Meet the owner of Portland's pink chickens

PORTLAND, OR (KTRK) -- We have an update on those pink chickens found in Portland, Oregon.

The pink chickens were distributed on the Portland waterfront park by Bruce Whitman as a joke ahead of Easter.

"Every time I thought about doing dying an animal, pink makes me smile," Whitman told KPTV's Kaitlyn Bolduc.

Whitman said he dyed the chickens with beet juice and food coloring. He said he also used some of the dye to color his dog as well.

To share in the fun, Whitman said he thought he'd drop the chickens off at the Portland waterfront for the day.

Whitman said, "I wanted to take them down there, have people wake up, walk down to the waterfront and smile, have a laugh, and start their day off right."

After he saw the chickens on TV, Whitman picked up his feathered friends at the Multnomah County Animal Shelter and brought them back home. He was issued a warning about releasing birds in public places.