Grape as a toy dye?

[Quakerfeet]

Hello, I'm making bird toys for my bird and i was wondering if i can dye the toys with grape peels? When grape purple/red peels are boiled they make a dye, is this dye safe for bird toys?

 

[calibird]

I would not recommend using food or drink products to dye wood. This can cause the wood to have a food flavor which may cause your bird to eat the wood instead of just chewing the wood.

 

[Quakerfeet]

I would not recommend using food or drink products to dye wood. This can cause the wood to have a food flavor which may cause your bird to eat the wood instead of just chewing the wood.

I'm not using wood, I'm braiding cloths to make a little rope toy out of old white shirts. The toy is going to be for out of cage use so he will be 100% supervised. Is that still safe to do?

 

[Shezbug]

I am genuinely curious about this idea.

How will you ensure the home made dye won’t grow mould or have dangerous bacteria growing in it? This is my biggest concern as it is made from the water of boiled food which will mould or go bad given time.
My aunt used to make natural dye from things like bark and flowers but never food products.

 

[calibird]

I'm not using wood, I'm braiding cloths to make a little rope toy out of old white shirts. The toy is going to be for out of cage use so he will be 100% supervised. Is that still safe to do?

I still wouldn't recommend it. Best thing is when in doubt don't.

 

[Quakerfeet]

I am genuinely curious about this idea.

How will you ensure the home made dye won’t grow mould or have dangerous bacteria growing in it? This is my biggest concern as it is made from the water of boiled food which will mould or go bad given time.
My aunt used to make natural dye from things like bark and flowers but never food products.

After dying it i would let it dry to keep some of the colour, then wash it multiple times. I've already tested it on a scrap piece and it leaves a lavender colour. It looks pretty, but I'm not sure my bird would like it. Im considering to just use old coloured shirts insteas.

 

[Quakerfeet]

I still wouldn't recommend it. Best thing is when in doubt don't.

You're right, im thinking about just scrapping the whole idea and using coloured shirts instead.

 

[Shezbug]

Yeah I think I would still be hesitant to use this method for my birds things. I use food grade dye to dye anything I want colored for my bird. Safe easy and works well.

 

[Quakerfeet]

Yeah I think I would still be hesitant to use this method for my birds things. I use food grade dye to dye anything I want colored for my bird. Safe easy and works well.

I'm new to the whole toy making process but I've heard that food colouring is also an option, so i bought powder food dye, its a strong red that stains everything, is this safe to use?

 

[Shezbug]

It will depend on the brand and what it is made of. Some things that are fine for human consumption are not so fine for our delicate birds.

@Mizzely might be able to offer some more help with the safety of the product you intend to use.

From memory I think the colors that were of the most concern may have been red and yellow due to what some manufacturers use to make them with, not all brands use the same ingredients/products to make their dyes.

 

[Mizzely]

I've never used a powder, so no idea! I've only used Vitacritter and gels

 

[Quakerfeet]

@Mizzely @Shezbug @calibird
Thank you so much for your help guys. I really appreciated the help.

 

[Jan]

I agree with calibird, I would not offer anything that might leave a scent/flavor to anything unless it's actual food. Scented things you would not offer to a bird anyway. I don't feel that grape peels would give you much color on objects that you'd want to color. Go with some sort of human grade food colorants to color your items.