Contrafreeloading

A wonderful friend (and follower) and I were talking about this video of Alfie (moluccan cockatoo) with his foraging wall from Birdie Box Bird Toys. He said something along the lines of “it’s interesting because Alfie probably has food in a bowl not too far away but he chooses to work hard to get the smallest piece of nut hidden in the wall.”

This is because scientifically it is proven that animals prefer to work for their food rather than eat it from a bowl. Once they are properly taught how to forage, it is their preferred method of getting their food.

Another way I entice Alfie is by withholding the types of food I want to train him with, like tree nuts and seeds, and forage with. He doesn’t get these items ever unless he is working for them. This allows the bird to not get satiated of those food and keeps motivation high.

If you’re training everyday like me, withholding those healthy fats and giving them to your bird through training or foraging means they will not be able to over eat on them, they will still be getting the nutritional balance, and they learn something new along the way. Win win win in my book!

Interested in getting started with foraging, need ideas, you can view the online class on Enrichment and Foraging. We also have our own handmade enrichment found here.