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Post by kmic on Mar 8, 2014 15:05:06 GMT
So the ladder idea worked  Tequila has made friends with it and is now joining the others on the cane structure. So this morning I bought stuff to make even more ladders in the room (2 from the floor straight up and 2 'bridges'). But the room still looks dull and lacks colour (and from what I read,budgies are able to see all the colours we can + UV). So I was thinking of painting/dying the ladders to add some colour. In a number of sources I found that food colouring is safe for budgies, but once this was posted on the forum littlefeathers.freeforums.net/thread/607 and I'm not sure if it meant that food colouring should be avoided or not. If food colouring's ok, I'll probably be using this method (in case anyone is interested) www.ehow.com/how_5669807_dye-wood-food-color.html. I really tried to get a good picture of Tequila climbing the ladder, but I didn't manage yet. So here he is proud of his achievement.  This is the one I have of him climbing. He's here climbing an old toy which I used to train him how to get up near the others. (He didn't know what to do with the new ladder at first haha)  |
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Post by fayth on Mar 8, 2014 15:52:03 GMT
I wouldn't suggest food dye, just in case… but you can use sugar free Koolaid! Do you see the variety that sugar free koolaid comes in? Blue, Green, Orange, Teal, red and much more! It leaves a beautiful clear colour and sometimes birds like the flavour
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Post by kmic on Mar 8, 2014 15:58:18 GMT
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Post by luvsanimals2 on Mar 8, 2014 16:01:12 GMT
Hm, that is a good question. I believe it is because we eat it lol
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Post by fayth on Mar 8, 2014 16:03:24 GMT
It's almost always in a light blue package! They are sold in the same place as the regular koolaid.
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Post by kmic on Mar 8, 2014 16:07:25 GMT
Never saw koolaid either :$ two options..they either don't import them to Malta or I never saw them.
Also, if they like the taste, won't it mean there's a higher chance of them demolishing the toy even quicker?
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Post by fayth on Mar 8, 2014 16:10:59 GMT
Idk! Lol they would def. be more willing to play with it…
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Post by kmic on Mar 8, 2014 16:20:24 GMT
A search on Malta's 2 biggest supermarket websites for koolaid didn't give any results =[ I'll try to look for them next time I'm at a supermarket, but not putting my hopes up.
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Post by fayth on Mar 8, 2014 17:19:26 GMT
Or you could just search for sugar free coloured juice etc…
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Post by luvsanimals2 on Mar 8, 2014 18:10:56 GMT
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Post by Pammy on Mar 8, 2014 18:51:48 GMT
I'd say food coloring is safe enough since we eat it and feed it to our children. Is it the best for humans? No! But I also don't think it would be harmful to the budgies as a toy dye. I wouldn't want to feed it to them on their food, but a little chewing on toys should be okay.
In addition, you may want to get some different colored COTTON yarns and tie small pieces of it here and there all over your bird room. That would add bits of color all over the place, and birds like to pick it at for fun. I'm a knitter, so I'm always tying a small leftover length of yarn to something in my cage and my birdies enjoy picking at it and playing with it. They love the bright colors. Like any toy, you will want to watch and make sure it doesn't develop a loop they could get a foot hung up in, and remove pieces that no longer seem safe to you.
I am very, VERY happy the ladder idea is working out and helping your little Tequila to get around and lessen his handicap, Kara. Our ladder has worked wonders for our little flightless December, too.
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Post by santinoandmondo on Mar 8, 2014 19:24:56 GMT
Hi there,
The ladders are a great idea. I like the simple pieces of yarn. If you have little scraps of fleece, you can tie strands to things as well, but no loops.
I know you can use certain natural materials to dye eggs different colors. Like onion skins, added with a little vinegar,etc. But I just glanced at something while at the supermarket checkout line and there were great, beautiful colors that were created with foods. That would seem easy. Also, food pastes used for frostings are very intense and you'd probably use less than the (liquid) drops. Look online at Martha Stewart's site and other places where you might find fun color ideas that are safe for easter eggs.
Cherry
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Post by Pammy on Mar 8, 2014 20:38:09 GMT
Great idea, Cherry! You can also make a really pretty natural dye with beets.
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Post by Sarah on Mar 9, 2014 7:46:27 GMT
I would not actually recommend using any dyes at all. I know we want our birds toys to be bright and engaging, both for them and for us. However, its not like rainbow ladders occur in nature, and the first day that you see your beautiful white Tequila stained all over with chemicals, beet juice or koolaid, you probably won't be very thrilled. I do not think it is worth it.
If you are determined to bring bright things into your bird room for them and I cannot dissuade you from using some kind of dye, I really, really push you to wash them thoroughly after the dyeing process. If you could let them soak a bit in the dye and then run it through the dishwasher twice, the concept would bother me less. I also really, really would prefer you not to use sugarfree koolaid, or koolaid of any kind. Sugary coolaid will mold, not to mention get your budgies over wired. Sugarfree is packed full with chemical substitutes, while harmless in the human body could harm a tiny, itty bitty budgie body in a way that is probably poorly understood. Much like chocolate; yes, it is indeed poisonous to the human body. However, we generally eat it in such mild doses and our body masses being larger than a small dog or a tiny bird, we process it and are fine. Budgies are small. Chemical exposure is a much bigger deal to them than to us.
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Post by kmic on Mar 10, 2014 8:38:02 GMT
Sorry guys I was really busy this weekend. Thanks a lot for your replies! I really love the yarn idea. I had listed it down in my list of possible stuff for their room, but I never really gave it much thought. So I guess if I have time to make small pompoms and attach them here and there, it should add some colour and give them something else to destroy aye? (probably not for now as I'm quite busy, for now it'll just be small pieces of yarn). Re the ladders, thanks all of you for your input, really! I think I'll leave them as plain wood though. I wouldn't want Tequila to end up technicolor instead of mainly white. From what I had read they didn't mention that if you wash it properly etc there's still a chance it'll stain. So no food colouring or any other dye for them. Will try to invest some time and money and get them some budgie-safe tree they can perch on (and add some natural colour). Thanks guys! Promise you more picts as time goes by  |
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Tequila has made friends with it and is now joining the others on the cane structure.
