My first fiber Nesting Ball Finished,

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Hello everyone,
Has anyone made a fiber nesting ball to hang in their yards?..  What kind of fibers did you use???  And what kind of netting did you use?? Has anyone ever used grapevines???

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Here is a photo of my first fiber nesting ball... Made from a grapevine ball and 4 different colors of Alpaca fibers... I love seeing the Alpaca fibers blowing in the wind...  The owner of the General store wanted me to make her one and so I took it down to her today.  Sadly she was not in the store today... I am sure I will heard from her tomorrow

[Shepherdess]

Not sure what you mean. Do you have a picture of something similar.

[lyn]

Have a look at this blog post:
fibre nesting ball

[zed]

I've had a couple, I used the plasticy mesh bag than peanuts for birds come in, and something from some other fruit or veg, I don't think the birds used it.

[Frances]

I saw them at the fair I went to recently - grapevine would be fine - on the negative birds are not going to use anything that is wet in their nests - so once it has rained it is probably just a decoration in the tree. Also anything that gets wet and stays wet is not good in a nest because it will cause fungus - that is why nests are mostly leaves, pine straw, twigs with maybe a little fiber in it.

[MTRuth]

Here's a tutorial that I made in 2010. The squirrels loved it.

permutationsinfiber.wordpress.com/2010/12/12/fiber-bird-nester-tutorial/

[Deleted]

Hello Lyn, Zed, Frances and Ruth.
Thanks for all your information. Much appreciated. Ruth did you birds use your colorful nesting logs??? Or did the squirrels appreciate it the most???

I read in a birding Magazine that Alpaca 2nd and 3 rds. fleeces is the best fleece to include in your ball. On the birding site. www.allthingsalpacaonline.com/Alpaca_Bird_Nesting_Balls.htm. It states the Alpaca fleece after being wet dries quickly back to its Fluffy state. Hence is the best to use.

I will have to find some mesh to use for my ball. I am off to a fiber festival this coming weekend so I will see if I can find of 2nd and 3rds alpaca fleece... I am looking forward to trying and make one. Smile. I would think very Early Spring would be the best time to hang them out. What do you all think???

[Shepherdess]

A spring thing I would think. the squirrels might like it now to get their nets ready for winter.

[MTRuth]

I'm not sure if the birds took anything or not. It was hard to tell.

[Frances]

The nesting balls I saw at the fair were grapevine type balls stuffed with fleece. I have seen the balls at craft stores. I occasionally stuff a small one wirh strips of paper for my Conure Choo Choo because he loves tearing up paper.

[Shepherdess]

He is a lovely looking fellow. If you have wild grapes they are great for making things at this time of year.