Parrot Enrichment: Think Outside The Cage

Written by: Elle from elleandthebirds, Thank you so much for contributing Elle I am sure everyone else will love this post just as much as I do!

 

If you’ve done research on parrot keeping, you’d know that a parrot’s cage should contain a variety of toys and other enrichment activities to keep them mentally stimulated when you’re not home. Parrots are highly intelligent and destructive by nature. They spend a large majority of their waking hours foraging for food. But what about when you are home? What is your parrot actually doing while out of the cage?

     Some people keep their birds on their shoulders the entire time they’re out of the cage. Unfortunately, if a bird expects to be on you all the time, they can develop dependency issues. These birds can have separation anxiety if their owner even sets them down somewhere else. Dependency issues are usually magnified if a bird is clipped because they also depend on their owner for transportation – yet another reason to keep your parrot flighted. Some people feel flattered by their birds’ over-attachment to them. However, it is simply not realistic for us to spend 24/7 with our birds, and a bird that cannot be independent outside the cage will struggle when their owner has to leave the house. The bird may exhibit stress behaviors such as plucking, screaming, and pacing when the owner is away.

Out-of-cage time should be a balance between one-on-one interaction, training, and independent enrichment activities. They should be interacting with their environment (and other birds in the flock) just as much as they interact with you. Flying, exploring, shredding, and foraging are what parrots are built to do, and are all very healthy and necessary for our pet birds to experience. Not to mention if you don’t provide enrichment outside the cage, your parrot will be much more inclined to get into things they shouldn’t (which could be unsafe), or destroy furniture. Here are some ways you can accommodate and encourage these natural behaviors inside your home:

Playstands

There are many different types, but my favorite are natural tree stands. These have the most variation for perching, provide branches for your birds to chew and encourage climbing and playing with toys. A tree stand can be your bird’s main “hangout area” when they’re not directly on you. Multiple playstands can be placed around the room for your birds to fly between. Other playstands that I recommend are made of metal and PVC. However, don’t buy a basic “T-perch” that is little more than a perch with food and water cups and expect your bird to want to stay on it. Those stands are mainly for training purposes and not for enrichment. Quality stands can be expensive, but luckily you can make your own, either out of natural wood or PVC tubes. You can customize a PVC stand to have as many levels as you want. Playstands should be decorated with toys, swings, ladders, and foraging toys to make them a place where your bird really wants to spend time. The possibilities are endless. 

Hanging play centers

Make your bird’s room into a mini jungle by hanging items from the ceiling. These can only be accessed by flighted birds, so make sure your bird is a confident flyer before hanging things up. Cargo nets are one of the most popular options for hanging play centers, and for good reason! Birds love climbing, hanging from and playing on these versatile nets. Decorate a cargo net with toys for your bird to destroy. Rope boings and swings are other popular items you can hang from ceilings. Most birds love them, but be careful – if your bird has a tendency to chew on rope use sisal instead of cotton to prevent a crop impaction. Boings and swings can also be hung from cargo nets or tree stands. Branches can be hung from ceilings as well – hanging wood play gyms are excellent alternatives to tree stands if you live in a tight space. Lastly, you can create custom hanging play centers by hanging ropes across the room from wall to wall and attaching as many items as you’d like to the ropes. Some of the most amazing bird room setups I’ve seen include long ropes with dangling toys, swings, and boings hanging across the room. 

Cage top (and side) play areas

If you live in a small space and cannot install standing or hanging gyms, there are many cage top models. Mini versions of full-sized tree stands are sold to be placed on top of the cage. Don’t limit the fun to just on top of the cage, though – decorate the sides of your cage with toys and perches on the outside too! Bendable bridges and rope perches are perfect for this purpose.

Foraging activities

Wild parrots spend hours every day searching for food. Foraging is a crucial part of parrot care to keep them engaged and mentally stimulated. Foraging activities outside the cage can be as simple as a tray filled with crinkle paper with treats hidden beneath. Foot toys can be added on top for an extra layer to dig through, and certain foot toys can be used to hide treats inside, such as vine balls. In addition, there are many options for foraging toys you can buy – acrylic puzzle toys such as wheels and drawers, mini cardboard boxes with holes to stuff treats, woven piñatas, and more. Even some puzzle toys made for dogs make for excellent parrot foraging toys! 

Take a look at the room where your parrots spend the most time. Are there adequate things for them to do? Are you able to leave the (bird-proofed) room with the birds keeping themselves occupied? How much of the time they spend out of the cage is engaging in natural behaviors, versus just sitting around on top of the cage? Do they fly around and explore their environment? These are all very important questions to think about when assessing your bird’s out-of-cage space.