Foraging, Enrichment & Feeding Behavior: Why How We Feed Matters

Nutrition involves more than the nutrients contained in food. For parrots, searching for, obtaining and manipulating food are fundamental components of natural behavior, providing opportunities for physical activity, exploration and environmental interaction. The peer-reviewed publications presented here investigate how foraging enrichment influences the behavior and welfare of captive parrots, including Amazon parrots and African grey parrots. Controlled experiments demonstrate that appropriate enrichment can increase foraging time, influence responses to unfamiliar objects, reduce certain abnormal repetitive behaviors and contribute to improved feather condition in some birds exhibiting feather-damaging behavior. More recent research also demonstrates that enrichment designed to encourage both searching for food and manipulating it can substantially increase the time parrots spend engaged in feeding-related activities. Together, these studies provide a scientific foundation for incorporating natural foraging opportunities into companion-bird feeding programs. Presenting suitable whole foods through safe, varied and appropriately challenging activities allows feeding to become an opportunity for behavioral engagement rather than simply a means of delivering nutrients. Although individual responses vary and enrichment cannot replace appropriate veterinary care or nutritional balance, these findings demonstrate that how food is offered deserves consideration alongside what food is provided.

1. Coulton, Waran & Young (1997): Providing opportunities to search for food

Coulton, L. E., Waran, N. K., & Young, R. J. (1997). Effects of foraging enrichment on the behaviour of parrots. Animal Welfare, 6(4), 357–363.

What this means for the animals we feed: Researchers placed food in covered holes that parrots had to investigate and uncover. The study found that providing these additional foraging opportunities changed the birds’ behavior and was a useful form of enrichment. Suitable whole foods can likewise be presented in safe ways that encourage searching and exploration.

2. Meehan & Mench (2002): Foraging enrichment and responses to unfamiliar objects

Meehan, C. L., & Mench, J. A. (2002). Environmental enrichment affects the fear and exploratory responses to novelty of young Amazon parrots. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 79(1), 75–88.

What this means for the animals we feed: Young orange-winged Amazon parrots raised with foraging opportunities and greater cage complexity approached unfamiliar objects more quickly than birds raised in less enriched conditions. Providing safe opportunities to investigate food and feeding objects can contribute to a more stimulating environment.

3. Meehan, Millam & Mench (2003): Foraging opportunities and feather-picking behavior

Meehan, C. L., Millam, J. R., & Mench, J. A. (2003). Foraging opportunity and increased physical complexity both prevent and reduce psychogenic feather picking by young Amazon parrots. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 80(1), 71–85.

What this means for the animals we feed: In young Amazon parrots, enrichment designed to encourage foraging helped prevent and reduce feather-picking behavior. This provides evidence that opportunities to obtain and manipulate food can contribute to welfare beyond simply supplying nutrients. It does not mean that foraging enrichment alone will resolve every case of feather damage.

4. Meehan, Garner & Mench (2004): Enrichment and repetitive cage behavior

Meehan, C. L., Garner, J. P., & Mench, J. A. (2004). Environmental enrichment and development of cage stereotypy in Orange-winged Amazon parrots (Amazona amazonica). Developmental Psychobiology, 44(4), 209–218.

What this means for the animals we feed: Amazon parrots raised with opportunities for foraging and movement developed fewer abnormal repetitive behaviors than birds raised in barren cages. Adding enrichment later also reduced these behaviors. Safe food-searching and food-manipulation activities can form part of an environment that supports more natural behavior.

5. Lumeij & Hommers (2008): Foraging enrichment and feather condition in African greys

Lumeij, J. T., & Hommers, C. J. (2008). Foraging ‘enrichment’ as treatment for pterotillomania. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 111(1–2), 85–94.

What this means for the animals we feed: In a study of 18 African grey parrots with feather-picking behavior, food presented in pipe feeders increased foraging time and was associated with improved feather scores. Presenting suitable foods in ways that require effort to obtain them may contribute to behavioral management alongside appropriate veterinary care.

6. van Zeeland et al. (2013): Comparing different foraging arrangements for African greys

van Zeeland, Y. R. A., Schoemaker, N. J., Ravesteijn, M. M., Mol, M., & Lumeij, J. T. (2013). Efficacy of foraging enrichments to increase foraging time in Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus erithacus). Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 149(1–4), 87–102.

What this means for the animals we feed: Researchers tested 11 foraging arrangements in 12 African grey parrots, including multiple feeding bowls, larger food pieces, and puzzle feeders. Their work demonstrates that food presentation can be varied systematically and that different approaches should be evaluated for how effectively they encourage natural feeding activities.

7. Beekmans et al. (2023): Encouraging both food searching and food handling

Beekmans, M. H. C., Vinke, C. M., Maijer, A., de Haan, I., Schoemaker, N. J., Rodenburg, T. B., Kooistra, H. S., & van Zeeland, Y. R. A. (2023). Increasing foraging times with appetitive and consummatory foraging enrichment in grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus). Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 265, 105986. What this means for the animals we feed: In 12 African grey parrots, enrichment that combined searching for food with handling and consuming it increased average daily foraging time from approximately two hours to almost four hours. Presenting suitable whole foods in ways that encourage both finding and manipulating them can provide more extensive feeding-related activity than placing food in an open bowl.