I'm pretty sure this is one of the easiest ways to offer enrichment to birds (and is one of my all-time favorites). Foraging doesn't have to be complicated. It can be as simple as tossing some items in their food dish on top of their food and letting them go to town.
This only took me about 5 extra minutes during food prep (which, considering this was enrichment for almost 20 birds, that's a testament to how easy this is). And our birds get so excited when they see all of the fun items– it's almost like a scavenger hunt where they search for all their favorite treats and toys. Some of our more high-maintenance birds (*cough cough Mandy*) get foraging items in their food bowls every day, to keep them busy and happy for a longer period of time.
I will add, it's important to start slow. You'll notice in these photos, some of the bowls have a thick layer of foraging items over the food, while others just have a few pieces. Some of the birds being fed here are recent surrenders that are still building up confidence, while others are foraging pros. Start slow, and once your bird figures out this new game, you can add more and increase the difficulty.
Some foraging item ideas:
•Discarded toy parts your bird took off of toys
•The sticks at the end of millet sprays
•Shredded bird-safe cardboard (cereal boxes, paper towel rolls, etc.)
•Shredded paper
•Dried herbs/ flowers
We have a bucket where we put broken toys, cardboard, and other items to be reused for this purpose, and it makes things so easy! You can just grab a handful and toss it in the food dish.
Try it out and let us know how it goes!
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