Foraging

[triordan]

At our bird meeting on Sunday we had a guest speaker from a prominent bird food/supply company. The message he was there to give was to get rid of open bowl feeding and make your birds forage for their food, all of their food, not just "treats". I am curious if any of you do this? I tried it yesterday and Remington didn't "find" his food, so I fed him his regular dinner in his bowl. The foraging box is still waiting in his cage for him to discover~ any thoughts?

 

[DebsFlock]

In some ways it would be ideal to have them forage for everything, but you'd want to ease into it. Plus, I think to really get the benefit of it, you couldn't just put it in the same box in the same location all the time, the point is to keep them busy both mentally and physically. So I haven't really tried it. Seems like a lot of work!

 

[Mudkips]

It's a nice idea in theory, but I can't see it working out as well as the speaker would hope. It seems to be directed more towards birds that spend most of the day in a cage.

Sure, I could have Birdy foraging for hours at the bottom of his cage - just like in the wild!
Alternatively I would rather spend time with Birdy playing games, rewarding treats, sharing lunch, playing more games and tricks, giving scitchies then relaxing at the computer while Birdy watches out the window pondering life (and coming over to ask for the occasional sip of juice).

If the whole point of foraging is to add mental and physical stimuli over longer periods of time, it takes away from time spent in other areas. Only good if your fid spends hours doing nothing.
I think giving treats for positive actions is a better and more bonding route.

And as Deb said, it seems like a lot of work!

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

I agree with Mudkips - this sounds like something good to ease in to for a bird that is bored and kept inside cage a lot. Also, maybe if a bird was only exposed to foraging from when it should be getting it's own food -- it might be better and simpler than making the switch in the midst of a bird's life. Pritti seems to be a pretty bad foraer -- while he loves getting into everything and chewing it up, it is just randomly done -- and when I give him foraging packages it's so funny how he often doesn't figure it out before he just moves on to next item. Maybe he would if he was more hungry, but I'm not going to withhold his food for that.

 

[lene1949]

The bird would need to be taught.... if you have a new foraging station, you need to show the bird how to get to the food.. They don't automatically know this... Wild bird are taught by their parents..

Once they know how to problem solve to get the food, you can use almost anything... Some things might still have to be shown to them, though.

 

[lene1949]

In some ways it would be ideal to have them forage for everything, but you'd want to ease into it. Plus, I think to really get the benefit of it, you couldn't just put it in the same box in the same location all the time, the point is to keep them busy both mentally and physically. So I haven't really tried it. Seems like a lot of work!

LOLOL... it IS a lot of work - for the birds...

 

[triordan]

In some ways it would be ideal to have them forage for everything, but you'd want to ease into it. Plus, I think to really get the benefit of it, you couldn't just put it in the same box in the same location all the time, the point is to keep them busy both mentally and physically. So I haven't really tried it. Seems like a lot of work!

Oh it was made very clear that location changes daily as well as the "container" it is in

 

[MonicaMc]

Foraging can be done inside the cage as well as outside of it! It can be a fun activity for you and your bird while he's out! As mentioned, it doesn't have to be in one location, better yet, it's not!

 

[BillsBirds]

I give my birds foraging opportunities by having a different kind of "foraging box". This is a large plastic "under bed" storage bin, like from Walmart. In it I put treats, foot toys, things to chew & shred, rope, balls & toys. Each bird gets to spend a while in it. The birds that get along can be there together. The bin is deep enough to keep most of the mess inside. Easily cleaned by dumping contents out. Plastic washes easily. Then put toys, etc. back, and start all over. My birds love it, and spend as much time in it as I let them.

 

[DerSchniffles]

Just make sure that you make it in front of them. I like putting nutriberries in coffee filters and taking a chip clip and putting them somewhere on the side of her cage where she has to climb. She figured it out pretty quick. She also really enjoyed shredding the filter leaving me a nice mess to clean up when I got home from work haha.

 

[sarafigal]

I am better at this on weekends, when my mornings are not rushed. But it is clear that my older BFA rescue likes to hunt for her food. She spends all day outside her cage--mainly because she won't leave the small area of cage and java tree stand right next to it. I put fresh food in a dish on top of the cage, pellets in a dish inside the cage, and then fill various foraging toys with nutriberries, pellets, and a few nuts. It is the best way to ensure she gets exercise, because she doesn't really play. (I know next to nothing about her history.)