Contrafreeloading Indicating the Behavioural Need to Forage in Healthy and Feather Damaging Grey Parrots
Contrafreeloading (CFL) is a concept that describes the preference of an animal to work for food even when identical food is freely available, and reflects an intrinsic motivation to engage in foraging-related activities. However, altered brain neurochemistry, which can be induced by chronic exposure to a suboptimal living environment, may affect this intrinsic motivation in […]
Psittacine diets and behavioral enrichment
The feeding behavior of wild and captive parrots is reviewed and discussed, and the behavioral aspects of captive parrot feeding methods are compared. The results of a simple study offering parrots seed in addition to a formulated diet are summarized, and the use and construction of some simple feeder puzzles and enrichment devices or methods […]
Feather damaging behaviour in parrots: A review with consideration of comparative aspects
Feather damaging behaviour (also referred to as feather picking or feather plucking) is a behavioural disorder that is frequently encountered in captive parrots. This disorder has many characteristics that are similar to trichotillomania, an impulse control disorder in humans. Unfortunately, to date much of the information regarding the aetiology and treatment in both syndromes is […]