4 DIY BIRD FORAGING TRAYS | BirdNerdSophie AD

Foraging trays make excellent toys for pet parrots! They are a great DIY project which can encourage independence in your bird, keep them busy and out of trouble, and helps them to express natural behaviours!
These ideas are cheap and easy, and you can mix and match bits from both! Don't forget to check out my Amazon store below for products mentioned in this video.
I am a brand ambassador for easichick, and I highly recommend it as a cage substrate for you birds!
Find out more about easichick:
Website: easibedding.co...
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ABOUT ME 🙋‍♀️:
Hi everyone, I'm Sophie, also known as BirdNerdSophie, and I make educational and entertaining parrot care content! I've been working professionally with animals since 2009 across different jobs including working as a zoo keeper, animal trainer, zoo presenter, animal care lecturer and farmer! I have been lucky enough to work with parrots of all sizes, including: blue and gold macaws, yellow naped Amazons and budgies! I have a First Class BSc (Hons) in Animal Behaviour and Welfare specialising in birds, and I have a growing flock of parrots who I love!
🦜 Need help and advice on your bird's behaviour, care and training? Get in touch with us at Best Behaved Birds for an affordable and bespoke consultation:
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MY FLOCK 🦜:
Chip 💛 - Pied cockatiel
Fish 💜 - Grey cockatiel
Pickles 💚 - Pineapple turquoise green cheeked conure
Scampi ❤ - Yellow sided green cheeked conure
Olive 💙 - Turquoise yellow sided green cheeked conure
Kipling ❤ Crimson bellied conure
Louis 💛 Cinnamon green cheeked conure
Charlie ❤ Crimson bellied conure
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🙋‍♂️ David’s Channel: / theparrotteacher
📷 David’s Instagram: / theparrotteacher
🦜 The Birds’ Instagram: / chip.and.fish
*Disclosure: This is an affiliate link, meaning at no cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. The funds will go solely towards food, toys and vet bills for our birds!
CONTACT 📧:
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#parrots #birds #pets
Music used: Cute Avalanche - RKVC, Spring in my Step - Silent Partner.
Free to use with KZbin Audio Library.

[@BirdNerdSophie]

Apologies for any shaky cam in this video! Apparently my hands shake a lot when I try and hold things still 😂

[@loradavis3288]

Great video! I loved seeing the flock foraging in the various trays at the end. 😍

[@BirdNerdSophie]

Thank you! It was funny how they all kept going for the straws 😂

[@PegMet1007]

Hello. Great ideas. I was feeding Pete some seed and pellet mix out of the container and he hopped in and started foraging. So funny to watch. So I saw this video and made a tray with an egg carton. He’s a little afraid to go in so I kept it on my lap. He’s not a fan of the big toys in the tray so I took them out for now. Thanks for all your help❣️

[@BirdNerdSophie]

It can take a few goes to get them interested! He sounds like a real cutie 😍

[@parksnreqpark5562]

I’m really glad to see you posting again !! I’m getting my first sun conure today so I’m binging all your videos

[@BirdNerdSophie]

That's awesome! Hope you enjoy the videos 😊

[@merrilise2492]

I'm getting a budgie on Sunday!!! I haven't had one since I was 7 years old. I've been wanting one for 4years now. I was going to get one however when I started looking for one I came across some baby cockatiels and when I went to see them the minute I set my eyes on them I saw my bird. I knew immediately that I'd found my bird. It's been almost a year and I love my noisy little man to bits. I've been wanting to get another bird so Mr Stark won't be so lonely when I'm out. I was so excited when I found this bird. I'd been wanting to get a bird that was being rehomed rather than a baby. I'm now counting down the days until I go pick up my new Aussie bird. He's coming with all his stuff so I don't have a cage to set up but I'm rearranging the furniture in my room in preparation!

[@BirdNerdSophie]

How exciting 🥰

[@kuyuke]

These are great, Sophie! My cockatiel really enjoys the egg carton foraging tray I made based on your other diy video! I think my favorite from this video is also the natural inspired tray! It is very pretty indeed! I do so wish easichick would sell in the US! Come on easichick, give us American bird owners a go 🤣

[@BirdNerdSophie]

It’s great to be able to reuse egg cartons for foraging! I don’t eat enough eggs to have enough boxes around so I though the full trays were so useful! And yes, come on easichick haha 😊

[@BobaTheBird]

Super helpful! I needed this!

[@BirdNerdSophie]

Glad it was helpful! 😊

[@cozymatcha11]

Just came here from your Bird Busy Mat video, and wanted to say thank you for sharing all the different tidbits that we can put on the trays! I am not the most creative person so this video was a huge help, thank you ^^

[@BirdNerdSophie]

Glad you found both videos useful 😁💙

[@american_woman]

Great ideas Sophie! Thank you! Also, my cockatiels love Qtips. They roll them around with their beaks and in their mouths and then expertly unroll them! I cut off the cotton tips. They also like the round cork trivets. I buy a 10- pack from IKEA. They shred them to death.

[@BirdNerdSophie]

Thanks for watching! And lol, cheeky tiels! 🥰

[@skayathewolf2956]

Awesome ideas!!! 😮

[@BirdNerdSophie]

Glad you like them! 😊

[@ParrotsOnWheels-Julia]

Love this Sophie!! Brilliant ideas, definitely will use the Easichick idea! Just to let others know, I find the paper plate one is fantastic for both inside and outside of the cage! I give them to my flock in their cages whenever I have to go out and leave them for a few hours, I change up what’s on the plate so they never know exactly what they’re looking for. 😊

[@BirdNerdSophie]

Thank you so much 💙😊 oh yes the tiels love paper plates in the cage with their dry mix on 🦜

[@anthropomorphicpeanut6160]

I got two lovebirds recently, this will be very useful! Also I love your cockatiels

[@BirdNerdSophie]

Ah thank you! I’m sure your cockatiels will love a foraging tray 😊

[@isabellabernal9307]

These are great! Just wondering where you get your mahogany pods, they’re very hard to find in the UK when they’re not in toys. Thanks!

[@BirdNerdSophie]

Thank you 😊 they’re all broken toy parts 😅 wish we could get them individually!

[@michellelawson3080]

I have two females who are hormonal right now. I’m having a hard time breaking it. I’m afraid that they are going to start laying eggs and since they’re only a year old it wouldn’t be safe. Might Timothy Hay or shredded paper in these foraging trays, encourage a hormonal reaction? Maybe if I just used a little bit of it? What do you think?

[@BirdNerdSophie]

Hey! I'd recommend checking out David @heparrotteacher 's hormones playlist to help to reduce this behaviour :)

[@waffle-yz8ns]

Hi Sophie! Sorry that this is a bit unrelated to this video right here, but I have an important matter I’d like to ask you about. My cockatiel is a seven-month-old male who appears to be molting for the first time right now as I have been seeing many feathers lying around his cage. However, as of recently he has not been as vocal as usual, and seems to be a little more sleepy, tired, and crankier than normal. I’ll admit, I have not been spending as much time with him recently as I have been very busy, so could he just be bored? Is this associated with his first molt? Or should I be concerned that he is ill? His appetite seems fine, and he is not sitting at the bottom of his cage, but he is perching more than normal, being quieter, and just generally seems either disinterested or cranky with me at different times of the day. PLEASE offer me any advice or suggestions as to what’s going on with him, he is my first cockatiel I’ve owned and I’m a bit lost.

[@kuyuke]

All of what you've described goes hand in hand with molting. Sophie and David have done a few videos on molting including how to help birds get through it. Try searching for birdnerdsophie and/or theparrotteacher molting Hth!

[@BirdNerdSophie]

Moulting is very tiring but if you are ever unsure, there’s no harm in a check up! And deffo check out my moulting video 😊

[@kate_is_great]

I just cannot get my Parrotlet to be interested in anything but ME! I know that sounds like a weird complaint, and he is VERY sweet. But I feel bad for him....and me lol. He insists on staying on my body constantly. He has lots of toys, play gyms, etc all around the room. I have even made a foraging tray and I set it on my lap so he might venture down, but no luck. He is only a year old so maybe he just needs to grow in confidence? Any help is greatly appreciated. OH and ALSO....I cannot target train him because I cannot get him to stay on a perch long enough, without him flying back to my shoulder or the top of my head.

[@BirdNerdSophie]

Try target training through the cage bars first 😊 creating an independent bird is quite complex so it’s usually something we only cover on our consultations but starting the treat training as above is a good start!

[@kwiiin_]

Is your parrot lonely? Then of couse he's fixated in you.

[@kate_is_great]

@@BirdNerdSophie thanks so much!

[@kate_is_great]

@@kwiiin_ how would I know? We are home with him all the time. It's not recommended that his species be housed with other birds because Parrotlets are territorial and aggressive towards other birds. 🤷‍♀️

[@braypreston]

Do you know where I can buy EasyChik bedding in the US?

[@BirdNerdSophie]

It’s not currently available in the US, but dust free unscented and untreated pine shavings for small animals would be fine!

[@jacquelinegalicia8066]

Hello sophie I have 3yr old dove that simply wont stop laying, shes layed 12 eggs in cluchets of 2 since march i feed her calcium and harrisons to keep up with her but i try to reduce her light hours by partially covering her but she simply continues any tips you have for this situation

[@BirdNerdSophie]

It might be worth issuing a black out blind in that room rather than covering as covering can sometimes increase hormonal behaviour! Make sure the food consistency isn’t mushy or warm, and get her moving and training more as a tired bird is less likely to show hormonal behaviour!

[@jacquelinegalicia8066]

@@BirdNerdSophie thank you! I'll keep note of that she only eats harrisons high potency as she is very picky and I find that removing eggs pushes her to lay more so she has them in her cage ill try the pitch black method you mentioned!

[@BirdNerdSophie]

@@jacquelinegalicia8066 you can also get fake dummy eggs - when she lays one egg, take it out and replace it with two fake eggs - can often stop them laying a huge clutch!

[@jenschuh8548]

I got my bird ate her food 🍱 🎉 green pepper 🫑 🫛 peas carrots

[@BirdNerdSophie]

That’s great!

[@GuyG.KTalesOfAnimals]

Be safe with craft papers and cardboard, for example watercolor paper is primed and is toxic- only use papers that are 100% nontoxic, dyed with non toxic dye, not primed, I feel like card-stock might also be primed but I am not as sure about it. food grade and children grade it the best bet.

[@BirdNerdSophie]

Stuff in the children’s craft section as long as it’s not shiny or glittery is perfectly safe, anything designed to use with food as long as it’s not shiny or glittery as well is also safe! 😊

[@GuyG.KTalesOfAnimals]

@BirdNerdSophie❣️ Just good to be aware that some primers are not shiny/you can’t see them or feel them on the surface, giving a sniff to the material might also be recommended!

[@GuyG.KTalesOfAnimals]

@@BirdNerdSophie If it a material traces of scent of any sort, don’t use it. Some primers will smell like Art materials, like School Glue, fumes like smell, a good craft/twine/paper/cardboard material shouldn’t have any distinct scent, some natural products will smell like the material itself (palm leaf disposables smell like palm leaf, woody material smells woody, and etc), sometimes natural products will be primed (for example sisal twine is often primed with mineral oil that smells a lot like School Glue), and it is good to keep it in mind.

[@BirdNerdSophie]

@@GuyG.KTalesOfAnimals oh absolutely, it’s like some cardboard has a gross fishy smell - definitely not to be used 😅