Dying Wood....Setups

[ToMang07]

So.... due to the cost of buying toys that are quickly destroyed....I plan to start cutting/dying my own wood for Willow, God knows I have enough hardware.

My desire would be to be able to keep re-usung the dye.

Right now my plan is it to set up 4 buckets with dye, fashion a screen/brick hold the wood submerged.

Plan to have it all dried for at least a day before finishing the toys.

Any experience/advice welcome.

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[chris-md]

Devils advocate: the dye makes no difference to the bird, it’s really only for the humans aesthetic pleasure. What about saving yourself a step or two and leaving the wood in it’s natural colored state?

 

[SailBoat]

Great idea!

Only downside maybe a bacteria build-up in the pots of water /dye over time and use. Clearly, sealing the pots between use will help, but unless you can reduce the temperature to the mid 30 degree 'F' range bacteria will form.

Remember, the longer you store, the greater the likelihood of a problem.

 

[Flboy]

If you do proceed with dye, use rubbing alcohol instead of water! Store in bottles and use right sized tubs! Gloves and more gloves!

 

[noodles123]

I would wonder about bacteria over time.. If you could keep them cool it might reduce some risk of that?

You are using vegetable dyes, right?

I think colors DO make things more interesting for a bird-- my bird picks certain colors over others...so I think it might matter a bit to them, actually.

 

[ToMang07]

Devils advocate: the dye makes no difference to the bird, it’s really only for the humans aesthetic pleasure. What about saving yourself a step or two and leaving the wood in it’s natural colored state?

Well, birds can see colors, and I know for a fact it DOES make a difference, since I have given both colored and uncolored toys, with significantly more attention paid to the colored ones, and specific colors are always picked/chewed/destroyed first, clearly indicating a preference.

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[ToMang07]

If you do proceed with dye, use rubbing alcohol instead of water! Store in bottles and use right sized tubs! Gloves and more gloves!

I was wondering about this specifically. Either alcohol or vinegar were my thoughts .

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[ToMang07]

I would wonder about bacteria over time.. If you could keep them cool it might reduce some risk of that?

You are using vegetable dyes, right?

I think colors DO make things more interesting for a bird-- my bird picks certain colors over others...so I think it might matter a bit to them, actually.

Food quality dye. Found big bottles on Amazon for ~$8 each (USD)

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[Terry57]

I mix up only enough to dye the wood I'm working on. I mix a small amount of human grade food colouring with 70% Isopropyl alcohol in small batches with each colour then use all of it unless I am dying another batch later the same day. I use sponge brushes to coat each piece of wood with it then set it on a rack to dry. It dries pretty quickly if the wood isn't saturated.
It may be okay to save, but it is just as easy for me to do it this way and just mix it again when I need it.