Parrot Forums - TalkParrots banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Libby's Foraging Toys

4K views 21 replies 10 participants last post by  nanay 
#1 ·
As promised to Bobioden (Bob), here are some pics of Libby's foraging toys. I purchased most of them locally, but I'm sure they're available on line too.

Here's the one I started with, very simple, plus I showed her the treat inside to get her started.


Then she graduated to this one -- took her a couple of days, plus the bottom cup is the heaviest. Now she can empty it in about ten minutes!


This one is fairly simple, but she has to work to get the treats out. It also comes in a round shape.


This one took her a while -- I even had a time figuring out how to LOAD it! LOL! Each color is a different section and has a hold in the bottom. There's little bow shaped "nubs" on the outside of each section. She has to push and pull the nubs and line up the holes to get the treats to fall to the bottom, where there's an opening where she can get the treats. This took her a while to figure out. She'd get mad at it, give it a good "bonk" and walk away, only to come back later. Now she can empty it in about 20 minutes! Smarty pants!


This carosel stays in her cage all the time, so she works on it frequently.


This is really a favorite of hers. The ball unscrews to load the treats and there are slots in the bottom for her to get to them. It wasn't hard for her to figure out, but she had to work to get the treats out. I added the bell at the bottom so I could hear when she was working on it. The rod through the middle also acts as a skewer to put fruit and veggies on.


This one is her latest and is really tough! The top unscrews to load the treats. The blue things are levers that have holes in them. She has to push and pull the levers to get the treats to fall all the way to the bottom. The treats can't be too large, or they won't fit through the holes. She works on this one a lot and usually just bangs on it and jiggles it until some of the treats fall to the bottom!


I usually give her one of these every other day or so. It's amazing to watch her working to figure out how to get the treats!

What fun!
 
See less See more
7
#2 ·
lucky birds! i love foraging toys, theyre the best ones to have :)
 
#5 ·
LOL! Thanks! She has the football one in her cage right now, and she's really working it over! A busy bird is a happy bird!
 
#14 ·
Gosh I can't remember where I got it, probably at my bird shop. The one Jenny pictured would work well though, and it's bigger for their bigger beak and has a loose fitting lid. It'd be great as a starter/learning toy!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jenny
#15 ·
I ordered 3 foraging toys from Persnickity pets today. I can't wait for Mango to start playing with them. He is so fun right now. I tried a slice of carrot with him and he turned his beak up at it. I them tried it and said yum, yum, he grabbed it out of my hand and didn't stop until he ate it all. I spend HOURS just watching him go from one perch to the next, one toy to they next, here there and everywhere around his cage. I do the bob head up and down, and he goes back and forth on his perch doing the sane thing. What a joy he has been, after the sudden lose of my beloved Oliver.
 
#16 ·
I'm so glad you're enjoying Maxx so much and he's helping you get past your loss. Also glad you found some foraging toys for him -- wait until you watch him figure it out! It may take a couple of days, but he'll keep puzzling over it until he figures out how to get the treats! Libby would get mad sometimes and bang her beak on the toy, but she'd always come back and try again! She's such a character -- something new every day!
 
#17 ·
Joanne, thanks again for all your help. I just ordered one similar to #1, I also ordered #2, and #6, I will be ordering the Carousel soon. Clicker training starts tomorrow as I have 2 days off.
I am holding back on his hemp, as that will be his treat. Turn around will be his first trick.
 
#18 ·
WHAT FUN! Can't wait to hear how he does! Remember to be patient with him! Also, keep the training sessions short, maybe 5 to 10 minutes. They have a short attention span! Maybe a session in the morning and one in the evening. This will keep it fun for both of you. You'll be able to tell right away if he's not in the mood!!
 
#19 · (Edited)
What makes me nervous about foraging toys is I am a teen, I got limited money, and I don't want to spend ten, fifteen, twenty bucks and have them not work or the birds don't keep their interest in them, since many of them look like they can only be played with if used correctly, unlike your usual non-foraging plastic/rope/bead toy which can be used in many different ways. I'm not sure if I'm explaining myself correctly, maybe I'm just crazy. LOL!

Which specific ones would you suggest that are pretty...easy, perhaps?
 
#20 ·
Abby,
When I had Elisa at the vet's on Saturday, they had a green cheek, Jimmy Johns. They took an empty toilet paper tube and taped the bottom shut with vet tape, which I suppose they have tons of, but I'm sure you could use other tape. They filled it with treats, and then taped the top shut. Through the top they also attached a long string, which I believe was a boot string or some such thing, and they used that to suspend the toy from the ceiling. The conure went after it immediately, but I'm sure it knew what was in there.

I have foraging boxes for all of my birds. They are made so that when you first put them in the cages you poke a hole in the cardboard boxes so that they can see the treats. After a while, most birds don't need you to poke the little cut away places out because they remember the toy and know goodies are inside.

Sooooooooo - if you decide to do the toilet paper tube - which will be free except for the tape and treats - at first poke a hole about half the size of a dime in the side, or even on two sides, so Kiki can see there are treats inside.

It will work. She will go after the thing eventually, but, even if she does not, you are only out the cost of the tape, because you could empty the treats out and give them to her later if you have to.

I saw that and I told Cannary - look at that - we just spent a TON of money on foraging boxes! :eek:

But, hey, I like the foraging boxes, too. All of my birds love their foraging boxes.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jenny and Abby
#22 ·
They used vet tape. It was a vet's office, so they had it. However, perhaps vet tape would really be the best. I would assume vet tape would be safer to be chewed on that other types of tape. Does anyone else have any ideas on tape that would be safest? I suspect you can get vet tape at a farm store. The vet wrap that people get to put around wounds might be good. It sticks to itself but doesn't have any glues. I think you'd have to wrap it around itself to get it to stick, and I'm not sure it would stick.

I've saved up my last few toilet paper rolls, so maybe I'll try it in a bit so I can tell you if that works. I THINK, not certain, but think I have some vet wrap here.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top