Chomskypom
Walking the driveway
I’ve been thinking lately about making a little birdie playground for my boys to give them more opportunities for “wild bird” behaviors. This post is specifically about ground foraging. I had some ideas which I’ve described below. I should also mention that this would be something they do while directly supervised during out of cage time, and it’s not their only foraging opportunity.
Method 1: Small planted forage area consisting of a wide, shallow tray of bird-safe plants (wheatgrass, clover, parsley maybe?). I would then sprinkle seeds or pellets on the actual dirt as well as allowing them to nibble the greenery.
Pros: reusable, naturalistic, offers lots of things to explore. Cons: I’m not sure exactly what but I suspect there must be a reason this isn’t already done. Is it safety? Difficulty? Sanitary concerns?
Method 2a: flat grid with fibers pulled through to simulate grass. Latch hook mat with sea grass as the “yarn” maybe?
Pros: since it’s handmade I’d have control over what materials are used. Easy enough to replace when soiled. Cons: I can only envision a fairly lumpy end product that might be distressing to walk on. My birds are cowards and may reject it. Not sure how good a foraging surface this would yield, either.
Method 2b: snuffle mat designed for dogs.
Pros: machine washable, easy to make or buy. Cons: same as above- not sure how good a surface it would be for a little bird since these tend to be pretty big strips of flee
Method 3: astroturf, small piece of shag carpet.
Pros: cheap and easy to source, possible to sanitize/reuse, seems like a reasonable difficulty level for beginner foragers. Cons: material safety? A brief google raised the specter of lead, formaldehyde, or other hazards present in the material since it’s not intended to be eaten off of. Also likely to catch a toe if I’m not sufficiently diligent with nail trims.
Method 4: scrap the idea of “grass” and stick with the wonderful variety of forage trays I see mentioned on here! The platter of marbles/toy parts/paper shreds is similar to what I’m trying to accomplish but I was hoping for something grass-textured.
Method 1: Small planted forage area consisting of a wide, shallow tray of bird-safe plants (wheatgrass, clover, parsley maybe?). I would then sprinkle seeds or pellets on the actual dirt as well as allowing them to nibble the greenery.
Pros: reusable, naturalistic, offers lots of things to explore. Cons: I’m not sure exactly what but I suspect there must be a reason this isn’t already done. Is it safety? Difficulty? Sanitary concerns?
Method 2a: flat grid with fibers pulled through to simulate grass. Latch hook mat with sea grass as the “yarn” maybe?
Pros: since it’s handmade I’d have control over what materials are used. Easy enough to replace when soiled. Cons: I can only envision a fairly lumpy end product that might be distressing to walk on. My birds are cowards and may reject it. Not sure how good a foraging surface this would yield, either.
Method 2b: snuffle mat designed for dogs.
Pros: machine washable, easy to make or buy. Cons: same as above- not sure how good a surface it would be for a little bird since these tend to be pretty big strips of flee
Method 3: astroturf, small piece of shag carpet.
Pros: cheap and easy to source, possible to sanitize/reuse, seems like a reasonable difficulty level for beginner foragers. Cons: material safety? A brief google raised the specter of lead, formaldehyde, or other hazards present in the material since it’s not intended to be eaten off of. Also likely to catch a toe if I’m not sufficiently diligent with nail trims.
Method 4: scrap the idea of “grass” and stick with the wonderful variety of forage trays I see mentioned on here! The platter of marbles/toy parts/paper shreds is similar to what I’m trying to accomplish but I was hoping for something grass-textured.