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If you have a pet, you probably own tons of them: toys. We buy them for our companion animals to stimulate exercise, to cognitively challenge them, or to stimulate natural behavior. But are we giving the right toys to satisfy the behavioral needs of our pets? This is what Mandy Beekmans wants to find out. Originally a Biology student, she now is a PhD candidate at the faculty of Veterinary Medicine. She studies the foraging behavior of Grey parrots, which is the process of searching and obtaining food resources.

‘There are many challenges when it comes to unravelling the behavioral needs of animals such as parrots’, Mandy points out. ‘While it is known that many parrot species are prone to develop behavioral abnormalities like feather-damaging behavior, it is not entirely known what the causes for this abnormal behavior are. There is evidence that it may have to do with a lack of foraging opportunities’.

While it is known that many parrot species are prone to develop behavioral abnormalities like feather-damaging behavior, it is not entirely known what the causes for this abnormal behavior are.

This is where Mandy’s research steps in: her study focuses on exploring new possibilities to extend the foraging activities of captive parrots. She does this by developing food puzzles in which both the appetitive (searching and obtaining food) and consumptive (manipulation and consumption of food) phase of foraging behavior are stimulated. Her PhD project is part of a larger study on feather damaging behavior and welfare of captive parrots, led by Dr. Yvonne van Zeeland.

You would think that toys such as food puzzles are already available at the pet store. However, randomly giving toys to parrots does not necessarily mean their behavioral needs are met. Parrots are not domesticated like dogs or cats; they still share many similarities with their wild conspecifics. Also, given their intelligence and social nature, they have more complex behavioral needs that can be hard to meet for a parrot owner. Mandy’s research will help to better understand behavioral needs when it comes to foraging behavior, thereby finding out in which way to best stimulate this behavior in captivity.

Though not yet conclusive, preliminary results seem promising. The newly developed food puzzle significantly increases foraging times in the studied parrots. Using the puzzle, the parrots foraged for almost as long as their wild counterparts. The next question, of course, will be to find out whether this new puzzle truly satisfies their behavioral needs and makes them happy. Mandy is therefore currently testing whether existing methods designed to evaluate the emotional states of animals are also useful in parrots.

After all, in the end we want the parrots to really enjoy and benefit from the puzzles we give them.

Perhaps in a few years, Mandy’s food puzzles can be found at the pet store. ‘However, we first need to establish whether the puzzles are effective at reducing abnormal behavior, and if they indeed have a positive effect on the parrots’ behavior and wellbeing’, Mandy says. ‘After all, in the end we want the parrots to really enjoy and benefit from the puzzles we give them’.

Would you like to find out more about this project? Check out their .