Dog fur is for the birds

[JAMES SPEICHER]

This appeared on the WV listserver and blew me away...never occurred to me...

Date: 5/26/19 6:28 am
From: Bruni Haydl...Charles Town, WV

Subject: Who knew?
The dog fur in my 4x4 cube suet holder was popular earlier with
Titmice and Chickadees and of late with female Baltimore Orioles. I
was surprised yesterday to see a female Goldfinch with a beak full of
fur. The male was nearby watching her do all the work. ;-) This is
the first time I have ever seen a Goldfinch taking fur.

Bruni remarked in a later personal email:
The dog fur is compliments of my friend's dog. He only gets a haircut
once a year so there is enough long fur to supply the whole state. A
neighbor, who has a Golden Retriever that always sheds in the spring,
also gave me some of his fur. For some reason the fur doesn't get
really soggy, even after a rain. Doesn't the goldfinch look like John
Bolton?

Jim Speicher
BroadRun/Burkittsville area
[FR] Frederick County MD
M.O.S. member, Washington [WA] Co Chapter

[James Tyler Bell]

A coworker, who has since retired, had a husky. I asked them if they would keep the fur when the big shed occurred and we kept it in a bag until late winter/early spring. We have a big suet cylinder which we never put suet in because it was so huge. But, for dog fur, it was ideal. We love watching chickadees and titmice, mostly, but the occasional White-breasted Nuthatch, fly in and grab fur for their nests. Next year, this will be an easy way to confirm breeding during the Breeding Bird Atlas!

Tyler Bell
jtyle...@yahoo.com
California, Maryland

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[JAMES SPEICHER]

As I don't feed after the 15th of May [until suet goes out in NOV],
this will allow me to get some "feeder" activity at least until
breeding season ends.

I'll be knocking down the door at the local dog groomers on Tuesday :)

Jim S

> email to mdbirding+...@googlegroups.com.

[Gail Mackiernan]

The only thing would be to avoid fur from a dog that is being treated for fleas with one of the neonicotinoid products, as these will contaminate the fur. For example, imidacloprid is the active ingredient in K9 Advantix and the new Seresto collars. Fipronil is the active ingredient in Frontline. Both have been shown to be moderately to highly toxic to birds. Not sure about effects due to physical contact with the pesticide, but the birds are taking the fur into their mouths, too. 

Gail Mackiernan

Colesville

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[Suzette Stitely]

I had a GCFL grab some of my Golden’s fur the other day.  I just leave it on the ground, but will try using a suet feeder now.  Suzette

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[James Wilson]

My daughter has horses. Come spring, she would clip manes and tails and save the horsehair for me. I would walk around the yard spreading horse hair on branches, fence posts, etc. The Baltimore Orioles loved it. When I would get lucky enough to find a fallen nest, it was easy to see lots and lots of woven horsehair.
Once I had a nest blow down with 4 babies, maybe 3 or 4 days old. I put the nest in an old strawberry container and placed it in the tree that it had fallen from. Unfortunately, Momma did not adopt the "new" nest.
Jim Wilson
Queenstown

[James Wilson]

Forgot to mention in my previous post about a friend who had a titmouse visit her head several times one afternoon and try to pluck out hair. She was sitting outside reading. Don't know if the bird was successful.
Jim Wilson
Queenstown

[JAMES SPEICHER]

On 5/26/19, Gail Mackiernan <katah...@comcast.net> wrote:
> The only thing would be to avoid fur from a dog that is being treated for
> fleas with one of the neonicotinoid products, as these will contaminate the
> fur.

I had that thought as well :(

I suppose ensuring the dogs are washed prior to grooming would take
care of contaminants as an issue...depending on the product used.

If you come to the groomer as a "stranger" tho, chances of getting
correct info may be difficult.

Fallback idea:
Cotton balls...replace when wet
Repurpose and old down/feather pillow that you would otherwise toss
Trim & save threads that "develop" from cut-off jeans...
Other ideas...???

Jim S

[JimC]

Good one, Jim. I use Kapok (from the Neem tree) to stuff my personal pillows. We have a lot of 'nesters' but they seem more inclined to BYO.

Jim

[Warblerick]

Anything cotton is a bad idea. It holds water.
Rick Sussman
Woodbine MD

[JAMES SPEICHER]

On 5/28/19, Warblerick <ricksus...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Anything cotton is a bad idea. It holds water

Birds have been using items that will mildew [grass, straw, sticks,
etc.] for millions of year, Rick...Jim

[Warblerick]

Yeah, but if you know it's not good for their nests, why would you provide it to them jim?
Rick Sussman
Woodbine MD

[JAMES SPEICHER]

On 5/28/19, Warblerick <ricksus...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Yeah, but if you know it's not good for their nests, why would you provide

> it to them?

Rick, I explained that I don't believe it's any more harmful than
anything else that might be used from nature. Everything conceivable
that might be used in nest building will mildew in our climate.

To this point, I don't perceive that there have been any takers...

Jim

[Elaine Hendricks]

While I've been a little reluctant to continue this debate about parasiticides, I finally decided to share what I have managed to find out.  I raised the issue with my daughter, who is a small animal veterinarian now working for the drug company Zoetis (maker of the flea/tick preventative Simparica).  As dog owners know, a topical flea/tick treatment like K9 Advantix (which contains imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid) is applied directly to a small area of bare skin once a month.  In contrast, a systemic treatment like Simparica is given orally in the form of a pill and circulates in the blood stream, so a parasite must take in a blood meal to be exposed to the active ingredient (which is not a neonicotinoid).  

According to the Wikipedia article on neonicotinoids, laboratory studies have indicated that they have relatively low direct toxicity to birds and mammals and are less toxic compared to organophosphate and carbamate pesticides.  The article concludes that the decline in bird populations in areas where neonicotinoids are used as pesticides is more likely due to the loss of food supply in insecting-eating birds.  Also, an article in the July 2014 issue of the journal Nature concludes that there is a "high order of vertebrate safety" associated with neonicotinoids due to the different mechanisms of metabolism in vertebrates and invertebrates.  Although my daughter was skeptical that much of the active ingredient would be present in a dog's hair, the Nature article mentions that "debris falling from treated animals" - which I assume would include hair and skin scales - "has been shown to be larvicidal to fleas in direct contact in the environment."

However, having said all of that, Gail is absolutely correct to raise concerns about the risks of neonicotinoids in the environment.  It was been well-documented that they are toxic to bees and aquatic invertebrates, since they are water soluble and thus can be dispersed easily.  So, if you are concerned about these environmental risks, as a general rule it would be wise to avoid neonicotinoid products.  When it comes to dog and cat flea/tick preventatives, there are safer, non-neonicotinoid products available.

My dog is a Golden Retriever/collie mix, which means that she sheds A LOT.  Last winter I collected several big handfuls of very fine, shed hair and put it in a plastic bucket outside, under the eaves of the house (mainly to keep my husband from finding it and throwing it away).  My intent was to put it out in the spring to see if the birds would take it.  However, when I went to check on it earlier this spring, I discovered that it was ALL gone.  So, apparently it was a hot seller.  I love the idea of putting dog hair in an old feeder, as was mentioned in the post on the WV listserv.  (I have a peanut feeder which I'm not using, which I think would be perfect.)  I will definitely try that the next time we have a major shed event.  By the way, my dog has been on Simparica for fleas and ticks for several years (thanks to my daughter, of course).  I can report that it is very effective and apparently does not pose the same kind of environmental risks as the neonicotinoids.

Elaine Hendricks

Greenbelt, MD

        

On Sun, May 26, 2019 at 10:14 PM Gail Mackiernan <katah...@comcast.net> wrote:

The only thing would be to avoid fur from a dog that is being treated for fleas with one of the neonicotinoid products, as these will contaminate the fur. For example, imidacloprid is the active ingredient in K9 Advantix and the new Seresto collars. Fipronil is the active ingredient in Frontline. Both have been shown to be moderately to highly toxic to birds. Not sure about effects due to physical contact with the pesticide, but the birds are taking the fur into their mouths, too. 

Gail Mackiernan

Colesville

On Sunday, May 26, 2019, 9:26:18 PM EDT, JAMES SPEICHER <jugor...@gmail.com> wrote:

This appeared on the WV listserver and blew me away...never occurred to me...

Date: 5/26/19 6:28 am

From: Bruni Haydl...Charles Town, WV

Subject: Who knew?

The dog fur in my 4x4 cube suet holder was popular earlier with

Titmice and Chickadees and of late with female Baltimore Orioles. I

was surprised yesterday to see a female Goldfinch with a beak full of

fur.  The male was nearby watching her do all the work. ;-)  This is

the first time I have ever seen a Goldfinch taking fur.

Bruni remarked in a later personal email:

The dog fur is compliments of my friend's dog.  He only gets a haircut

once a year so there is enough long fur to supply the whole state.  A

neighbor,  who has a Golden Retriever that always sheds in the spring,

also gave me some of his fur.  For some reason the fur doesn't get

really soggy, even after a rain. 

[Gail Mackiernan]

Hi,

Actually there is quite a bit of evidence linking neonicotinoids to bird impacts; as such the MOS Conservation Committee (on which I serve) supported the ban on their in Maryland for homeowner use because of their impacts on birds. A single neonicotinoid-treated seed can kill a blue jay, for example. Nectar from treated plants is toxic to hummingbirds. Exposure to these pesticides has been linked to reduced reproductive success in birds as well, e.g. hatching success and nestling survival. These are just the direct effects. Most of the toxicity work for neonicotinoids was done in poultry or other large birds such as mallards and not in small passerines, so may not be that meaningful. 

So bottom line, if your dog has been treated with one of these products, discard their shed fur.

Gail Mackiernan

Colesville, MD 

Sent from my iPad

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