Name: Rick

Message: Hi, I hope this hasnt been asked before although I saw similar. We would like to temporarily dye white doves red and blue for a 4th of july release. We would need the dye to last for about 30 seconds after release and whatever time it would be to take them to the release site. Of course a dye would last longer and most people want longer but we want shorter!

There is no dye that will completely disappear that quickly. 

There are colored chemicals that will lose their color quickly while still remaining present. This could give an effect similar to what you're asking for, but would do nothing particularly good for the birds, since the chemical will still be present. 

Another problem is that the disappearing inks are not available in the colors you want, but typically only in a bright violet color. You can find this product in the "disappearing ink markers" sold by fabric stores for temporarily marking fabric. I don't know how safe this product would be for birds.

The speed with which temporary marking colors disappear varies greatly depending on the amount of moisture or humidity present. It would take a considerable amount of trial and error to work out how much to apply. You could apply the color, then, when you wish the color to start disappearing, mist the colored birds with water, which generally makes disappearing ink decolorize quickly.

All in all, this is an interesting idea, but I do not recommend that you pursue it. 

Perhaps you should acquire some smoke dye and create a temporary burst of colored smoke, instead. Please note that textile dyes cannot be used to color smoke; you must mail-order "smoke dyes", specifically, such as those sold by Skylighter.com.

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