Hey there,

 

After much research I have decided to use sand flooring (includes grit too) in my new aviary as its much better for bacteria, easy to scoop up the poop etc but, i was wondering.... can I scatter some gum leaves, small twigs etc across the floor too? When people say budgies forage?? what is that exactly??? do they spend much time on an aviary floor??? Is that what is meant by the foraging like what chooks do when they are scratching around? Excuse my ignorance from this newbie. I'm not concerned about extra leaves/twigs being more work, it will give me something to do. :-)

 

Many thanks

Helen

budgies love green things to eat. sand is good for them but so is cuttle fish and sea shells. freshly mown grass is also good. budgies also love chewing on thistles. put perches up because otherwise they will become unhealthy just sitting on the floor. gum leaves probably isnt the best choice, but there are many things they can eat, a couple listed above. foraging is just getting extra to what the diet of seed is. eg isntead of jut eating seed, they will forage for grit and grass. hope this helps

Hi, there is a list of safe and unsafe foods/plants in the f.a.q. section. (Right at the top left of page). That will give you many choices. As to a sand floor as long as it remains dry it should be okay. gum leaves and branches are a great treat for your birds, not every day but occasionally, they love to chew off the bark etc and the leaves, young washed branches are best.

Foraging is similar to fowls, scratching around finding little bits of grit, greens etc. as long as you remove old food scraps e.g wilted spinach, carrots etc they should be fine.

Mine seem to spend certain times of the day on the floor foraging or eating the green/veg etc early morn around noon then about late afternoon. They are all different little characters so may not all be the same.

Edited March 19, 201312 yr by robyn

I've always heard from the Aussie members on this forum that gum leaves and branches are an excellent form of greens for budgies, as Robyn has pointed out.

 

Foraging basically refers to having to hunt and search for food as opposed to having it handed to them on a platter. It gives them something to occupy their mind.

 

There is a large market for "foraging toys", which require a bird to figure out a puzzle or chew through cardboard in order to get a treat. Many of the larger bird species are prone to boredom and self destructive behavior if they do not have enough mental stimulation.

Hi, just to add as Finnie said, in aus. gum leaves are great in smaller dose's so to speak. They are said to have an anti-biotic effect so not given daily only once in a while.

I use gum tree branch's as perches in aviary. Scrubbed down first, the birds love to chew on them, even chew through them eventually so I have to replace them.