Foraging Idea

[BaileysPapa]

A long time ago, I was at a seminar, and someone told me about what we might call a foraging game. Do you always put the seed bowl in the same place? the water bowl? pellets? Well, move them around! Many of the larger cages have stainless steel bowls in each corner. Well, instead of putting everything in the same place, mix it up for them. Helps with accepting change. Makes looking for the pellets more fun, and really is a basic foraging situation. Change bowls around often. I have done this with several birds. The smaller cages, for the smaller birds, have 2 or 3 cups in front. Not much variety, but switch them around anyway. I also alternate places to hang water bottles, millet sprays, and mineral blocks. To some birds, this becomes a fun guessing game. They look for their favorite items, and climb around, investigating things. If for some reason, your bird is stressed out by this, of course, discontinue doing so.

[Cosmos_Friend]

BailyesPapa,

Thanks for the post. I have two foraging toys that help Cosmo's instinctual interest, one is a Ferris Wheel swing where you stick treats into slots in the wheel and the other is a rubber ball that has holes in it to stick treats into. I'll also put a treat into each of 4 small colored plastic boxes that have a sliding lid that opens from the top. I have these amongst his other foot-toys at the bottom of his cage.

[Kizzybird]

I wrap Kizzy's food (veggies, nuts fruits) in either purple cabbage or brown paper because he tends to eat more if he has to work at finding the food, instead of just putting it in his bowl.

I also use large pasta shells and stuff his warm beans, mash, or even his rice/veggies in these pasta shells and he enjoys holding them and eating them.

[katana600]

Miss Gilbert says to tell you she will go batscat insane if that woman starts hiding her food dishes. Hahaha. You have some great ideas and I believe we are going to get there soon. I do have some foraging toys in her cage and she has started within the last six months allowing herself to expand her horizons. We have a tall clear plastic cylinder that has little blue divider sticks that she can push and pull to make pine nuts drop down and that was her first "work" tool to find food. We also have the clear acrylic four box "merry go round". The lid of each box opens a different way and she can see the treat inside and has to learn to open each door. It is in the corner of her cage and she uses the bars to propel herself in circles. On top of her cage, we have an orange rubber "football" which I stuff with shredded paper and hide an almond or pistachio to pique her interest. My newest favorite since she has started to explore on the floor is to hide a quarter inch square of cheese in the folds of the dreaded fleece blanket to get her to overcome her reluctance to broaden her horizons.

[Wingy]

I tried swapping Jakes water and food bowls. I came home to find birdie soup in the water bowl. I don't know how long it took him but he moved almost everything from the food bowl to the water bowl because I obviously made a mistake lol. I found a good half inch of seed, Rowdybush pellets, dried pasta, and dehydrated vegies at the bottom of the water bowl. There was almost none on the bottom of the cage which leads me to believe that he did it patiently one beakful at a time. I am going to try moving the food bowl across the long side of the cage from the water bowl one day next week to see if he does that again.

[danmcq]

I tried swapping Jakes water and food bowls. I came home to find birdie soup in the water bowl. I don't know how long it took him but he moved almost everything from the food bowl to the water bowl because I obviously made a mistake lol. I found a good half inch of seed, Rowdybush pellets, dried pasta, and dehydrated vegies at the bottom of the water bowl. There was almost none on the bottom of the cage which leads me to believe that he did it patiently one beakful at a time. I am going to try moving the food bowl across the long side of the cage from the water bowl one day next week to see if he does that again.

 

LOL! I can just imagine what went through Jakes mind. He looks at the bowls and realizes mommie placed them in the wrong places confused. Then thinks it over and decides mommie had a brain fart. So to help mommie in this disconcerting moment decides to help her by fixing it. Seed by Seed move one to the other. Then after much time and effort, Jake realizes the bigger problem is you cannot move the water. So finally stops. He is probably busy writing you a sticky now telling you to add a third bowl in case you have a brain fart again. It will serve as the "Holding" container required to alleviate the seed and water not getting mixed together. The water will be more difficult to move, as he will need to drink a bunch and then regurge in to the correct container.

[Inara]

Really enjoyed picking up some new ideas here from everyone!