I made this holder to put nesting material in for the birds and hung it up yesterday. The wren found it today so that's not bad timing. ( photo / image / picture from Kildale's Garden ) ( photo / image / picture from Kildale's Garden )
I used to put out tufts of wool found on barb wire fencing for my birds. After grooming our dog his hair went into the holder too and seemed to be very much appreciated by the birds.
Oh well, I can sure do the dog hair. I have never paid attention to giving them material to build with. I shall do that from now on. Thanks for the :idea:
When I have to dry my all cotton sheets inside (it occasionally rains in Texas) I save the dryer lint and put it out. Any polyester, nylon, rayon, etc. blends aren't good for nesting material, since they don't break down and are so strong that the birds feet can get tangled in the strands. For some reason the birds don't like the cat fur I put out after grooming Feliz . . . .
I know this for sure. We should never give them long stringie thingies. It should always be cut short. When I bred finches they sometimes would find one of my very long hairs. The hair would get wrapped around the leg and cut off the circulation. It had happened more than once. When I went into the breeding room I began to tie up my hair so it wouldn't happen anymore. Whatever we all put out there should be cut short. If you have ball and cut it straight across into quarters, that will work. If you have ever seen the damage long things can do you would heed my warnings.
I have made three holders as I like to put some I have made three holders now as I put them in my website and newsletter. I made this one a week or two ago. Easier to make than the one above. Nesting Material Holder
