The mystery surrounding a pink poultry prank in Portland, Oregon, has been solved.

Bruce Whitman used food coloring, beet juice and Kool-Aid to dye the two chickens, then released them on the city;s waterfront on Thursday.

The chicken owner said he let the brightly-colored birds loose because he wanted to 'make people smile'.

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Oregon man Bruce Whitman used food coloring, beet juice and Kool-Aid to dye the two chickens in Portland

Whitman paid $32 to get his birds back, the standard impound fee, from Multnomah County Animal Services

The bartender said he let the brightly-colored birds go on Thursday because he wanted to 'make people smile'

Whitman, a bartender who is studying to be an airline pilot, put the chickens in a tree along the waterfront at about 1am on Thursday morning, the Oregonian reported.

When the sleeping birds awoke around dawn and started to draw attention, they were seized by officers from Multnomah County Animal Services.

The department's Facebook page was soon covered with thousands of comments.

On Friday, Whitman paid $32 to get his birds back, the standard impound fee.

Multnomah County wrote: 'Our Animal Control officer had a gentle but firm discussion about allowing the chickens to wander, then sent them all home. So ends the Pink Chicken caper!'

Whitman pulled the chicken caper as a joke ahead of Easter, KPTV reported.

He said: 'Every time I thought about doing dyeing an animal, pink makes me smile.

'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.'

A green cat in Varna, Bulgaria, became an internet sensation after it was spotted prowling through the town

It is believed the cat got its color from getting into paint at the nearby construction yard where she lives

Despite his successful stunt, Whitman is not planning to do it again anytime soon.

This isn't the first time oddly-colored animals have been in the news.

A green cat in Varna, Bulgaria, became an internet sensation after it was spotted prowling through the seaside resort town.