Red dye is totally unnecessary. The HB's won't hesitate to drink nectar from a feeder without the red dye. Why take a chance and use it if it might be harming them?

I like this argument against using red dye.

Everytime I see a hummingbird feeder in a yard with red dye in it it makes my red blood boil!!!!!! I feel like stopping the car and telling these people how harmful it is! I think I'll run off a few copies of Lt. Collins Red Dye article and put in their mail boxes. Maybe then they will get the hint!!!!! :)

I use sugar and water. Nothing better.

I sure hope when I submit this that there is nothing in the first seven words to justify those hateful double lines.

There is no point in using red dye in hummingbird feed because they will eat the feed anyway it comes. Save it for the kids Easter Eggs. The birds know sugar when they smell it. I personnally don't think the red dye will hurt them (I ate red M&M's back in the day and I think I am ok) but why bother with it. If you put the feed out, they will come!

" to justify those hateful double lines."

Ditto, the proliferation of those things bugs me too.

Walt Conner

I used the recipe in the FAQ to make my refills for the feeders today. Mr Hummer seems to like it since he has been back so many times. I have a new feeder which is like a mason jar with little perches around the bottom. He likes that too. I love it when he/they zoom around and look you over and then go to the feeder. I think it was last year that I saw my first "live" HB.

teriann, I don't think there is proof either way, which is why we don't use it. it has probably only been tested on humans, not hummingbirds, and they can consume more than their body weight in a day. imagine eating one's body weight in red m&m's every day for a couple years.

standard65: . . . imagine eating one's body weight in red m&m's every day for a couple years.

Or any color for that matter!!!!!

Frank

Hey have you guys been peaking in my window again????

Penny

Too funny Penny.

I always think of the taste of red icing I've had on some cakes ...it tastes nasty, nasty, nasty and I hate it so I wouldn't dream of giving it to the babies I love so much!

glo

catnappuur, another thing that worries me is that I see some feeders that are huge, and filled up with that red water. I know that water has been sitting there for weeks because around here the HB's are so territorial that there's no way one or 2 could drink that much in a day or so. I make fresh clear nector and change the water at least every 2 days whether they're empty or not. I hate to think how nasty those big feeders must be.

gloK

You are so right, red dye tastes nasty, nasty, nasty and I hate it so I wouldn't dream of giving it to the babies I love so much!

In the link that I posted about red dye it states the following:

P-P claims that its dye is USDA (actually FDA) approved. It's apparently red dye #40, also known as Allura Red AC, an azo dye made form coal tar. The FDA appoves (sic) things that humans eat, and does no testing on the effects of food additives upon wildlife. It is a mistake to assume that hummingbirds are affected by chemicals in the same way as humans; in fact, our physiologies are quite different.

I have a book entitled Food Additives--A Shopper's Guide to What's Safe & What's Not by Christine Hoza Farlow, D.C. I'm very concerned about food additives and their effects upon the human body. In this book red dye #40 is marked by a "C" Caution is advised. The additive maybe unsafe, poorly tested, or used in foods we eat too much of. and an "A" The additive may cause allergic reactions.

So if humans are "cautioned" about using it, why should we take a chance with our bodies, and why would we want to take a chance with the little hummers?

lol, penny and frank!