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Enrichment is an integral
part of responsible parrot care. Enrichment has
everything to do with how we keep our parrots happy, healthy
and active as well as intellectually and instinctually
challenged. To do this we must first understand their
physical, mental, social and psychological needs and then,
based on this understanding, devise activities and provide
our parrots with enrichment devices that help them meet all
of these requirements.
Effective enrichment activities and devices make our parrots
lives more interesting by stimulating natural and
instinctual behaviors, encouraging physical activity,
presenting them with mental challenges and allowing them to
make decisions/choices as well as to develop a sense of
control over their environment.
Parrots
living in the wild are focused on four primary things:
In
captivity, all of the challenges they would be faced with in
the wild have been conveniently solved for them.
Unfortunately, in simplifying their lives we’ve also
deprived them of the opportunities to do many things for
themselves that would make their existence more fulfilling.
It's critical for our bird’s well being that we attempt to
provide them with opportunities to face many of the
challenges that they would face in the wild.
According to Dr. Joy Mench, director of
the Center for Animal Welfare at UC Davis, "for animals left
without anywhere to go and nothing to do, it is not surprising that
these animals begin to demonstrate what are known as abnormal and
"stereotypic" behaviors, actions similar to those seen in people who
suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder and other psychiatric
disorders".
The good news is that studies conducted on
Orange Wing Amazons at UC Davis (Cheryl Meehan) have demonstrated that
providing enrichment devices to satisfy your birds instinctual needs to
forage and chew as well as devices to stimulate movement and exercise
can reduce stress and help avoid or eliminate undesirable and abnormal
behaviors such as feather picking.
Fortunately, many of the solutions are fairly easy to
implement and there are a growing number of products
available to assist parrot owners accomplish many of these
objectives. Some specific examples of enrichment
activities we can undertake are:
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To
satisfy their foraging instincts, we can provide our birds
with a variety of
foraging devices that need to be manipulated and that will require
them to "work" for their food.
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Staging
these foraging devices at multiple locations and levels
throughout the cage will encourage movement and exercise
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Varying the placement and types of foraging devices will
challenge them mentally.
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To
provide an outlet for their natural instinct to chew, we can
give our parrots a wide selection of safe, novel
destructible items such
as toys, cardboard boxes, and large tree branches to explore and
destroy.
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We can
give our parrots an interesting and varied selection of fresh
fruits, vegetables and treats that will allow them the
opportunity to make choices and simultaneously provide them
with a nutritious diet.
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We can
challenge their intellect by providing puzzle and
interactive toys.
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Because
our parrots are highly socialized to humans and greatly
enjoy our companionship, we can spend one on one "quality
time" with them for longer periods each and every day, doing
with them whatever they're in the mood for at the moment and
enjoy the most.
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Our
parrot’s cages can contain places for them to retreat for
some shelter and privacy.
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A
variety of natural perches of various sizes can be provided
to promote movement as well as good foot health.
Additional suggestions on
enrichment activities are provided throughout our series of
articles.
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