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Your Pet Parrot Needs to Forage
Too!
Parrots in the wild can spend up to 4-6 hours per day looking for
and eating food, also called foraging. This is not only a
skill for survival but also for socialization and
stimulation. Most pet parrots have an abundance
of food available whenever it decides that it is hungry or would
like to have a snack. Since we cater to their every need they
lose one of the most important daily activities.
Parrots are highly intelligent animals. A bowl of food placed
in the cage is not a very stimulating activity for a caged parrot,
they can eat their fill in 20 minutes. If they spend any
amount of time alone in their cage they need to be stimulated by
toys or activities that will cure their boredom. There are
only a few core activities that a bird has to do for itself
throughout the day. These activities include eating, grooming,
socializing, and sleeping. You can make eating more of
an activity and more stimulating by encouraging your parrot to
forage by offering food in interesting ways. It would be
impossible to mimic foraging in the wild but there are many ways
that you can hide food to encourage your bird to
“forage”. The difference between wild parrots and their
captive counterparts is apparent since there are not very many fat,
bored, feather-picked parrots in the wild.
There are many different ways to hide food to simulate
foraging. It could be a very easy exercise for the beginner
bird to the most complex for the very intelligent african grey or
macaw. First find the most favorite food that the parrot
would enjoy working for. This could be something special like
a nut, dried fruit, or Nutriberri.
The next step is to hide the treat in something that would be easy
to tear apart and get into. A sunflower seed in a crumpled up
piece of paper is an easy first foraging exercise. You can
also be creative and use paper cups, snow cone holders, or
cornhusks that are used for tamales. Please be careful
choosing materials since some items may be harmful to your
bird.
There are also puzzle toys that are designed to encourage
foraging. You can find them at your local pet store or you
can get them on-line. The skill level of each bird will be
varied so start easy and be patient. Your bird will be
excited for the food treats and the stimulation. Check out
www.birdsjustwannahavefun.com for ideas and toys.
Another great way to encourage foraging is to have a “foraging
tree”. This is a free standing play stand with many different
limbs and at least 5 food bowls,. You can use any bowl at any
time that may have a treat hiding in it within a crumpled up piece
of paper or cover up the food bowl with a paper towel or paper tied
with string or masking tape. You can also hang food on long
pieces of leather that your bird will have to use their beak and
feet to pull up the piece of food. Be creative!
The idea of foraging is not new to wild birds but will be to your
feathered friend and the flock that loves him/her. They need
to be challenged and stimulated since they are highly intelligent
thinkers that would enjoy a food treat even when there is a little
work involved.
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