foraging

[lucky melatonin]

my birds tend to forage a lot, both of them. even if they have seed and pellet and veggies, they like to go to the bottom of their cage and eat the seed and other food they've dropped down there. even when i let them out of the cage, they like to go under their cage and eat the dropped seed.

is this normal and is it healthy? what does it mean?

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Yes! Foraging is a very strong instinct in birds, perfectly normal, perfectly healthy. In the wild, birds spend a large percentage of their waking hours foraging for food.

While I don't advocate letting your birds forage on the floor (too many accidents happen when little birdies are underfoot) I think that giving your birds an opportunity to forage for food is extremely important to their mental health and well-being.

Something I do with my little guys is, sprinkle seed on a coffee table or kitchen counter, and let them have at it. I also like homemade foraging toys, where you wrap a treat in a bit of paper so that the bird has to "unwrap" the treat to get to it. Or take some plain popcorn and pop it in the microwave in a brown paper bag, and when it cools, give it to them bag and all.

Who else has suggestions for foraging toys?

[lucky melatonin]

ok, just making sure! i don't like them eating on the floor, but they love going down there. it's typically only me and my boyfriend in the house and we always look out for them underfoot :) but i will try and discourage the floor foraging.

[thebubbleking]

Mine forage alot also.
i use plain brown papper bags filled with treats, empty paperclip and staple boxes i cut slits in and fill with treats, and also use twine to tie and hang goodies.

[butterfly1061]

I do a lot of what Jennifer does with her lovies. When she was looking for foraging ideas, I took note and now I have foraging toys & such. My birds squeal with excitement when I give them the treat hidden inside a piece of paper. I place the paper between the cage bars and let them "dig" for it. They love it!

I agree with Jennifer - No birdies on the floor - EVER. That's the #1 rule in my house. We've read about too many accidents from lovies being on the floor. They can still have fun, just somewhere else :)

[sphinxface]

I have to make sure Ive vacuumed the floor before I play with beezle cause he picks up any crumbs on the carpet and I have no idea what they are so I can't let him eat any of that stuff X(

[beckyg]

My dogs like to forage around on the floor under the birds cage for seeds! LOL!! Luna never had a chance. :D

[Anneka]

I guess, our toy poodle was foraging yesterday too.
When I was cleaning our lovie's cage, I removed his food dishes, placed them on a floor, and the next thing I saw was our dog eating Zupreem FruitBlend pellets :)