EL PASO — Peter Cottontail will soon hop down the bunny trail... delivering "confection perfection" to Easter baskets across the Borderland... but some El Pasoans may awake to the real thing.

"They need to know what to expect of the animal. How to take care of it for the longrun, not just for a week or two," said Northeast Feed Owner Amit Toren.

Toren... who knows how to "pick up chicks"... says spring always hatches interest in owning these symbols of the season... which grow up fast and require a lot of work.

"People think in the beginning you can keep them in a house very easy and in a small cage or the chicken can be in a box for a week or two, but then they really need to be outside and they need to be in a farm type environment," said Toren.

However... Toren says he's noticed a decline in chick and bunny sales around easter in recent years.

"People don't have the time, kids have a lot of electronic equipment. Sometimes we end up getting some of the animals back. People are moving out of town or the kids don't want to play with them," said Toren.

So if you're too chicken to accept the responsibility of caring for these little ones... stick to the marshmallow variety.
They're just as sweet... and don't make a peep.

Toren adds... consider the life-expectancy of these animals.
Rabbits can live five or more years.
Also... according to a city ordinance... he says no one can buy a chick less than 3-weeks-old because of their vulnerability.