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Foraging; An easy How-to

Zara

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If you aren´t sure how to provide a foraging activity for you bird, have a read of this pdf. You may be surprised at just how easy it is and you don´t have to always spend a fortune on expensive toys.

https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/23...nloads/1coj2pi60_817276.pdf?ver=1556316845408



I like to make my own toys with beads and bells, but also make foraging activities from boxes that I save. More recently were easter egg boxes, for my little birds they were great because they have a little window to jump in and out of. Even choping up cardboard into squares and threading them on a rope with beads in between.

Another cheap foraging activity I like to do (for little birds), which cost me very little, is to fill an Ikea picnic plate with marbles (not jam packed), and sprinkle some seeds, millet or dehydrated fruit all over, shake the plate so the treats fall in the gaps. I have a few marbles that are a little larger too to mix it up. (I checked each marble when I bought them and tossed any chipped ones into the recycling box).

Or take a feeder dish, fill it with small toys, kitty balls, beads, shredded paper, small wooden blocks, and shake in a few treats to find.

Cut a kitchen roll tube in half and stuff it, with shredded paper and millet. I use this one when I´m expecting a business call during the day and I need 20 minutes of almost silence.

As I type, I can smell peppers. Lapis is using her hanging foraging ball filled with big chunks of veg. She is even biting off chunks and feeding them to Nube.

Foraging will look different for big birds and little birds, but the concept will be the same.
Basically a puzzle, and the prize is food. The puzzle can be super easy, like my dish of marbles, or veggie skewers or harder like the egg carton idea in the pdf, and the reward can be anything from a piece of dehydrated fruit or an almond, right down to pellets. You can even use beads or bells as treats.
All foraging ideas an be tweaked, for eg, instead of using the artichoke, you could use broccoli. And maybe, your bird is little, then you can use just one floret and shove in a sunflower seed and a few bits of dehydrated fruit or a couple of pellets.
Even just hiding foods around the cage, in toys etc is foraging and will enrich the life of your bird.

Store bought toys are ideal if you rush off to work in a morning, but you could also prepare your DIY activity the night before.


Here are some threads with DIY toys I have created (with instructions);


What sort of activities do you create for your bird?

Here´s the little ones enjoying the ball, sorry for the bad angle and lighting, I didn´t want to get up and disturb them...
 

expressmailtome

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Thank you for sharing this with us.
 

Zara

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I like this video. You can make the balls any size you want. There's 3 types here.
Great video Rick :)
Those paper woven balls look great! They would only last 5 seconds max with my birds, but I´m sure they would last a little longer for other little birds :D
You could even use coloured paper to make it more interesting ;)


I feel like people who are maybe new to birds or have never heard of the concept of foraging don´t realise just how easy and simple it can be to provide.
 

Farlie

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You can also use harder paper too. Like the hard card that come in the collar of a shirt or in underwear.
 

fashionfobie

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Corn husks seem to work really well too :) I normally toss the top few layers just as a precaution... (pesticide/fertilizer) The lower layers once steamed are very flexible and you can tie them into knots.

This is a perishable toy so I would stick them in the fridge if you make several to save for later.

My plumhead gets super excited for the foot sized husk piece. My parrotlets manage, they toss them around a lot. :)
 

Lady Jane

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Thanks guys and gals for the creative ideas. The moral of this story is not to have your birds near you when making these toys. I had a female lovebird for a short while and she loved to climb inside a small paper bag with various small items inside. Sometimes I would cut a window in the bag.
 

Leih

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Foraging does seem confusing at first, maybe because humans don't like to work for our food :roflmao: but as you've been teaching me, it's actually really easy. I really like the slatted balls and I have arriving today some similar balls but they twist open. Which means I can cram more stuff in there without crumbling the Nutriberries, or making fruit pieces so tiny they fall out. :wacky: It helps if I remember to put them in their cages though before I go to work...
 

Zara

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It helps if I remember to put them in their cages though before I go to work...
Hmm, if you get into the habit of giving them something while you change water maybe? That might help you remember... If you´re up and out early, prepare the activity the night before.
 

Leih

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Hmm, if you get into the habit of giving them something while you change water maybe? That might help you remember... If you´re up and out early, prepare the activity the night before.
I do, but then forget about it. I think I'll set it right next to the food.
 

Khizz

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Thank you so much for this! This is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for on this forum! I immediately ran to the fridge and made this for my broccoli-loving pair. I'll try and update with a picture of them enjoying it when they go to town on it!

IMG_20190505_082556.jpg
 

aqualover9

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Thank you so much for this! This is exactly the kind of thing I was looking for on this forum! I immediately ran to the fridge and made this for my broccoli-loving pair. I'll try and update with a picture of them enjoying it when they go to town on it!

View attachment 303349

That's so smart! Do you have to cook the broccoli?
 

Khizz

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That's so smart! Do you have to cook the broccoli?
I can't take credit for this I'm afraid, all @Zara :) I just put it on raw, they really like the crunchy texture, especially the stems.
 
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