Anmlhggr Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 So I have decided that I need to encourage Woody's foraging ability a little more than I have. The question remains however... How can I go about this? I went to petsmart today and bought a foraging toy, called a Tiki Hut. It is a little plastic hut that I can hide treats in, and I can place small (or thick) wooden dowel rods in front of the treats that he would have to chew through to get to the Goodies I think this is a great idea, but since he has never had any toys like this before, I am worried he might not "catch on"...can birds "smell" almonds and pasta noodles? >.o I'm afraid he won't realize they are in there, or what he is supposed to do with it.. Any tips? Thanks much in advance!! -Amberly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittykittykitty Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Sorry I'm not much help. Precious seems to be visually oriented, but Greys must be able to smell also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tycos_mom Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 I think what youu'll have to do is show her that there's somthing in there let her watch as you fill it then just before you give it to her shake it so she know that what you put in there is still there and after that it up to her to get it out how ever she can Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tycos_mom Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 I think what youu'll have to do is show her that there's somthing in there let her watch as you fill it then just before you give it to her shake it so she know that what you put in there is still there and after that it up to her to get it out how ever she can Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 In the wild Greys would spend Two thirds of their day foraging for food. The parrot in captivity has his food served to him in bowls ! So getting your grey to forage will stimulate him mentally Here are just a few ideas .... Hide food in toys and offer more puzzle type toys Put an almond or nut in a small paper cup and let the parrot retrieve it by tearing up the cup. Twist some pellets in corn husks and place between the bars of the cage. Buy some foraging type toys that tempt the parrot to unscrew or open the toy to get to the food - wooden or cardboard tubes stuffed with food and/or seeds. Hide some nuts in a bowl of wooden beads or small wooden chunks. The parrot will rummage through the wood and find the nut. You might want to let the parrot see you hide the nut the first couple of times. Place food on the sides of the cage bars; e.g., carrots with the tops on are good. Not only can they tear up and munch on the carrot but the tops can also be torn up and possibly ingested. Skewers are also good. Use your imagination. Think of other ways to make forage and play fun. And remember, our companion parrots may have a more difficult time taking their own initiative so keep trying - they may need to be encouraged to try again and again until they get it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Everyone has given great foraging advice and ideas for hand raised Parrots. As stated already, they do not know how to do this learned behaviour, as they would have observed as their parents did so in the wild. With this in mind, you could start by continuing to keep using the bowl in which the bird was typically fed, but don’t fill it to overflowing, put in just enough food for the day, and don’t put the most favored treats in the bowl. The, add several smaller foraging bowls all over the cage. Place these small bowls in the cage such that the bird must fully traverse its cage to get to all the bowls. Now place only a very small amount of a favorite treat in each of these bowls. It is important that the bird not reach the first bowl and eat its entire daily ration. We want to encourage the bird to move to and explore all the bowls. At this point you are already providing the bird with more exercise than your formally sedentary parrot who sits on its one favorite perch all day. When the bird has mastered finding treats in all the little bowls, begin to add a small piece of paper on top of each bowl so that the bird must push it off to get to the treat. Advance from here to taping the paper on the bowl so the parrot must chew through the paper to get the treat. Some retail foraging bowls come with lids that can be placed tightly so that the bird must work out how to undo the lid to get the treat. The idea being that as the bird masters each stage the foraging is made a little more physically and mentally demanding. When your bird has become a master forager you can start to vary the routine somewhat and place a large variety of foraging toys in the cage. Some of the toys are now empty, some are filled with actual toys, and some are filled with small treats. You can also introduce some of the acrylic type toys that require an action such as opening a drawer, turning a wheel, or lifting a lid to get to the treat. As you can see, this idea of challenging your bird to really forage for their food can go to any limit you and your bird wish to take it. Some may be more receptive to more difficult challenges than others. Only you can determine this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TinyTimneh Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Good ideas danmcq and lovemygreys, i'll try them out with all my birds. As for greys and their sense of smell I don't think it is as powerful as say a dog's but i guess they can smell things a little. AS long as you clearly show your grey your putting their favorite treat in there he should go rigght to it, try using a large, vibrantly colored treat so he can clearly see it. It that fails you could try an 'easier' activity first, it's true that not all greys might be motivated enough to chew through all the wood bars first time thorugh, but you shoud be ok. good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaedyn Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 I could swear it was someone on this site that mentioned it, but I just can't seem to find the original post. They placed a few treats in a translucent pill box. The kind with one door for each day of the week and let their parrot figure out how to get to the treats. I don't know how safe the plastic is, so I recommend that this be a supervised foraging game. I've used it with my own and they get fairly excited while trying to free their apple cinnamon Cheerios. I've also added some foraging toys to their cages. My favorite one is the Birdy Einstein Zig Zag: http://www.thepinkbird.com/zigzagpuzzletoy.aspx It takes a bit of work to rock the wheel back and forth, so that the treats make their way through the maze. In case you're interested, I can vouch for the Pink Bird site. I've ordered from them several times, they ship quickly and their service has been great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 Kaedyn it was here,it was a post from Heather but i cant find the original thread for the life of me :pinch: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anmlhggr Posted August 20, 2008 Author Share Posted August 20, 2008 Thank you all for your ideas!! I read that pill box post too, and I actually went out and bought some... however, Woody is refusing to forage. Lazy bird. He just likes to sit on his play stand (that he does not play on) and preen. Same thing in his cage. Preen. Eat. Preen. Poop. Preen. Poop. Rinse and repeat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 Like the others said you may have to show him how to play and interact with the toys but several times should be enough to entice him to investigate. I know Josey goes straight to anything I put in for her to forage into, her curiosity gets the better of her:laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anmlhggr Posted August 20, 2008 Author Share Posted August 20, 2008 I am still working on it, he just doesn't seem motivated. He isn't very curious....unless I am pretending to eat it!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 If you act real enthuastic about it he will not be able to contain himself for you see what he does when he sees you eating something, he wants it too and the toys and foraging items will be the same way, try it;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anmlhggr Posted August 20, 2008 Author Share Posted August 20, 2008 Will do! Time to go practice... hehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 One of my favorite foraging treats for Klaus is to take an empty toilet tissue roll, crimp one end, put a nut inside, then crimp closed. Very easy to do and cheap. Klaus knows just what to do when he sees one of those in his cage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 Laurie I do the same exact thing except lots of times I use one of those mini boxes of raisins for the treat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carolyn Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 I am using cup cake wrappers, I put a piece of almond in 1 then tie it on a string, the next could be a raisin or any other piece of nut. When I get the string with about 10-12 pieces on it I hang it in the cage when I am going out so he has something to amuse himself when I am gone. Sure enough when I return there is not 1 package left un-opened or 1 piece of paper on the string. He loves it and it is cheap to make. Carolyn & Mika P.S. It has Mika's seal of approval on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 Foraging: There is a site that offers some activities and foraging ideas for Parrots. It is Captive Foraging for Parrots. The wev site is as follows. http://community.livejournal.com/captiveforaging/tag/introductions Parrots need to keep there minds busy, to stay happy and content. We need to find things that they can do and reduced the chewing of the furniture and other items that they find to destroy. This site has some ideas. Check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 Thanks for sharing that link on captive foraging for parrots with us and it is very important to provide these opportunities for our greys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anmlhggr Posted August 27, 2008 Author Share Posted August 27, 2008 Thank you so much! I now have a new bookmark to add to my long list! hehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzzique Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 For anyone interested this is a great diy site. They have all kinds of ideas. Lots of pictures to go with the instructions. I love this site! :woohoo: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzzique Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 Here is a great diy site. They have tons of ideas for everything! I love it! :woohoo: http://www.cheepparrottoysntips.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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