Foraging is an important part of the life of parrots in human care
Author: AWIPARROTS MAGAZINE
FORAGING is a term for "searching for food resources." Parrots in the wild often spend up to eight hours a day doing this, so a sufficiently motivating, comfortable environment should also be created in aviaries.
Galah (Eolophus roseicapilla) in Australia
Parrots in captivity must spend long hours in the aviary doing similar activities. If their accommodation is equipped with only two perches and a bowl of grain and water, and the aviary is small, the parrot will need more fun in such an environment. Spend time with your parrots and try to create as stimulating conditions as possible.
If you are keeping your parrot as a companion at home, you can hide food around the aviary to keep the parrot busy looking for it. You can also provide your breeding birds with a variety of baskets that can be attached to the wire mesh in their aviaries and put something different in there every day—different vegetables or berries from the wild.
Blue-fronted Amazon (Amazona aestiva) in the breeding facility of Mr. Pavel Retych, Czechia
Spring in Europe is an excellent time to feed flowering dandelions and daisies. A good option is, for example, balls pressed from hulled grains enriched with nutrients in the right proportion. These are also a form of entertainment for the parrot. Feeding in the form of pellets also significantly prolongs the consumption time of the food ration presented. The parrot then has to spend more time consuming the food.
Try to do your best to give your parrots a varied diet. If this is combined with foraging, the result will be very good mental and physical health for your parrots.
