coloring/flavoring toys

[Buckys Girl]

We have been making wooden toys for the macaws to chew on we have had to use very small pieces (like conure size) or they wont touch it. They are not used to chewing on wood much so we have been trying encourage them.

What works the best for coloring wood? If food coloring how much do you need to add to the water to get it to dye the wood? Also if flavoring can u just buy like banana flavoring and such What in your experience works best for flavors?

Thanks

Buckys Girl

[KDK241]

The concentrated food coloring made for icing works great to color toys and a little goes a long way. I guess as to how much to add, you kind of have to experiment. The longer it sits, the darker it will get though or you can let it dry and then re-dye it.
Flavored wood can be a bad thing because if the wood tastes good it might encourage them to eat it.

[chapala]

Coloring with food grade dyes is fine, but I wouldn't suggest flavoring the wood. I know there are sites that sell "fruit flavored" wood toys, but anything that encourages a bird to ingest wood isn't good. I would use soft woods for your birds, and smaller pieces until they get the hang of chewing. Probably then you could move up to Amazon and even Macaw sized wood.

[Chief's Mom]

I bought a set of colors from Vitacritter - Exquisite Colourant Toy Color Concentrates. I can't remember exactly how much I paid for it, but I've dyed at least 75 pounds of wood and still have at least half left in most of the bottles. The colors came out great, much better than any of the stuff I've tried to do at home with food coloring or icing colors.

Also I mixed the colors with rubbing alcohol instead of water. You can do this with regular food coloring or icing colors as well. It does intensify the color a bit, and it also helps the wood being dyed to dry much faster. Faster drying time also leads to less chance for molding to occur.

[Buckys Girl]

Originally Posted by chapala

Coloring with food grade dyes is fine, but I wouldn't suggest flavoring the wood. I know there are sites that sell "fruit flavored" wood toys, but anything that encourages a bird to ingest wood isn't good. I would use soft woods for your birds, and smaller pieces until they get the hang of chewing. Probably then you could move up to Amazon and even Macaw sized wood.

yeah that is what we have been doing small and soft ~ we even made their play stand outta soft wood hoping that they would have a go at it I really do not want to take them to get their beaks done ~ I can just imagine how freaked out they would get so we are really tryin to get them to do their own maint. lol

Thanks

Buckys Girl

[Michelle & Fids]

I second the Vita Critter.

[Newticus]

When dying safe woods with food colouring, does the dye run if it gets wet? I have a fair number of toys from General Venture, and if that toy even gets spashed a little from the birds bathing in their food dish it starts to run. Then if the bird touches the wet toy, they get dyed. I doubt that this harms them in any way, but it does make them look funny. It also means that if I wash the toys the colours fade and run together to make really ugly looking toys.

Melanie