Perhaps it's been mentioned before but I had some leftover batting material after trimming. I thought I'd put some in a bird suet feeder and see if the birds would like it for their nests. I used to use fur from my dogs but they didn't seem to like that. I no sooner put it out there when a lovely goldfinch landed and began tearing segments off and flying away with a beak full. She comes back each day for more.

I would love to see this nest because it will be the warmest and most decorative of any other birds. So instead of tossing those scraps of batting, pull them apart and buy yourself a cheap suet feeder and hang it out and watch the fun.

Neat idea, thanks for sharing! :)

This is a great idea! I think you want to use only cotton batting, though.

Years ago I heard it was a bad idea to put out cotton fabric strips for birds because they do not dry out fast enough after a rain; however, when Googling I did not find that caution again and found lots of websites recommending fabric strips. Does anyone know for sure about this?

The only thing I have heard consistently is not to put out long thread strings. They can wrap around the bird's feet. Putting out small strips/bits of fabric does not hurt them nor would I imagine bits of cotton batting, either.

And, little necks:)

Don't forget about your local daycares....all those pieces that are too small for even crumbs...make a bag and send them in. They love free stuff to recycle for the kids to make crafts:)Skeat

This is what happened to me over the weekend, but with mice. I had a skein of red decorative yarn in a basket in my sewing room. I noticed that there was some mice poop on the floor so as I was cleaning it up, I noticed small pieces of yarn on the floor. When I looked in the basket the only thing that was left of that skein was the piece of paper that it was wrapped in. So, the mice used the yarn, I am assuming to make a nest. I have since then set traps. Don't want mice in sewing room. Not a good place for them, well good for them, but not for me.

Sorry for jumping in on your message, Roberta, it just reminded me of that mouse.

Bet he has a colorful nest!!

i save my thread tails and run them over a few times with the rotary cutter. i put the bits in the tray feeder and they disappear in one day. i think red is their favorite color. just kidding.

For whatever this is worth ...
natural fibers are a good thing, however ... polyesther batting or yarn is not a good thing for wild things.
It doesn't protect the nests good enough for the babies to stay warm.
Dog hair may be avoided because it is DOG hair, but more than likely, it may be that the dog has been shampooed?
Wildlife does not like Irish Spring, lemon, or mint ... a dryer sheet can repel a lot of our little beasties ...
I have spent years only knitting and crocheting with polyesther/acrylic yarn because one of my baby brothers was allergic to wool ... but, now that I am getting old, I am finding out why wool is such a WONDERFUL garment/blanket to live in <g>

Great idea. Maybe she's making a quilt for her babies???????? :D