What the Experts Say about
Creative Foraging Systems™
Liz Wilson, CVT, Parrot Behavior Consultant
Treasurer, and Founder and Chair of Parrot Division
International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants www.iaabc.org
Education Vice President, Phoenix Landing Foundation www.phoenixlanding.org
— I recently had a chance to try out some foraging devices made by Caitec with my own blue and gold macaw Sam as well as with various parrot species owned by friends of mine. What fun!
My own Sam is crazy about her Foraging Wheel and uses it every day. It keeps her happily busy for hours at a time. She is still working on the Foraging Capsule and has yet to figure it out, which is great, as it is keeping her occupied.
My avian veterinarian tried out various sizes of Foraging Systems with three birds: her blue-fronted Amazon, Jenday and Senegal. All three birds are having a wonderful time with these – especially the Senegal, who had never learned to forage before. My vet is hoping to sell the Foraging Systems through her hospital, as they are so easy that she is certain her clients will follow through and use them.
My friend’s Congo grey is also very happy with her Foraging System, but her absolute favorite is the Foraging Sphere.
Caitec Creative Foraging Systems are designed to provide foraging for a parrot’s entire diet throughout the day, which is the most natural way to feed them. Properly trained, parrots are happy foraging for all their food, not just treats. A friend’s grey is an excellent forager, happily foraging despite the same exact diet being available in her food bowls. Truly, foraging has become a self-rewarding behavior for her, and this is the ideal I am seeking with my Sam.
From my experience, the Caitec products are great systems for helping parrots keep mentally healthy and happily occupied, and I can’t wait to try all their other foraging products.
Wendy Kiska
In the wild, parrots spend 60-70% of their day foraging, in stark contrast to the typical 15-30 minutes most captive parrots spend eating from an abundant food bowl. Companion parrot owners need to find a way to replicate natural foraging behavior and keep their birds mentally stimulated and busy.
Many captive parrots need to be taught to forage, and this process requires active participation by caregivers. With the initial offering of foraging opportunities, birds may likely treat the object as a toy -- at first, until they have learned to forage. The learned behavior is the process of foraging, which involves the manipulation and discovery of objects to get at a food source. Once the behavior is learned and the object is associated with food, the curiosity and destruction phase ends and is replaced by true foraging for the purpose of eating.
One of the features that will likely make Creative Foraging Systems™ of interest to birds is that the containers look similar to traditional bowls, and therefore many birds (having received traditional feeding bowls in the past) will likely have a predisposed curiosity. Once birds learn to forage, new objects are readily explored and viewed as potential food
sources. It is the responsibility of caregivers to make obtaining the food ever more challenging, since the process of foraging stimulates brain activity and simply keeps the bird busy throughout the day. Once the birds readily forage, owners can easily make the system more difficult by having multiple stations throughout the cage, with limited amounts in certain places -- in this way, Creative Foraging Systems™ replicates experience in the wild in which the animal doesn't always "win" when seeking a food source. The hanging objects make it more difficul t to get to the food source, which again replicate many wild challenges (e.g., hanging from branches, digging into things awkwardly, manipulating objects, etc.).
Creative Foraging Systems™ makes it incredibly easy for caregivers to provide foraging opportunities to their birds. If it's difficult for most companion parrot owners, then they won't do it. I am really proud to support you and everything you've done for parrots - this kind of innovation is direly needed, and I hope you'll keep it coming. Your contribution to parrot welfare will be enormous!
Beth Lindenau, National Aquarium in Baltimore
The concept of Enrichment, having reshaped the way keepers and trainers provide for the animals in their charge, has become part of the standard of care for animals everywhere both in the home and at institutions like zoos and aquariums. In the world of parrot care we are all zookeepers because a parrot whether it is born in the wild or in captivity is still genetically a wild animal who has adapted for life in the wild. Nature has selected for the capability of searching for and procuring food successfully for both the individual and for the needs of the mate and offspring. A great deal of time is spent in this endeavor. In consideration of an animals natural history we can all do well to attempt to provide opportunities for animals to exhibit species-appropriate behaviors of which foraging has paramount importance for a variety of reasons. The concept of contrafreeloading has been proven to occur in many species from fish to mammals to birds and states that an animal will choose to work for food even when identical food is freely available at the same time. The importance of foraging opportunities provides animals with something to do with their time, a concept that while simple enough can be the difference between an animal surviving and thriving in its environment.
In my job as an animal trainer, the concept of Enrichment is central to my work. Providing animals with something to do, problems to solve, and control over their environments is both necessary and extremely rewarding. Foraging increases activity and for many parrots who are designed to be great climbers, in addition to flying, the act of moving around climbing on different perches, reaching things in various locations, and even hanging upside down to secure a coveted item can lead to increased mobility. Additionally, solving the “problem” of where the food or hidden item is located is a form of cognitive enrichment and allows the parrot to use the problem solving skills nature has given it. Increased mobility and problem-solving opportunities is exactly what we strive to provide parrots with. Overall health can be thought of as having both the components of physiological health and behavioral health. Moreover, a lack of behavioral health due to what we might refer to as a stimulus-poor environment has historically lead to many instances of maladaptive, stereotypic, repetitive, or even physically harmful behaviors in captive parrots. This highlights the need for much thought to be given to not just what we feed but how we feed and care for these animals. Lastly, items to shred and tear are particularly appealing to parrots who have beaks and feet well designed for this purpose. A foraging opportunity that is convenient and easily replaceable for the caregiver to provide, that increases the activity level, and that gives the bird something to solve and control will go a long way at preventing or treating behavioral problems and encouraging the very species-appropriate behaviors we all love to see in active, engaged, and well cared for companion parrots.
