At staff meeting this week we spend some time making Abba's next batch of foraging toys. Abba the Caique doesn't get food from a food dish....her food is hidden in paper cups and other destructible items to promote physical activity and mental stimulation. Foraging has been shown to reduce feather destructive behavior in some birds as well. All birds can learn to forage.
Here is a simple cardboard box taped up with newspaper. Inside are her regular bird pellets and a small treat (we recommend Lafeber's Nutriberries as healthy treats). There is a small hole cut in the top. Within minutes she was investigating.
Here Abba is surveying an amazing creation of paper cups taped together to resemble a weird paper plant! Each cup contains pellets, but one contains a small treat as well. It's up to her to find it.
Use your imagination to design foraging toys. Paper, masking tape, newspaper, paper cups and cardboard are all good choices. The staff came up with some creative toys for Abba for the coming week. Remember birds need to be taught to forage, if they've never tried it before.
For more on how to teach a bird to forage, go to "Jimmy's Page" for a complete tutorial featuring another cute bird.