Reasons Not to Add Red Dye to Your Hummingbird Feeder By offering them extra nectar, a hummingbird feeder aims to draw them to your front or back yard, where they can enjoy the sight of their wings flapping rapidly as they feed.
You probably don't want to hurt these avian creatures. Avoid using red food coloring or dye if you have it in your pantry and believe it will draw hummers to the feeder.
The supplemental nectar should not be colored with food coloring. "A lot of hummingbird feeders use red as an element in the feeder itself," says Gail Karr, the Memphis Zoo's curator of special animal exhibits. "This will serve as an attractant, so using red dye in the nectar just isn’t necessary."
Red No. 3 and Red No. 40 are color additives that give foods and beverages, including cereals, confections, dairy products, puddings, and beverages, a vivid red hue, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
According to the FDA, red dye is derived from petroleum; it is obviously unsafe for birds and should not be consumed by hummingbirds.
Consumer Horticulturist Barbara Smith of the Clemson Extension Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC) says, "Adding harmful red dye to the nectar solution is not only dangerous for the health of the hummer but is not necessary."
Red dye No. 40, however, is frequently found in commercial supplemental nectar or hummingbird sugar solutions. "While the effects of red dye have not been studied in hummingbirds specifically, researchers have studied the effects of Red Dye 40 in rats and mice, [which] caused reproductive issues and was found to be a carcinogen," Karr explains.
Red dye No. 3 was later banned by the FDA from use in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals in 1990, although it is still permitted in food items. "It is best to try and steer clear of red-dyed hummingbird nectar," Karr says.