Furry, feathered Easter pets

Along with those little marshmallow chicks sold in grocery stores around the country, area farm and home stores sell chicks, ducklings and bunnies as pets each Easter.

Brent Aufdenberg, manager of Orscheln Farm and Home Store in Cape Girardeau, said they've "been selling chicks at least 10 years. Kids, especially, get excited when they see the ... baby chicks at the store."

"Many people buy them for pets until they grow into larger chickens, then they keep them for the purpose of laying eggs if they live on a farm or outside of town," Aufdenberg said.

Orscheln also sells rabbits, but they've already sold out his year. Store personnel said they think most individuals who buy the baby chicks are good to them. Orscheln purchases the chicks from a hatchery in Springfield, Mo. Bunnies come from local people who raise rabbits.

"Customers usually buy the appropriate kind of feed for the animals and often purchase cages for them as well," Aufdenberg said.

Orscheln has chicks from February through May. Many farmers buy baby chickens in large quantities for fryers and eggs.

Tractor Supply Company in Cape Girardeau will be selling chicks again this year both for pets and farm demands.

"We did not handle them the last two years because of the bird flu epidemic that was going around," TSC manager Dale Van Brunt said. "We didn't want to take chances."

TSC did, however, have rabbits those years. They do not intend to have rabbits this year.

Buchheit in Jackson has baby chicks, turkeys, ducklings and bunnies this year, but it's having trouble keeping the rabbits. A new supply should be coming in soon, according to Corey Trowbridge, salesman for the farm department. The store will have chicks through June. People can buy as many as they want as long as supplies last.

The Buchheit store in Perryville, Mo., also sells Easter pets.

Most of the animals go to farmers, but around Easter the hatcheries put out more chicks and more people buy them around that time, said John Sander, a manager at Buchheit.

Because Perryville is such a rural area, Sander said most chicks go to a farm when they get older.

Orscheln in Perryville has Easter pets available for their customers, too, and sells different breeds of chicks. Manager Terry Zamz said they "should be getting more rabbits in soon. They go fast."

Easter bunnies and chicks are Easter traditions, as long as people know how to care of them.

Dr. Brett Ward, a veterinarian with the Cape Small Animal clinic offered tips for taking care of rabbits.

"Supporting the hind legs is an important thing to remember, especially support the rabbit's back," he said. "Don't allow the rabbit to continue sitting on the wire cage, because the metal will etch the skin."

Ward also said to keep the rabbit out of the hot sun and provide lots of water.

"Heat stroke is common among rabbits," he said. "Most importantly, you need to have a plan before getting a pet. Do research on the needs and comfort of chicks and rabbits if that's what you have."

Although pet stores can sell rabbits, most do not have chicks for sale because the stores do not have a Food and Drug Administration license. Farm and feed stores are usually licensed to sell them. Area farm and home and feed establishments order their chicks from FDA approved hatcheries.

The Petco Co. refrains from selling baby chicks because they are not licensed to do so. The Cape Girardeau Petco store sells rabbits but they do not allow anyone to purchase them for a two-week period around Easter, from March 16 to 30 this year.

"People do a lot of impulse buying around Easter," said operations manager Rollin Weibrecht. "And then when the holiday is over they don't want them any more. We like to place ours in permanent homes where they'll be taken care of and people won't come bringing them back."

Ellen Shuck is a freelance writer for the Southeast Missourian.