Sunday, May 12, 2019

Crocheted Nests for Wildlife Rehabilitation

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." ~Ghandi


Welcome to Blue Sky and Blooms! Don't you just smile when you say that? 🌺 I hope that you do, as happiness is the goal here! 

Recently, my wonderful mom shared a post on Facebook from Owl's Nest Sanctuary for Wildlife in Odessa, Florida. The text read:

"Knitted Nest 911!!! Never did we think we would be in need of more knitted nests. Last year we actually began turning them away but this year we are nearing Songbird capacity. Both of our brooders are full and we barely have enough nests to house everyone within them. If you or someone you know knits or crochets we are in dire need of nests and other supplies or another brooder wouldn't hurt either."

Well, I crochet, and that sounded like an excellent opportunity to help, so I was (and am) all in! That night, I crocheted these two little beauties, each 3" interior diameter:


I had asked for a pattern so that I would know what size to make, but the Sanctuary was too busy saving wildlife to respond that night, so I made these on my own, modeled after a real birds' nest that I have. The next day, I made one more and threw in an orange 8" diameter basket I had crocheted and a lime green hummingbird-sized basket in a padded envelope and out it went!

As soon as I had read the post, I know that I would use Lion Brand Yarn Hometown USA in Little Rock Granite that I had bought at Joann's. It is such an easy yarn to use for this project. An 8mm crochet hook was perfect to tightly crochet the nests. The orange basket that I sent (more Lion Brand Yarn Hometown USA in Syracuse Orange, about 8" in diameter, will be perfect for rehabilitating rabbit kits, opossum joeys (tick-eating machines!), or any other groups of bigger-than-bird babies!

Because it was difficult finding a pattern, I wanted to help in that capacity, too, so I shared with Owl's Nest that I would write a pattern and share it so that others can crochet these nests for babies of all species in need. Read on!

The day that I sent the package to Odessa, Owl's nest replied to me: "As far as height and diameter, we could use all sizes! It’s funny that you mention hummingbird because we’ve got one in our care currently! Our most popular size would be probably the size of a beanie, 5-6” diameter and 4-5” height. If they’re bigger we can just put more babies in it and smaller ones get used for smaller babies!"

I cannot stress enough that the nests must be TIGHTLY crocheted or knitted to protect tiny legs and feet from injury.



Once I had the asked-for dimensions, I made two more! These two are over 5" in diameter and almost 5" tall. The photos at right show the same two nests. The bottom photo shows them unfolded. Folding the nests is not necessary as they easily stand on their own, but, when folded, the sides are extra sturdy to hold those babies in. 

Your work must stand upright on its own, so if you are using really thin yarn, double or triple it. 

The yarn I used to crochet these is Lion Brand Homespun in, "Barley." Being a very different yarn than Lion Brand Yarn's Hometown USA (which I prefer for this particular application, as shown in the first nests shown), it is very thin in comparison and harder to crochet as tight as needed to help be sure little baby legs will not go through, get stuck, and become injured. I just happened to have a skein of this and I like the 'real nest look' it creates, with the varied shades of brown. I used a size 5.5mm hook with this particular yarn. One skein makes these two nests and a three inch diameter nest, which is my next project to finish off the skein. 

THE PATTERN:

Use the appropriate size crochet hook as given on your yarn wrapper (link is for set of hooks, sizes 2-10), or a size smaller, and a stitch marker. If you do not yet own stitch markers, use a paper clip. You will also need a ruler or measuring tape.

You will be stitching 'in the round,' meaning, making circles, for the base of the nest. The stitch marker is a necessity so you know when you are beginning a new circle. You only need to know how to make a chain and do single crochet stitches to make a nest. That's it! ch means chain and sc means single crochet. The number of circles you make depends on the yarn you are using. The idea is to add SIX STITCHES more in each circle. In parentheses, you will see pattern of the needed stitches for each stitch. After a nest or two, you will be hooked! Get it? 😏

If you are relatively new to crochet, perhaps try to make a smaller nest (3" diameter or so) to help build your confidence. I highly recommend Lion Brand Yarn Hometown USA in any color, (I just happen to love Little Rock Granite for its nest look coloring, but babies do not care - ANY COLOR will do!) An 8mm crochet hook was perfect to tightly crochet the nests with this yarn.

1st round: ch 3, then, in the middle loop, sc 6 stitches in the same loop, (you can also use the magic circle technique here, but do not need to as long as your stitches are consistently tight). Insert stitch marker. Count 6 stitches.

2nd round: In each of those six stitches, sc two stitches in the same stitch. Insert stitch marker. (2-2-2-2-2-2) Count 12 stitches.

3rd round: sc in first stitch, two sc in second stitch, sc in third stitch, two sc in fourth and so on to stitch marker.  (1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2) Count 18 stitches. Move stitch marker to your last stitch.

4th round: sc in first and second stitch, two sc in third stitch, sc in fourth and fifth stitch, two sc in sixth stitch and so on. Insert stitch marker. (1-1-2-1-1-2-1-1-2-1-1-2) Count 18 stitches.

5th round: sc in first, second and third stitch, two sc in fourth stitch, sc in fifth, six and seventh stitch, two sc in eighth stitch, and so on. Insert stitch marker. (1-1-1-2-1-1-1-2-1-1-1-2-1-1-1-2-1-1-1-2-1-1-1-2) Count 24 stitches.

See the pattern now? Every circle is six more stitches than the last. ALWAYS COUNT EACH ROUND to be sure you are on track.

6th round: sc in first through fourth stitches, two sc in the fifth stitch, and so on to your marker. Count 30 stitches.

7th round: sc in first through fifth stitches, two sc in the sixth stitch, and so on to your marker. Count 36 stitches.

Keep going in this manner, increasing your stitches by six in each round, until your round work measures your desired diameter. Then, just one sc in each stitch to build the sides to the desired height of your nest!

Donate to a wildlife sanctuary near you or send nests to:

Owl's Nest Sanctuary for Wildlife
12932 Royal George Ave

Odessa, FL 33556


Any questions? Let me know! And please, share your work!

If you have appreciated this post, please let me know! Thanks for changing caring to action!

~Stacie at Blue Sky and Blooms

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