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Boredom busters: Environmental enrichment essentials (for parrot owners)
- 1. Boredom Busters Environmental Enrichment Essentials Phoenix Landing Foundation, May 2014 Raleigh Durham Caged Bird Society, July 2014 Michelle Czaikowski Underhill
- 2. Agenda What is environmental enrichment? Types of enrichment Enrichment plans and schedules “Name that enrichment” gallery
- 3. What is environmental enrichment? Environmental enrichment is the process of manipulating an animal's environment to increase physical activity & normal species typical behavior that satisfies the animal's physical and psychological needs. It reduces stress and therefore promotes overall health by increasing an animal's perception of control over their environment and by occupying their time. Ohio State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Indoor Pet Initiative.http://indoorpet.osu.edu/dogs/environmental_enrichment_dogs/index.cfm
- 5. Zoo environment “Naturalistic approach” Home environment “Behavioral engineering”
- 6. #1 risk of providing environmental enrichment An animal can harm themselves with enrichment items. The solution – know your bird and be as careful as possible. Nothing is 100% bird safe for every bird.
- 7. #1 risk of not providing environmental enrichment An animal can harm themselves or suffer because no enrichment is provided. The benefits of enrichment far outweigh the risks.
- 8. Types of enrichment Social Occupational Physical Sensory Nutritional They overlap one another.
- 9. Social enrichment Contact Same species Different species Non-contact Visual, auditory, co-operative device
- 10. Social enrichment Group composition can be important. Domestic raising and environment may suppress the development of “natural” interactions between members of the same species. Training may help develop positive interactions between human-bird or even bird-bird.
- 11. Occupational enrichment Jobs Psychological- things to think about (puzzles, control of environment) Exercise – Places to go, flying, flapping, climbing, jumping, etc. Remodeling projects - Things to chew, etc.
- 12. Occupational enrichment Psychological • Have some items that present a challenge. • Have others that are below their abilities, too. (Variety may prevent frustration.) • Training • Games
- 13. Occupational enrichment Training Bird chooses to participate. Can be as little as 10 minutes per day, or could be many little moments throughout the day. Opportunity to earn rewards.
- 15. Occupational enrichment: Exercise •Does the item itself move? Does it promote balance and stability? •Does it allow birds to easily access other items by flying, stretching, or climbing to them? •Does it permit cardiovascular activity?
- 16. Most “hanging” enrichment items encourage movement and balance: Swings Bungies/Boings “Atoms/Orbits” Climbing nets Hanging gyms Hanging Toys
- 17. Benefits of climbing nets •May be used to connect different areas/play areas, in addition to being a play area in itself. Provides choice. •Choice it can provide is especially wonderful for birds with clipped wings •Encourages movement Note: Just as with all rope toys, strands should be trimmed regularly.
- 19. Physical enrichment Enclosure Cage, house, etc. Accessories – Internal & External Permanent (bars, walls, ceiling, etc.) Temporary (Toys, perches, etc.) Play areas/gyms, etc.
- 20. Sensory enrichment Appeals to different senses Visual Auditory (& vocalizations) Taste Touch, tactile
- 21. Sensory enrichment Visual and Auditory Stimuli Radio/Music (toys that make noise) Television Field trips outside Field trips inside Other animals (also social) Verbal games, contact calls (also social)
- 22. Sensory enrichment Smell, touch, taste Food Plants, perches Keep sensitive respiratory systems in mind.
- 23. Nutritional enrichment Food Different types of food Different forms of delivery (ie foraging, etc.) Herbs, edible flowers, spices Water Occasional tea, juice, etc.
- 24. Foraging Parrots in the wild spend many of their waking hours foraging for food.
- 25. A “must see” for all companion humans! Importance of foraging for birds has been better brought to light throughout the pet care industry after the release of Dr. Echols’ Captive Foraging.
- 26. If your bird spends a lot of waking hours in a cage, consider viewing his/her cage as an “enclosed foraging tree”. •Start slow. Add foraging options gradually. •Goal: Minimum of six bowls or accessible foraging toys and additional ones that are more challenging. •Allow your bird a “foraging free” sleep area/zone/cage. Wild birds do not naturally forage where they sleep.
- 27. My favorite easy, inexpensive foraging toys: •3 oz bath size Dixie cups •Unbleached coffee filters •Unbleached paper towels •Predrilled toy parts
- 28. This rope perch that is wrapped in leather has leather strands hanging off it. Threading a coffee filter through the opening in some plastic chain forms another simple foraging toy.
- 29. Once they are accustomed to having to work to retrieve food from foraging toys, make them work to get to the foraging toys as well.
- 30. What do parrots need in an enrichment area? CHOICES Places to: Sleep & rest Forage/eat & drink Exercise Groom (preen, bathe) Socialize Privacy – Place to escape to when feeling threatened.
- 31. What do WE need in enrichment areas for our parrots? It needs to be manageable Routine cleaning Regular safety checks (threads, nuts, bolts, hooks, etc.) Replacement of destroyed parts Rotating new materials, foods, sounds, stimuli into the area.
- 32. Enrichment Plans – For when you want to encourage specific behaviors, etc. Disney’s Animal Programs use a model they developed called S.P.I.D.E.R. http://www.animalenrichment.org/spider/spider_fra mework.html Setting Goals Planning (includes evaluating the risk involved) Implementing Documenting Evaluating Re-adjusting
- 33. Enrichment Plans - Let’s talk through an example Setting goals Planning (includes evaluating the risk involved) Implementing Documenting Evaluating Re-adjusting
- 34. Enrichment Schedules Perhaps you want to focus on particular types of enrichment on different days Example: Mondays, Thursdays: Foraging, new foods, decaffeinated, room-temperature, herbal tea (in addition to water) (Occupational & Nutritional) Tuesdays, Fridays: Training, new chewing projects (Occupational, physical, social, and sensory) Wednesdays, Saturdays: Music, dancing, time outside in an aviary/travel cage/harness (Sensory, Occupational, Social, Physical) Sundays: Showers/baths, thorough cleaning, general maintenance (Physical, Sensory, Occupational, Nutritional)
- 46. Photos & play gym by Donna Dicksson. Posted from Flickr with permission. Social? Occupational? Physical? Sensory? Nutritional?
- 60. Resources and credits Kris Porter’s Parrot Enrichment site: http://parrotenrichment.com/ Includes The Parrot Enrichment Activity Book, Vol 1 & 2 Avianenrichment.com – Several articles Disney’s Animal Enrichment website: http://www.animalenrichment.org/ In Your Flock magazine On Facebook: The Parrot’s Workshop and The Parrot’s Pantry Robert J. Young’s Environmental enrichment for Captive Animals. Blackwell Publishing, 2003. Andrew U. Luescher’s Manual of Parrot Behavior. Blackwell Publishing, 2006. Robin Skewokis's Enriching your parrot's life: A guide to creating a stimulating environment for your companion bird (DVD)
- 61. Questions? Ideas to share? Michelle Underhill michelle@phoenixlanding.org