Amusing foraging last night

Kiwibird

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2012
9,539
111
Parrots
1 BFA- Kiwi. Hatch circa 98', forever home with us Dec. 08'
Last night Kiwi REALLY seemed to want tortilla, and since I didn't want him to have more than a little chunk, I decided he was going to have to work for it. It made for some amusing dinnertime entertainment:D We were busting up laughing watching him go after this tortilla 50 different ways. And I think he enjoyed his tortilla all the more because he worked HARD for it (apparently, it was quite difficult to get out of the cup for him;))

"Hey guy's I've eaten a lot of my parrot food, and I'm even doing a little trick. Can I PLEEEEEEASE have a bite of that tortilla?"
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"O man, I see it in there, I can smell it in there, it's so close in fact, I can almost taste it....but not quite"
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"Perhaps if I tip the cup upside down...."
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"Now I am so desperate, I'm just going to jam my whole beak in here..."
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"Allllllmost got it!"
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VICTORY IS KIWI'S!!!
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"Thanks guys, this is delicious!"
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Bundiibird

Active member
Mar 9, 2013
1,157
11
Rockhampton, Qld, Australia
Parrots
Bundiibird - Alex - hatched 31/08/09
& Millie - BFA - hatched 29/10/14 & Willow - CAG - hatched 30/10/19
Way to go Kiwi!!!! You sure look like you are enjoying that. After your hard work. :D

I think Bundii's favourite people food is Mexican. In particular, fajitas. She goes nuts for them. She only gets a small taste but she *Loves* the spice mix. She licks it off the tortilla.
 

Betrisher

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Jun 3, 2013
4,253
177
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Parrots
Dominic: Galah(RIP: 1981-2018); The Lovies: Four Blue Masked Lovebirds; Barney and Madge (The Beaks): Alexandrines; Miss Rosetta Stone: Little Corella
ROTFL!!! Kiwi is hilarious and absolutely gorgeous! :D :D :D
 

RavensGryf

Supporting Member
Jan 19, 2014
14,233
190
College Station, Texas
Parrots
Red Bellied Parrot /
Ruppell's Parrot /
Bronze Winged Pionus /
English Budgie
So cute! His monologue is precious haha.

I have one of those foraging cups for Raven, but he just couldn't figure it out (duhh :52:) even though it's see-thru! I had to remove the cover. Maybe Pionus aren't as crafty as their Amazon cousins... Lol
 

Pinkbirdy

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Feb 26, 2013
2,203
1
Clifton Springs Newyork
Parrots
macaw,LS2,congo grey,2Blk Hd caiques,Hawkhead,yellowstrk lory,Blue frnt amazon,sun conure ,Yellow sided greencheek ,Goffin ,Rosebreasted Cockatoo,Greenwing Macaw,Blue and Gold Macaw,Nanday conure,Ecle
You always get such great pictures of him :)
 
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Kiwibird

Kiwibird

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Jul 12, 2012
9,539
111
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1 BFA- Kiwi. Hatch circa 98', forever home with us Dec. 08'
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So cute! His monologue is precious haha.

I have one of those foraging cups for Raven, but he just couldn't figure it out (duhh :52:) even though it's see-thru! I had to remove the cover. Maybe Pionus aren't as crafty as their Amazon cousins... Lol

I'm sure with time Raven could learn:) He just needs time to figure out what he needs to do. If it's a good enough treat, he will work it until he figures out how to retrieve it. You just have to let him look at it until it is too tempting not to get. Kiwi actually seems to genuinely enjoy foraging. If he got treats in his dish and treats in a foraging toy, he would go after the foraged ones first. I think he finds it fun to work for his food:D He gets SUPER excited and his eyes go all crazy when he's foraging, which I think is an outward expression of complex thought.
 

Allee

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Oct 27, 2013
16,852
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2
213
Texas
Parrots
U2-Poppy(Poppy lives with her new mommy, Misty now) CAG-Jack, YNA, Bingo, Budgie-Piper, Cockatiel-Sweet Pea Quakers-Harry, Sammy, Wilson ***Zeke (quaker) Twinkle (budgie) forever in our hearts
Clever Kiwi! Love the photos and commentary! That last photo of Kiwi with his tasty reward is adorable, he looks so proud.
 
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RavensGryf

Supporting Member
Jan 19, 2014
14,233
190
College Station, Texas
Parrots
Red Bellied Parrot /
Ruppell's Parrot /
Bronze Winged Pionus /
English Budgie
So cute! His monologue is precious haha.

I have one of those foraging cups for Raven, but he just couldn't figure it out (duhh :52:) even though it's see-thru! I had to remove the cover. Maybe Pionus aren't as crafty as their Amazon cousins... Lol

I'm sure with time Raven could learn:) He just needs time to figure out what he needs to do. If it's a good enough treat, he will work it until he figures out how to retrieve it. You just have to let him look at it until it is too tempting not to get. Kiwi actually seems to genuinely enjoy foraging. If he got treats in his dish and treats in a foraging toy, he would go after the foraged ones first. I think he finds it fun to work for his food:D He gets SUPER excited and his eyes go all crazy when he's foraging, which I think is an outward expression of complex thought.

Raven would normally just give up, even if it was a favorite treat. He's weird. He is just now starting to explore how to forage a little more, ever since he started seeing Griffin do it. So funny, he is learning to try new things because of his younger brother LOL! I don't know if he'll ever be as good at it as Griffin though. I've never known Poi's to be especially good at figuring smart toys, but Griffin is really good at figuring stuff out, and super curious too (unlike Robin). He's Raven's fearless leader :p
 

riddick07

Well-known member
Dec 22, 2011
2,106
46
PA
Parrots
Blue & Gold Macaw (Titan) & Yellow Naped Amazon (Kelly)
Kelly would just look at me like I'm crazy if I gave him that foraging toy. The lazy bird that he is! Kiwi definitely looks proud of himself:)
 

Selestine

New member
Jun 18, 2013
572
0
Glendale, AZ
Parrots
My beautiful SI Eclectus Zephyr and my handsome B&G macaw Vandal, daughter's Sun Conure Loki and son's GCC Blaze
Ah, so so cute! It's soooo hard not to give in and give them things that they want. I wish I could make my birds into big fat blobs :17:
 
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Kiwibird

Kiwibird

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Jul 12, 2012
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111
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1 BFA- Kiwi. Hatch circa 98', forever home with us Dec. 08'
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I wish I could make my birds into big fat blobs :17:

LOL! I know, they get SO excited over the worst foods for them and you just want to feed them bread and cookies and whatnot just to see the joyful reaction. Alas, they can only have tiny nibbles:( Still SUPER cute:D
 

greeneggs

New member
Jul 21, 2011
10
0
Washington State
Parrots
"Pickles" (15 year old Yellow Crowned Amazon)
"Pretty Boy" aka "Prid" (15+ year old Cockatiel)
What a beauty! Thanks for the wonderful pics! I need to get one of those contraptions, looks entertaining for both birds and humans!
 
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Kiwibird

Kiwibird

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Jul 12, 2012
9,539
111
Parrots
1 BFA- Kiwi. Hatch circa 98', forever home with us Dec. 08'
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What a beauty! Thanks for the wonderful pics! I need to get one of those contraptions, looks entertaining for both birds and humans!

Foraging toys are awesome for everyone! Foraging encourages natural behaviors (in the wild, food doesn't just appear in a dish). Fun for the bird, good mental exercise and (depending) can also be some good physical exercise too! For our benefit, it's hilarious to watch them work through a "puzzle" to get the reward:D Kiwi gets so into his foraging toys, they are one of his favorite activities! And any bird can learn.
 

greeneggs

New member
Jul 21, 2011
10
0
Washington State
Parrots
"Pickles" (15 year old Yellow Crowned Amazon)
"Pretty Boy" aka "Prid" (15+ year old Cockatiel)
Thanks kiwi! She loves to chew her toys and ropes but I have never tried a foraging toy for her like the one in your picture. I will get one for her. They amaze me how clever they are!
 

Taw5106

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Mar 27, 2014
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Texas
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Buddy - Red Crowned Amazon (27 yo)
Venus - Solomon Island Eclectus (4 yo)
Buzz CAG (2 yo)
Sam - Cockatiel 1997 - 2004
Tweety - Budgie 1984 - 1987
Sweety - Budgie 1985 - 1986
I brought home raw peanuts last night and assumed Buddy didn't know anything about them. I did a demonstration for him to show him how to take one, she'll it and eat it. My after experience reflection is thank goodness I didn't record it and share. Buddy is a super pro, lol!!!!
 

mh434

New member
Oct 28, 2014
473
9
BC, Canada
Parrots
Yellow-naped Amazon "Sammy"
Love birds (4)
Green-cheeked Conure "Skittles" - now, sadly gone from my life
Blue-Crowned Conure "Tequila"
African Grey "Reno" - sadly, now gone from my life
I'm going to be acquiring/making more foraging toys for my yellow-naped Sammy. He has one, basically a plastic cube with holes in four sides, hanging from a chain. It's nowhere that he can reach, without getting very clever. I pop a peanut or other treat into it (he watches me intently while I do it), and he sits & considers how to reach it. He's figured out several different methods, depending on exactly where I move the cube to - sometimes he scampers along the top of the cage, upside down, sometimes he goes hand over hand from one toy to the next, but he always gets there. He can't reach the treat inside the cube easily (the holes aren't very large), and sometimes he even has to get the cube spinning until the right hole is near him and the treat comes past his beak. He always gets it, though. He LOVES a challenge!
 

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