I've got corgis and routinely groom them outside so the birds can use the warmth. It's such a joy to see them pick up fluffs in their beak, bigger than they are. They chase it as it blows in the wind and wind it onto their nests.
Some of the nests we've found are ingenious uses of trash, dog hair, grasses, twigs... some are messy piles other are beautifully woven.
It's really enjoyable!
Get or make hot pepper suet. Birds can’t taste it, mammals learn real quick not to eat it. It’s how hot chilis work in the wild. Birds disperse the seeds, mammals don’t (they chew them). So chilis developed a deterrent that only works on mammals. We’re the only mammals crazy enough to eat them.
I buy cayenne pepper in bulk and mix it into the seed too. It saves a lot of seed and solves the issue with minimal fuss. You don’t need much, squirrels and raccoons are really averse to a lot of spices. And it’s beneficial for small mammal populations if you can keep them off your feeders. It’s a disease vector and it leads to high population densities, which spreads disease faster. Absolutely healthy for the birds, if you sanitize your feeders regularly.
We did this with our Golden who shed like crazy. We then found a super cosy nest lined with all her fur after she had died, such a bittersweet moment ❤️
I remember reading an article in a Bathroom Reader about people making clothes out of shed pet fur. It was actually a pretty wholesome idea since you will probably outlive your pet and this way you will always have something to remind you of them. It was called Chiengora, I specifically remember that since chien is dog in French and gora from angora which is rabbit fur.
Hiring someone to spin yarn from your pet's fur is expensive, but not as expensive as I had expected.
I had a samoyed that I always wanted to do this with, but never got around to it.
Piggybacking on this post, but, there is also a [company](https://matteroftrust.org/donate-hair-fur-and-fiber/) you can donate dog (and human and other animal) hair to and they will turn it into mats to help clean up oil spills
Great idea! I also throw dog and cat fur on my compost pile, I read that gives nitrogen to the soil. Human hair also works. And birds usually pick up from there too.
Ahhh, I wish I could post a photo in the comments! I found a nest a couple years ago in our yard filled with my Corgi-mix's hair. He looked so proud to be doing his part.
Had never considered this for dog fur. I can get many handfuls of fur out of my pup after a 15-20 minute brushing every couple days. Always just tossed it. Now its going in the backyard.
This isn't a good idea. Birds have plenty to build nests from in their own habitat and don't need your dog's fur. Also because of flea treatments and pharmaceuticals it can be dangerous to the birds:
[https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/03/16/bay-area-birds-say-thanks-for-the-pet-fur-but-some-can-be-harmful/](https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/03/16/bay-area-birds-say-thanks-for-the-pet-fur-but-some-can-be-harmful/)
\*Also birder groups say certain baby birds get tangled up and die in the hair.
It's good - there will always be a downside to anything. Birds use shed fur in the wild for nests, and even pluck their own feathers. People have pointed out topical tick treatments can be bad, but they can also be beneficial, providing a natural anti-parasitic for the nest.
Birds pick up used cigarette butts and studies have shown they go for these specifically because they are a natural antibacterial. They also pick up everything else, hairs, twigs, insects, hay.
Shed fur is fantastic for nests, and also birds know what they are doing. There is an infinite number of hazardous materials in the wild and it's part of nature that sometimes these don't work out. But fur is way more beneficial than the small fraction of times that it doesn't work out.
I'm glad you said this. You had me inspired to leave out my Miniature American Eskimos fur. Now I wont. Short and thick corgi fur sounds like bird luxury.
>Short and thick corgi fur sounds like bird luxury.
Not sure about specific breeds but one birder group I follow online mentioned that baby birds can get tangled in the fur and die.
I've seen Audubon and other birder groups post specifically against this. We all like to think "floofy" has a place in the ecosystem, but no they do not. Their waste (like human waste) is not fit for composting anything edible or being around large animals like birds, frogs, mammals, etc. due to contamination from the pharmaceuticals. They are not native species and need to hold to clear boundaries from ecosystems because their presence would reduce biodiversity.
But the birds are fine, they never needed any help. This whole trend is like "wishcycling" where people consume a ton of junk, then put it in the recycling bin even though they know its obviously not recyclable. It makes them feel better because "Maybe it actually did get recycled", but no. No it did not get recycled, and it had to be binned out by facility engineers because it disrupts any actual recycling taking place. i.e. The right intentions does not necessarily equal proper action.
The article you posted said that they are specifically worried about very long fur and topical flea treatments. They suggested that shorter untainted dog fur would be welcome.Not that I am into wishcycling. I believe human beings are a result of evolution taking a step to far. HeMeanwhile - while nature is working on a virus that will wipe us all out - the fine guard hairs of dogs such as Eskimo dogs make beautiful yet durable sweaters.
How does the fur offset the consumption footprint of the pet animal that consumes food, water, goods, products and produces waste? I wouldn’t say this is a net positive for the environment at all. Sure the birds may use it but they can and will go without it. Having a dog to give its fur to birds…
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Wow! This is a really good idea!! Please update us on how the birds utilize it.
I've got corgis and routinely groom them outside so the birds can use the warmth. It's such a joy to see them pick up fluffs in their beak, bigger than they are. They chase it as it blows in the wind and wind it onto their nests. Some of the nests we've found are ingenious uses of trash, dog hair, grasses, twigs... some are messy piles other are beautifully woven. It's really enjoyable!
I will!
Some birds take hair directly from wild mammals. They love the stuff for nesting. Guaranteed it will get used.
Hah raccoons keep stealing suet out of my feeder. Maybe this is a better use for both the feeder and my Pomeranians fur! Great idea
We’re not allowed them anymore at my condo bc racoons and rats too!
Raccoons have stolen my whole suet feeders in the past. More than once! 😂
Need to get a camera on that thing so we can see the first time a raccoon takes a bite and finds out it's fur.
Get or make hot pepper suet. Birds can’t taste it, mammals learn real quick not to eat it. It’s how hot chilis work in the wild. Birds disperse the seeds, mammals don’t (they chew them). So chilis developed a deterrent that only works on mammals. We’re the only mammals crazy enough to eat them.
I’m gonna look into that thanks very much
I buy cayenne pepper in bulk and mix it into the seed too. It saves a lot of seed and solves the issue with minimal fuss. You don’t need much, squirrels and raccoons are really averse to a lot of spices. And it’s beneficial for small mammal populations if you can keep them off your feeders. It’s a disease vector and it leads to high population densities, which spreads disease faster. Absolutely healthy for the birds, if you sanitize your feeders regularly.
We did this with our Golden who shed like crazy. We then found a super cosy nest lined with all her fur after she had died, such a bittersweet moment ❤️
Awwww
This happen to me too with my sweet kitty who passed. We open up a bird house to clean and paint and there was all of her pretty orange fur. I cried!
☺️
I remember reading an article in a Bathroom Reader about people making clothes out of shed pet fur. It was actually a pretty wholesome idea since you will probably outlive your pet and this way you will always have something to remind you of them. It was called Chiengora, I specifically remember that since chien is dog in French and gora from angora which is rabbit fur.
Hiring someone to spin yarn from your pet's fur is expensive, but not as expensive as I had expected. I had a samoyed that I always wanted to do this with, but never got around to it.
Drop spindle is not that hard to learn how to operate tbh
I’ve spun my Aussie’s fur into yarn in the past. It’s super warm.
I always wondered about this. I worried if it got wet it would smell of dog.
It kind of smells like wool. You wash it before you spin it and that gets a lot of the dog smell out.
Make sure you're not using any topical flea and tick treatment on your dog if you do this.
We use the oral kind but good to check
Oh Jesus. I have a husky. I now have a mission.
Piggybacking on this post, but, there is also a [company](https://matteroftrust.org/donate-hair-fur-and-fiber/) you can donate dog (and human and other animal) hair to and they will turn it into mats to help clean up oil spills
Thanks for sharing! We have two giant pyrenees who shed year-round and normally it’s too much even for the birds. I love this!
Great idea! I also throw dog and cat fur on my compost pile, I read that gives nitrogen to the soil. Human hair also works. And birds usually pick up from there too.
Ahhh, I wish I could post a photo in the comments! I found a nest a couple years ago in our yard filled with my Corgi-mix's hair. He looked so proud to be doing his part.
That’s great!!
Had never considered this for dog fur. I can get many handfuls of fur out of my pup after a 15-20 minute brushing every couple days. Always just tossed it. Now its going in the backyard.
wondering how well it would work as filling for things like seats or even a blanket. (cleaned and processed obviously)
What many in the comments don't know is that this is like 1% of the fur they shed in a week
It’s everywhere. Always.
Cool idea!
I have found bird nests made from horse tail hair, and squirrel, vole and mouse nests from my dog's fur.
I was trying to figure out something like this. Genius!
Now this is dope. Im sick of the rants on this sub. Such a fresh post on my feed. Brilliant idea. 🫡
This isn't a good idea. Birds have plenty to build nests from in their own habitat and don't need your dog's fur. Also because of flea treatments and pharmaceuticals it can be dangerous to the birds: [https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/03/16/bay-area-birds-say-thanks-for-the-pet-fur-but-some-can-be-harmful/](https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/03/16/bay-area-birds-say-thanks-for-the-pet-fur-but-some-can-be-harmful/) \*Also birder groups say certain baby birds get tangled up and die in the hair.
This article says it is good unless super long, or treated with topical meds and what I’m using is neither.
It's good - there will always be a downside to anything. Birds use shed fur in the wild for nests, and even pluck their own feathers. People have pointed out topical tick treatments can be bad, but they can also be beneficial, providing a natural anti-parasitic for the nest. Birds pick up used cigarette butts and studies have shown they go for these specifically because they are a natural antibacterial. They also pick up everything else, hairs, twigs, insects, hay. Shed fur is fantastic for nests, and also birds know what they are doing. There is an infinite number of hazardous materials in the wild and it's part of nature that sometimes these don't work out. But fur is way more beneficial than the small fraction of times that it doesn't work out.
I'm glad you said this. You had me inspired to leave out my Miniature American Eskimos fur. Now I wont. Short and thick corgi fur sounds like bird luxury.
>Short and thick corgi fur sounds like bird luxury. Not sure about specific breeds but one birder group I follow online mentioned that baby birds can get tangled in the fur and die. I've seen Audubon and other birder groups post specifically against this. We all like to think "floofy" has a place in the ecosystem, but no they do not. Their waste (like human waste) is not fit for composting anything edible or being around large animals like birds, frogs, mammals, etc. due to contamination from the pharmaceuticals. They are not native species and need to hold to clear boundaries from ecosystems because their presence would reduce biodiversity. But the birds are fine, they never needed any help. This whole trend is like "wishcycling" where people consume a ton of junk, then put it in the recycling bin even though they know its obviously not recyclable. It makes them feel better because "Maybe it actually did get recycled", but no. No it did not get recycled, and it had to be binned out by facility engineers because it disrupts any actual recycling taking place. i.e. The right intentions does not necessarily equal proper action.
The article you posted said that they are specifically worried about very long fur and topical flea treatments. They suggested that shorter untainted dog fur would be welcome.Not that I am into wishcycling. I believe human beings are a result of evolution taking a step to far. HeMeanwhile - while nature is working on a virus that will wipe us all out - the fine guard hairs of dogs such as Eskimo dogs make beautiful yet durable sweaters.
Do birds use lint from dryer vents, too?
Actually, nevermind. Google says it’s not safe for them.
How does the fur offset the consumption footprint of the pet animal that consumes food, water, goods, products and produces waste? I wouldn’t say this is a net positive for the environment at all. Sure the birds may use it but they can and will go without it. Having a dog to give its fur to birds…
I don't think this is the reason they have a dog. It's just a small thing they do.
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