Foraging opportunity and increased physical complexity both prevent and reduce psychogenic feather picking by young Amazon parrots

Meehan, Cheryl L.; Millam, James R.; Mench, Joy A.

doi:10.1016/s0168-1591(02)00192-2

Cited by 104 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Keiper, 1969;Mason and Mendl, 1997;Huber-Eicher and Wechsler, 1998;Meehan et al, 2003;Lumeij and Hommers, 2008). Moreover, the type of stereotypy displayed may indicate which type of behaviour cannot be expressed sufficiently in the confined situation (Mason and Mendl, 1997), and thus also indicate which type of enrichment may be most successful in combating the problem.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Oral stereotypies and feather damaging behaviour, on the other hand, may benefit more from enrichments that increase the time spent on procurement, manipulation and consumption of food. Although some studies have demonstrated the effect of foraging devices and destructible items on the reduction of feather damaging behaviour and oral stereotypies in parrots (Meehan et al, 2003;Lumeij and Hommers, 2008), further studies are needed to evaluate whether different foraging enrichments indeed exert a different effect on reduction of stereotypies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a consequence of the inability to carry out this species-specific behaviour, welfare may be reduced and abnormal repetitive behaviours may arise (Rushen et al, 1993;Mason and Mendl, 1997), including oral stereotypies (e.g., wire chewing, tongue playing, food manipulation or dribbling) and feather damaging behaviour, also referred to as feather picking, feather plucking or pterotillomania (Meehan et al, 2003(Meehan et al, , 2004Lumeij and Hommers, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Foraging enrichment in particular appears to be among the most effective measures (Crocket, 1998;Miller and Mench, 2005;Dixon et al, 2010) as the provision of foraging opportunities in captivity was found to 1) increase activity; 2) provide cognitive stimulation and manipulative activities; 3) alleviate stress, frustration and boredom; and 4) reduce and prevent aggression, and abnormal repetitive behaviours, including stereotypies (Bloomsmith et al, 1988;Shepherdson et al, 1993;Spoolder et al, 1995;Baker, 1997;Aerni et al, 2000;Bashaw et al, 2003;Johnson et al, 2004;Honess and Marin, 2006;VargasAshby and Pankhurst, 2007;Brinch-Riber and Mench, 2008). In parrots, provision of foraging enrichments has been associated with positive behavioural changes and welfare effects (Coulton et al, 1997;van Hoek and King, 1997;Meehan et al, 2003Meehan et al, , 2004Elson and Marples, 2001;Lumeij and Hommers, 2008). The development of feather damaging behaviour and stereotypies in Amazon parrots, for example, could significantly be reduced by increasing the physical complexity of the environment and providing parrots with foraging devices (Meehan et al, 2003(Meehan et al, , 2004.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In parrots, provision of foraging enrichments has been associated with positive behavioural changes and welfare effects (Coulton et al, 1997;van Hoek and King, 1997;Meehan et al, 2003Meehan et al, , 2004Elson and Marples, 2001;Lumeij and Hommers, 2008). The development of feather damaging behaviour and stereotypies in Amazon parrots, for example, could significantly be reduced by increasing the physical complexity of the environment and providing parrots with foraging devices (Meehan et al, 2003(Meehan et al, , 2004. In addition, foraging enrichment was found to improve feather score and foraging time in Grey parrots (Lumeij and Hommers, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Efficacy of foraging enrichments to increase foraging time in Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus erithacus)

Zeeland

Schoemaker

Ravesteijn

et al. 2013

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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a b s t r a c tForaging enrichment is considered one of the most effective strategies to improve welfare and reduce stereotypies and other abnormal repetitive behaviours in captive animals, including parrots. Few studies, however, have investigated the effects of the different types of enrichment and determined their effect on increasing foraging times and foraging-related activities.To study the effect of different types of enrichment on foraging activity, eleven types of foraging enrichment [multiple bowls, mixing food with inedible items, larger-sized food particles, and 8 puzzle feeders] were tested in 12 Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus erithacus). After acclimatization and assessment of baseline foraging times, enrichments were presented in a random order. Video recordings were used to analyze total foraging times and times spent on the different foraging activities. In addition, the frequencies and duration of foraging bouts, and the times at which they occurred, were determined. The learning curves and presence of habituation to the enrichment over a 1-week period were also assessed.Parrots needed 8.3 ± 1.1 days to learn how to use the foraging enrichments. For two of the puzzle feeders, it took considerably longer. Nine out of eleven foraging enrichments were able to significantly increase foraging times, with the most effective enrichments resulting in a 2-to 2.5-fold increase compared to baseline values (47 ± 18 min). The increases in time spent on foraging could be attributed to an increased amount of time spent on enrichmentrelated activities and/or an increased amount of time spent on food-related activities. None of the enrichments (including the use of multiple bowls in different locations) resulted in significant increases in time spent on locomotory behaviours (i.e. movement towards or away from the feeding site). No significant downwards trends in foraging times were observed over the 1-week observation period. The duration of the observations may, however, have been too short to demonstrate habituation effects.Results of this study show that distinct differences are present in the difficulty level, efficacy and time allocation, thereby affecting the choice for a particular foraging enrichment. Although most of the foraging enrichments were able to significantly increase foraging time, none of the enrichments were able to increase foraging times to levels comparable with that of wild conspecifics (i.e. 4-6 hours per day). New, more effective types of foraging enrichment should therefore be developed and tested.

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