Question/idea for enrichment (cockatoo owners)

[WilliamKenyon]

Hi everyone, hope your birds and you are well

Locally sulphur crested, galah (RB2's) and corella cockatoo's are a regular occurrence to see flying around natively. One of the way's these guys forage for food is by digging up seeds, small tubas/roots and other small plants. :smile019::smile019:

So what I was wondering is if (for an enrichment activity) a large tray with buried nut's, seeds and other treats in the soil could be provided for too's so they could dig/forage in a more natural way. I'm not suggesting purchasing soil from a hardware store as there is a risk of chemicals, pesticides and foreign objects in the soil. However for those who have a backyard with soil you know is free of chemicals/ dangerous objects, would this be a plausible thing to do for your too's?. Is there anything that I have missed regarding the safety of this? I hope this was helpful Any information is greatly appreciated, thanks

Here's some of them digging/foraging

 

[chris-md]

Yes, it’s a great idea. I saw where one person actually had a turf-like surface inside the cage (I forget exactly what it was, be it actual sod, fake turf, or other material) where their RB2 could forage for scattered seeds.

 

[WilliamKenyon]

Yes, it’s a great idea. I saw where one person actually had a turf-like surface inside the cage (I forget exactly what it was, be it actual sod, fake turf, or other material) where their RB2 could forage for scattered seeds.

Thanks Chris, good to hear that owners are doing something similar. Should be quite a simple and fun thing for them to do

 

[Flboy]

As an add, take a look at this:
http://www.parrotforums.com/do-yourself/5722-hanging-basket.html

 

[WilliamKenyon]

As an add, take a look at this:
http://www.parrotforums.com/do-yourself/5722-hanging-basket.html

Yeah, I had seen that one, but had forgotten. It's a really clever idea!

 

[MonicaMc]

Could use sand or large gravel instead. (depending on whether or not you want your bird to have a chance of consuming it) Although 'outside dirt' can be a great idea, you also don't know what's living in it, bugs, animals or bacteria/fungal wise.

Some people have even used pistachio shells!

 

[Scott]

Love those images, I'd love to live in an area with wild cockatoos!

Great ideas for foraging, would imagine a safe inert substance could substitute for soil. Pistachio shells seems ideal!

 

[ChristaNL]

I have a bakingtray with chopped wood (beech) and will chuck in a handfull of seeds and pellets, Japie loves to chickenscratch his way through all of it; even when he is not hungy, he is a real treasurehunter.
(I just buy it at the petstore- they have 5 kg and 10 kg bags, its clean, dustfree and safe.)
Sometimes I just chuck it al on the bottom of his cage.
(I really dislike grates because the greys really love to be "on the ground" as well.)

At the clinic they use marbles (the glass ones for children) - because they are easier to sanitze - as enrichment. The parrots love it, extra toys, nice to the touch and something to keep them busy while they rumage through their foodbowls.

I haven't tried soil (yet) - but was planning on sowing some of the grass you can get for indoor-cats (not catnip- the other kind) and other edible plants for them.

 

[WilliamKenyon]

I have a bakingtray with chopped wood (beech) and will chuck in a handfull of seeds and pellets, Japie loves to chickenscratch his way through all of it; even when he is not hungy, he is a real treasurehunter.
(I just buy it at the petstore- they have 5 kg and 10 kg bags, its clean, dustfree and safe.)
Sometimes I just chuck it al on the bottom of his cage.
(I really dislike grates because the greys really love to be "on the ground" as well.)

At the clinic they use marbles (the glass ones for children) - because they are easier to sanitze - as enrichment. The parrots love it, extra toys, nice to the touch and something to keep them busy while they rumage through their foodbowls.

I haven't tried soil (yet) - but was planning on sowing some of the grass you can get for indoor-cats (not catnip- the other kind) and other edible plants for them.

Very clever idea, sounds incredibly fun

 

[WilliamKenyon]

Could use sand or large gravel instead. (depending on whether or not you want your bird to have a chance of consuming it) Although 'outside dirt' can be a great idea, you also don't know what's living in it, bugs, animals or bacteria/fungal wise.

Some people have even used pistachio shells!

Good point, that was the kind of thing I was worried I would miss. some other users have recommended some very creative substrate ideas!.

 

[ChristaNL]

If you worry about critters in the soil but still want to try something groundlike... how about the crude sandlike of more "stoney" bags of material you can get at the aquarium-part of large petstores.
Normal sand gets blown everywhere when your bird flaps its wings, but the 1/2 cm stuff will be just fine. Just make sure you get the rounded pebble-like material (sometimes they sell stuff with rather sharp edges / and stay away from anything vulcanic! those can really cut!)

LOL, yes- I also have tropical fish, so it wasn't a big leap

 

[MonicaMc]

Going the route of fish.... you can get a 50 lb bag of playsand for like $5, if that, 50lb gravel about the same price? There's also Safe T-Sorb which might be okay, too... potentially as cheap as $10 for a 40 lb bag.... haven't heard anyone using it with parrots though, but it has been used with some sensitive aquarium species without issues. River rock you could potentially get 30 lbs for under $20.


In comparison, most sand/gravel meant for aquariums sold at pet stores tends to be much more expensive.



Then again, "hobby specific" items tend to be more expensive than non-hobby items....

 

[BoomBoom]

If you worry about critters in the soil but still want to try something groundlike... how about the crude sandlike of more "stoney" bags of material you can get at the aquarium-part of large petstores.

I really like this idea! Great for foraging stations with the random nut in there. Is there a risk of birds (small and large) ingesting these pebbles?

 

[ChristaNL]

Yes, there is... some birds wil selfdestruct on anything...


most will just go "nay, not edible, but you can sure make a mess with them" but there is always a risk.
The great thing about offering it in a baking tin or something like that is you can give them supervised playtime and take it away again.
Plunking it in the cage...makes it less 'mobile' but they have more playtime...


It's like that discussion about the corncob-based stuff they sell to put on the bottom of the cage: one could be "oh this is heaven, they LOVE it to shuffle through" while another goes "I ended up at the vets because my feathered idiot decided to eat it".
You just never know ...


birds...they drive you crazy
(and don't we just love that!)

 

[ChristaNL]

Then again, "hobby specific" items tend to be more expensive than non-hobby items....

Oh, you are sooooo, right.
But sometimes it is all you can get.



(there is no way I lug around 50 LBS of sand/gravel on my bike if I can avoid it ... I'd have to borrow a hook-on-cart for that: the cheaper shops are over an hour away by bicycle. The larger bags of beech-chips I take home afrika-style: on my head; because they don't fit my large backpack and my arms get tired.)

 

[WilliamKenyon]

Some really great idea's everyone. Fish substrate could be a good idea. It should be safe from chemicals as fish are very sensitive to chemicals leeching into the water. and is reusable many times. Happy parroting