How to Dye Bird Toys

Birds love brightly colored objects, so their toys are frequently colored to attract and hold their attention. However, if you make your own bird toys, you must be careful to only color them with dyes that are safe for your bird. Since birds chew on their toys, you need to make sure that any ingredients in the dye are going to be OK for the bird to ingest.

Things You'll Need

  • Pot
  • Jello mix
  • Stove
  • Wooden bird toy
  • Spoon
  • Dish drainer
  • Rags
  • Tongs
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Instructions

    • 1

      Mix the Jello in the pot. Usually, this will involve adding somewhere between 1 and 3 cups of water to the mix, depending on the volume of jello that you are making. Stir the water and the Jello powder together in the pot.

    • 2

      Bring the Jello mixture to a boil. Do not heat the mixture on high, or you will scorch the sugar. Instead, heat it on medium, stirring slowly the entire time. When the mixture starts boiling, turn the temperature down to medium-low or low. The mix needs to continue to boil, but you do not need a rolling boil.

    • 3

      Place the wooden bird toys in the pot. Make sure that they are completely submersed. Leave them in the boiling mixture for five minutes. If they are not yet bright enough after five minutes, leave them in for another five minutes. Continue to check every five minutes for up to 20 minutes.

    • 4

      Remove the toys with your tongs after a maximum of 20 minutes. Be careful, because the wood is now saturated with scalding Jello mixture.

    • 5

      Wipe off the excess Jello mixture using the rags. This is optional. It will make the toys dry faster, but it may make the colors a little more dull.

    • 6

      Dry the bird toys in the dish drainer. It is best to wedge the drainer over the sink so that the jello mix dripping off does not stain your countertops. It may take as much as 72 hours for the saturated wood to dry completely.