Why white chicks are born yellow - Fun Fact!

Ready to be !?!?!?!?!

Well, Get ready for this interesting fun fact that I am betting you never knew.

When chicks are growing inside the egg they are in contact with the yolk. During this time their white fuzzy fluff called, down feathers, gets the yellow pigmentation stained on them. The yellow pigmentation that makes yolk yellow is what makes their adult white down feathers yellow too!!

Wow, interesting. Right!? Would have never known that. If you're like me, it just seemed that all chicks were born yellow, with natural yellow baby fluff feathering, and they grew their coloration of different feathering and white down feathering afterwards.

Then later in life we find out chicks come in all sorts of colors! Now you can add something new learned about baby chicks and that is they are dyed in the shell by the yolk pigmentation and when light enough, such as white, you can see it!

So, yes as they grow in their feathering and new down feathers too, they will no longer have the yellowing and their natural white will be present.

These chicks with their momma have almost fully feathered out their yellow dyed down feathers. But, if you look closely you can still see some of the yellow down feathers not yet replaced on their heads.