A Phoenix Landing class from Feb 9, 2013 in Towson Maryland visit www.phoenixlanding.org for info on upcoming classes

1. Fun With Foraging
A Phoenix Landing Presentation
By
Laura Ford
www.phoenixlanding.org

2. What is Foraging?
“A search or the process of searching for
something, especially a search for food
and supplies or a search among a varied
collection of things.”
Photo by Kris Porter

3. Why is Foraging Important?
“Time upon time it has been observed that
parrots denied their natural behaviors over the
years are more prone to pulling out their
feathers, vocalizing excessively, self mutilation,
or forming sexual/mate bonds with their
owners. This can lead to aggression towards
other family members, or just plain annoyance
on your part. Parrots are not people, but they
are intelligent creatures. Parrots are “happiest”
being parrots…” Dr. Scott Echols DVM
Our Companion Parrots living in our homes have had many of the activities that
would fill the life of a wild parrot taken away form them. As responsible
caretakers it is our obligation to provide and encourage as many species
specific and appropriate behaviors as possible.
Foraging is one of the easiest and most rewarding of these activities.

4. Temple Grandin, Ph.D.
Animals Make Us Human…Creating the Best Life for
Animals
“A good life requires 3 things, Health, Freedom
from pain and negative emotions, Lots of
activities that turn on PLAY and SEEKING”
Dr. Grandin explains how Seeking is a core emotion for animals (and
people) and defines it as the basic impulse to search, investigate, and
make sense of the environment.
Foraging, the act of looking for food or other desired items, naturally
evokes a feeling of curiosity and curiosity is a direct component of
Seeking.

5. So Foraging is not just a method of feeding, but providing your companion
parrot with mental and physical challenges, recreating natural behaviors,
allowing them to make choices and regain a sense of empowerment, purpose
and joy to their life.

6. Foraging need not be a difficult or
complicated puzzle. We are simply
attempting to recreate for the birds
in our home, the same Seeking
behaviors that wild birds use.
If foraging is new to your bird, start slow.
For birds who have never had to forage,
some give up fairly easily when presented
with food that is not delivered in the
manner they have become accustomed
to.

7. The Bowl
The majority of parrots in our homes have
always eaten from a bowl, usually in the
same spot in their cage everyday.
The simplest change you can make is to
switch the places of the food and water
bowls.
Add extra bowl holders in various locations
around the cage, and rotate the location of
the bowls everyday.
In your parrot’s pellet bowl, mix in
some wooden or large plastic beads
or buttons.

8. Try covering the food dishes with paper.
You may have to start slowly, with just a
small strip of paper, so your bird learns
that there is food under the paper.
Gradually increase the size of the
paper until the entire bowl in covered.
Cover extra bowls that contain
different types of things, such as fresh Phoenix of Phoenix Landing
chop, or pellets mixed with beads, only
foot toys, or smaller foraging toys.

9. Put food in hanging bowls or buckets that require more effort to eat out of.
Remember that beads or toys can be
mixed in here too.

10. Consider locations outside the cage for
bowls of food, treats and toys, such as
kitchen counters, windowsills or playstands.
Photo by Carina Law

12. Think Outside the Bowl
Offer whole leaves of greens. These can be woven through the bars of a cage, clipped
to the side of the cage, attached to the perch or toys, or stuff into a forging cage.
Photo by Carina Law

13. Whole vegetables can be made into foraging toys.
Pumpkins make great foraging
toys. Small pumpkins can be
purchased for around $1.00 in
season. At other times of the
year, similar foraging
opportunities can be provided
using whole zucchini , butternut
squash or red or green peppers.

14. Hang whole or
large chunks of
veggies or fruits on
stainless steel
skewers or other
food holders.

15. These can be made ahead of time and stored in the
refrigerator for several days.

16. Often birds who are not great at eating vegetables from a bowl will eat
vegetables when offered this way.
The harder a food is to reach, the more appeal it has to many birds, this is know as
“Contrafreeloading”
(In both these examples the food is INSIDE the bird’s cage, and they have chosen to climb around to the OUTSIDE of
their cages and reach through the bars to get to the food)

17. Add variety and increase
complexity by wrapping foods in
coffee filters, papertowels,
paper cup, paper bags, coin
wrappers, or cupcake papers.
Often you will need to start out
with a high value treat, such as
a nut or Nutriberry, and let your
bird watch you wrap the treat.
You can later use these same Photo by Cheryl Celso
wrapped foods inside other
foraging containers for
increased variety and
complexity.

18. Small wrapped items
can then be added
into bigger foraging
toys.

19. Kris Porter, author of Parrot
Enrichment Vol.1 & 2,
mixes food and toys.
“To encourage foraging activity, try
incorporating food into the toys you
make for your parrots.
This toy adds dried pasta shapes,
melba toast rounds with almonds
stuffed in the vine balls.
A toy that can be made ahead and
easily stored for use later.”

20. Kris Porter makes birdie muffins using a stiff batter, and makes a hole in
the middle before baking. She uses these muffins in her foraging toys.
Here she shows the progression of increasing complexity as she teaches
her birds
foraging skills.

21. Baskets can be made into foraging
toys. When your parrot is finished
foraging out all the food, toys and
treats – the basket can be
shredded.
Leftover baskets can be cut up and
used to make foraging toys on
stainless steel skewers or kabobs.

22. http://parrotenrichment.com/blog/2013/01/stainless-steel-skewers/

23. Choose unfinished baskets, such as
wicker or willow.
Wash with white vinegar and/or oxyclean, rinsing thoroughly and allow to dry in the
sun.

24. Recycle empty food boxes (the glue used
to make packaging for food, is nontoxic), or
purchase new shipping boxes.
These are great destructible/foraging toys,
fill with shredded paper, foot toys and
treats.
Decorate the outside as simply or fancy as
you choose.

26. Other types of food containers can be cleaned
and turned into foraging toys.

27. Photo by Angela Harrison
Photo by David Hull
Photo by Anna McGregor

29. Photo by Karin Olausson
Paper cups make wonderful foraging containers.
Just make sure you choose unwaxed cups.

30. Gradually increase the complexity of
foraging toys by adding layers of
wrappings.
For example wrapped food,
and foot toys placed inside
a paper cup, the paper cup
placed inside a stainless
steel foraging cage.
Perhaps the next steps for
this toys would be to stuff
shredded paper inside the
stainless cage, surrounding
the cup, then wrap the
stainless cage in a paper
bag.
Photo by Karin Olausson

31. Wood lends itself naturally to foraging.
Photo by Kathy James
Photo by Karin Olasson
Photo by Sheron White Hagelston

32. The possibilities for foraging
opportunities are only limited
by your imagination.

33. There are of course many commercially available foraging toys for birds from small to large.

34. The Food – Beyond Nuts, Pellets & Nutriberries
Call it Chop or Mash, raw or cooked, many of us are now feeding our birds a
variety of foods that are soft and squishy and don’t seem to lend themselves to
foraging, but with a little creativity these foods can be foraged for too.
Remember our first steps with foraging? Covering a standard bowl with paper,
hanging bowls or buckets, these can all be easily washed with very little, if any,
extra effort on our part.
Wet or messy foods can also be put in small disposable paper cups, and the cups
covered or placed inside other containers. Dividing a meal into several very small
containers and scattering them in various areas will also add a level of
excitement to your parrot’s foraging.
Just remember that this type of food is highly perishable and will need to be
removed and discarded after just a few hours.

35. Chopped fruits and vegetables, mixed with cooked or sprouted grains can be
wrapped in leafy greens.
You may have to work up to this by placing the high value food on top of the
leaf, working up to a complete wrap.
The same mixture can be wrapped in a whole grain or veggie tortilla.

36. Birdie breads or muffins are a little longer
lasting and can be safely added to more complex toys.
If making muffins, you can leave the wrapper on.
Make an effort to bake healthy breads and muffins by
skipping the wheat flours and corn meal mixes.
Photo by Jennifer Slaughter
Photo by David Hull
Photo by Sheron White Hagelston
Photo by Nyla Copp Photo by Nyla Copp

37. Dehydrators have found their way into the Parrot Kitchen. Dehydrated crackers,
cookie and chip recipes are bring adapted for parrots. Dehydrated foods are dried at a
low temperature so as to not kill live enzymes, as happens during baking. And the
removal of the moisture inhibits bacterial growth, making them stable for long periods
of time. Slices of vegetables or fruits can be dried,
Photo by Leanne Burton
or a mixture formed into crackers or cookie shapes.
Poke a hole in them and they can be strung as toy parts.
Photo by Lisa Bakalars
Photo by Leanne Burton

38. For More Foraging Ideas
Other Resources:
The Parrot’s Workshop FaceBook group
http://www.facebook.com/groups/TheParrots
Workshop/
The Parrot’s Pantry FaceBook group
http://www.facebook.com/groups/156496311
144601/
Download for free A Bird’s Best Life Blog
Parrot Enrichment Vol. 1 & 2 http://abirdsbestlife.wordpress.com/
by Kris Porter
http://parrotenrichment.com The Happy Cockatoo, Elle’s Avian Cuisine
http://thehappycockatoo.wordpress.com/
Parrot Enrichment Blog
http://parrotenrichment.com/blog/
Download the activity books at:
Natural Bird Blog (for dehydrated crackers)
http://naturalbird.com/birdfood/
http://parrotenrichment.com
Parrot Enrichment FaceBook page
http://www.facebook.com/parrotenrichment

39. Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Kris Porter for the tremendous inspiration she has given me and
countless others over the years to help us improve the lives of our companion
parrots.
Her ideas and photographs made the “HOW” of this presentation possible.
Thanks also to the many members of the FaceBook groups The Parrot’s Workshop
and the Parrot’s Pantry, who generously have shared their ideas and photos.
Thanks to Leigh Ann Hartsfield for introducing me to the works of Temple Grandin,
which gave me the all important “WHY” to understanding foraging.

40. Show and Tell
Made by Debbie Russell Made by Debbie Russell Made by Debbie Russell