Standing in the back of his family store, Alden Holley finds himself surrounded by pastel colors of pink, blue, green and orange. High-pitched chirps resonate throughout the small-town hardware store — signaling the beginning of Easter.

Holley True Value has been bringing in hundreds of baby chicks to celebrate Easter for decades. Holley said he can’t remember a time when the store didn’t sell the chicks.

“We sell them starting late spring through early fall,” Holley said while holding two chicks, one dyed orange and the other green. “We just do the colored chicks for Easter though.”

More than 400 chicks are currently being housed in the back of Holley’s, most of them dyed in pastels for Easter.

Holley said he can’t even begin to count how many families have visited the hardware store to pick out their own chick for Easter.

“There’s no telling how many people have come in here this week to get a chick,” Holley said. “It really is a fun time.”

His favorite part of the Easter tradition, Holley said, is seeing the children’s’ faces light up when they see all of the brightly colored baby birds.

“They really love them,” he said. “It’s fun to watch them come in and play with them.”

And while many families have flooded the store to purchase their own chick, some customers still stop by to purchase chickens for egg-laying or other purposes.

Betty Moon, a native of Pittsburgh who settled down in Selma for retirement, said she frequents the hardware store to buy chicks and other birds.

“I just started raising chickens and goats, so I’m in here all the time,” Moon said after purchasing a few chicks. “It’s really cute to see the chicks dyed in these fun colors for Easter though.”

Before Easter Sunday, Holley recommended that families come in and pick out their baby chick because “it’s just a different, fun way to celebrate the holiday.”

“I’ve always enjoyed this tradition,” he said. “They just need a good home.”