to an article shared by the National Audubon Society, spraying chicks with food coloring is safe.

Jessica Kolterman, director of administration at chicken processor Lincoln Premium Poultry, said dyes are important for indicating the future of an animal’s health.

“The people who are engaged in animal agriculture very much care about those animals and would not do anything to intentionally harm an animal in any way,” she said.

Kolterman said she’s glad the district is getting students interested in studying poultry, since there are about 10 million birds raised in Seward County every year.

“When I saw the post, I actually reached out to the superintendent, excited that they were having this experience, that they were getting exposed to the embryology of chickens,” she said.

Kolterman said many people don’t understand where their food actually comes from and how it’s processed.

“They go into the grocery store, and they take food home, and they make it for their families,” she said. “What I think is really exciting is that in this school system, they’re taking the science behind it and they’re helping these kids learn about the food production.”