Bird is Anti-Treats?

[LuzrovRulay]

It's been a while since I've been here because things are going so well, but I've noticed an odd habit about my Pineapple Conure, Maple.

She's a very good bird. Very affectionate and very rarely, if ever, bites. In fact, the only two times she's bitten me in the year I've had her were times I accidentally startled her by reaching for her too fast.

Which brings me to a unique issue, but not really a problem -- she seems to have absolutely no interest in treats or any food I offer her by hand.

Sometimes she'll take it if I offer it long enough, but then she will immediately drop it and stare at me. I have noticed, however, that if I am eating and she finds what I'm eating interesting, she will poke at my mouth and sometimes pull my lower lip open (which is, admittedly, at least a little funny to watch and feel happen) and shove her head right inside my mouth.

The first time this happened, I admit, I just... sat there. I wasn't sure how to react to a bird with a sharp beak near my tongue and lips of all things eating some of my chewed bagel.

Of course, I had initially just assumed it was because she's very young -- she was barely a year old at that point. On April 1st (ha) she will officially be 2 years old.

However, she still does't take treats, but will still try eat from my mouth. Now, I have discovered if I just take a small piece of chewed food out and offer it by hand, she will eat it. (This is one of many things I've tried.)

I've tried yogurt covered treats, small ones, larger ones, dried fruits, fresh fruits... everything I could think of that previous birds in my house would eat - but not this girl.

She was about...4-6 months old when I first adopted her (I'm drawing a blank exactly how old.) Hand-fed, I believe as well. She doesn't perform any action to me that would suggest she sees me as a mate (no rear-end presenting, none of the common "dances" that birds do.) She seems to love nothing more than just curling up under my chin and chilling. So I'm wondering if, maybe, see sees me as "mom" and that's just how she "wants" to be fed treats?

Does anyone have any suggestions? I've also tried presenting them to her in the palm of my hand, in her food bowl so she could associate them with food, and with just placing them on the floor in front of her. But unless it's something being held by my mouth or briefly been in my mouth, she won't take the treat.

(I do want to stress she is eating her own food normally, so this isn't something I have to do on the daily.)

This must sound so bizarre, but I figured this was one of the best places to ask. Any suggestions??? Is it *okay* if I let her steal a nibble of bird-safe food once in a while? I'm a little lost on how to offer her treats when she just does't seem interested unless it's given to her a specific way.

 

[EllenD]

LOL, this isn't bizarre at all...Welcome to owning a Green Cheek, or a parrot in-general!!! I'd say that every Green Cheek owner on this forum regularly has them trying to pull food right out of their mouths. Mine actually takes his foot and grabs my ear with it, then he takes his beak and scrapes it down the side of my cheek, and when that doesn't work he finally tries to stick his head inside my mouth. That's just what they do...And Bowie also doesn't show much interest in people-food unless I'm eating it at the same time (Monkey-See, Monkey-Do with Flock-Animals), and they do prefer it if you've chewed it up because it's just like what they do with other birds, what their mother did to them, etc. Totally normal behavior...

HOWEVER, you don't EVER want to feed your bird ANYTHING that has been inside of your mouth, out of your mouth, or let him put his open beak/mouth on your lips or tongue, etc. because we have all kinds of harmful Bacteria and Fungi inside of our mouths that can make our birds extremely sick with bacterial, fungal, and even viral infections of their mouths, Crops, and GI Tracts, and some that can even kill them. So while they love for use to feed them right from our mouths or give them food we've already chewed-up for them, you just can't risk it. And because all birds possess a natural, innate survival-instinct that makes them hide any outward signs and symptoms of illness for as long as they can, sometimes for months and months, by the time we notice that they're sick it's often too late to help them, even with an Avian Vet, antibiotics, etc. So you just cannot continue to feed him any food that has your saliva on it, no allow his mouth/beak anywhere near your saliva. Period.

Otherwise his behavior is totally normal, and if you can figure out a way to stop them from doing it, please let me know, because Bowie drives me absolutely insane, as does my Quaker Parrot Lita. They both try their best to grab whatever I'm eating out of my mouth. Sometimes if what I'm eating is good enough they'll eat pieces of it that haven't been in my mouth, and that keeps them occupied while I'm eating. But typically they just have to be mad at me because they aren't allowed on my shoulder or anywhere else on me while I'm eating...That's really the only way to stop it...

 

[LuzrovRulay]

I'm wondering if, maybe, I used a fork and a little water to crush up whatever I happen to be eating at the time and put it on a napkin for her and like... pretend I chewed it (maybe nuking it for like... 8 seconds, just enough to get like... mouth-warm) she'l go for it. I could even bend over and just... pretend I spit it out.

Who knows, maybe she'll go for that. I'll get back to you after I've tried it.

 

[SassiBird]

Yes, monkey-see-monkey-do. Think about it. If you were in a foreign land would you eat a strange fruit or wait to see if some someone else ate it first. They want to know it's safe. They also don't want it shoved in their face. For some reason, green cheeks like it better if they can steal it. Try "accidentally" dropping a little, and ignore them while they figure out how to get it. Once they get a taste for it, they'll take if from you're hand.

 

[KiwiDaConure97]

Birds are kinda like people and have preferences I’ve seen, my gcc actually won’t eat certain foods because he doesn’t like the taste of them. Take my birds baths for example. The bowl NEEDS to be on the kitchen floor, lukewarm or else he won’t bathe, he also doesn’t like oranges but likes to take a orange slice, bite into it, and hold it in his beak licking the orange juice out of it. I’ll find dry oranges whenever he’s done with them and it’s oretty gross. Also, my bird does that too, whatever I’m eating he has to eat too. There was once I was eating buttered popcorn snd he wanted some so I let him take a single bite, but that was a mistake because he now loves popcorn and no will do anything he needs to do for it. If I’m eating popcorn and he’s out of his cage he will run up to the bowl, take a whole piece of popcorn in his beak and run away, he also will move his head away from my hand so I can’t take the food from him. So yeah if your bird doesn’t like eating from your hand then just leave it, that’s what I would do, but if you don’t like it then try some of the stuff some other people will say here. I’m not a parrot expert, I only know a certain amount of info about parrots (I didnmy research before getting my bird so I’m not an idiot) but the people on here are experts and you’ll find someone who knows what to do eventually.

 

[SunnyGirl]

and this is the reason I avoid eating anything when Sunny is out of her cage her begging for food is super cute but half the bird in my mouth trying to get to the cookie sadly not so much XD