In the breeding season

Dog hair! A deadly trap for baby birds?

Changing your pet's fur can have an indirect negative effect on the offspring in the bird's nest!

(Bild: Pixabay)

Dog owners will have already noticed that their four-legged friends' fur is spread all over the house again in spring. So let's get out into the garden and brush "Bello" properly, because grooming is particularly important during the shedding season. But conservationists know that you shouldn't be careless. 

Just in time for the first warm rays of sunshine, spring is awakening all over the country. The garden sprouts colorful buds, the bird breeding season begins - and our pets are also getting in the mood for the coming summer. 

The imminent change of coat drives many dog owners out into the great outdoors with their four-legged friends to avoid having the annoying hair in the home when brushing out the winter coat. 

Problematic for young birds?
The tufts of hair that are often carelessly left lying around are not as harmless as you might think with this "natural product". Animal welfare activists warn that the fur of our dogs can even mean the death of an entire brood of birds.  

Some breeds accumulate quite a lot of "wool"!

(Bild: Pixabay)

Material for nest building
Birds usually come across various suitable materials in their search for nesting material: a piece of moss, a feather, twigs, grasses, sometimes even a tuft of hair. Everything that seems suitable is mixed together and used. Which materials are attractive for which bird also depends on the bird species.

Garden owners can help
If you want to help your birds build their nests in your own garden, you should allow more nature to do so: Leaving old and dead plants standing over winter and cutting shrubs late in the spring will help nest-building birds. A little moss and areas where the grass is not mowed but allowed to grow are also a good way of helping the birds to build their nests.

Blackbirds breed for around 14 days, after which the hatched young are fed in the nest for a further two weeks.

(Bild: APA/dpa-Zentralbild/Jens Büttner (Symbolbild))

Fur must be untreated
But is it true that animal hair in the bird's nest can be harmful? The "Krone" asked bird experts. "Combed-out fur from dogs and cats or sheep, llama or alpaca wool can certainly help with nest building. The only important thing is that it is untreated," says Susanne Schreiner from BirdLife Austria. 

Chemicals as a cause
One possible danger posed by dog hair as nesting material could be the use of insecticides against fleas or ticks. Chemical residues from anti-flea, anti-tick and other medications that are applied externally to the pet (as a so-called spot-on) could harm young birds - depending on the amount that has been introduced into the bird's nest. 

"What can also cause problems are longer, firm hairs, such as the tail hair of a horse. These can be disastrous for young birds because they can get their legs or wings tangled up in the hair. This risk is much lower with short, soft hairs that are built and interwoven with other nesting materials," Schreiner continues. 

Please put it in the dustbin
To avoid exposing small birds to unnecessary danger, pet owners should always dispose of their pets' fur properly as a precaution and not simply leave it lying around in the wild.