Conure food aggression /"people food" aggression

[clark_conure]

I normally do a search on the boards first but with the word "agression and food" yeah......

So Clark pretty much gets to do whatever he wants he's a safe bird (read sometimes tentative) and doesn't get into trouble so I don't micromanage. Usually when I'm home he's just on me.

Over the years he's used to eating what I eat when he's on me, sometimes it's fruits, sometimes it's lasagna or burgers, pizza chicken whatever....(usually the bread or crust or noodle, etc.).

The last months or so he has been testing his limits...he'll do this thing sometimes like if I am literally holding up a strawberry for him to munch on and I turn my head he will let out a grr-chirp. Like its in my hand, I could just literally drop it, or lower my hand.

Anyways I thought it was cute so I never really worried about it. He never bit.

Then the other day I was making this "super burger" (three types of meat, two types of cheese, toasted bread, etc.) I make from scratch and we were in the upstairs kitchen. When I brought out the cheese he got excited and gave me a HARD bite on the upper earlobe. I mean not blood drawing but not play fight and he CERTAINLY wanted to convey that the cheese should be his and not waiting on the plate for future burger assembly.

SO that invoked an immediate TIME OUT....and he recalled what a time out was, he's super bonded so it's very effective.

SO obviously I encouraged his behavior to some degree, and it IS MY FAULT, I am self aware enough to know i sort of made this happen, but is this something he might repeat? And is there an expert/experience individual with a similar circumstance to turn around stingy behavior back to sharing behavior. I've always thought about a 2nd bird but if he's like this...How could I trust him with a younger or just as worse....Stronger bird that won't put up with that behavior.




Thanks for any advice.

 

[Sunnyclover]

He may or may not repeat it. It's hard to say. Sometimes my birds will do a horrible behavior just once and then never do it again or they'll do something over and over and over. Maybe try to simulate the same situation and see what happens. Also perhaps don't feed him that kind of stuff as much if possible because it's not very good for him AT ALL. Just a thought.

 

[LordTriggs]

they'll always find a way to turn something you do into a thing that works on their terms

all I can really say is keep doing as you did last night, don't allow him to demand stuff and instead let it be given as a treat/reward. He has to earn it, not demand that it's his and if he demands he gets told off

 

[clark_conure]

Oh come on sunnyclover it's usually the bread and noodles it's not like I'm feeding him raw hamburger meat and steroids....I can't help it that he'd murder me in my sleep for cheese.

And it's not bad for him... I've gone down that post before and cited vet sources...most the moderators on here talk about how much parrots love hard cheese (not soft cheese that can be bad, don't feed a bird cheese whiz or that garbage).

Also he gets like a 3-4mm by 3-4mm piece at the most. a tiny square I don't lay out entire cheese slices for him, its a treat.

 

[Sunnyclover]

Well I give my birds bread and stuff like that sometimes but you made it sound like it was a daily occurrence every meal you eat. If that's not the case then it's probably fine lol. I was just thinking he might try to rely on that as a stable part of his diet and that's why he acted that way.

 

[LordTriggs]

hey at least Clarke is well behaved enough he doesn't have to be locked away every time you cook due to him wanting to dive head first into whatever is being served that day!

 

[Sunnyclover]

At least Clark doesn't scream bloody murder every time you turn the stove on or go near it lol...yes I'm talking to you Ollie.

 

[clark_conure]

no sunny it's like once a day sometimes he misses dinner, say three four times a week. and he just enjoys the communal feeding time more than anything I think. The recent NIP was just him saying he wanted his piece early.

 

[clark_conure]

Oh I use a george foreman grill once I saw that horrible scene in interview with a vampire with the parrot when they burn the plantation, I won't allow clark near any open flame.

 

[Sunnyclover]

Yeah I think that's fine. Some people feed their birds like whole meals from human food and I'm not a fan but if it's just once a day it really doesn't matter. Lucky for me Ollie is the only one who wants to eat bread or anything human food wise so I don't deal with this that often. He'll hop onto my shoulder and try to take it right from my mouth which is alarming at times.

 

[Sunnyclover]

Oh I use a george foreman grill once I saw that horrible scene in interview with a vampire with the parrot when they burn the plantation, I won't allow clark near any open flame.

I have a question...isn't a GFG with Teflon? I haven't gotten or because I thought it was. Hmm. Would like more information on that.

We have an induction stove top so there is no open flame and the burners aren't even hot to the touch,!

 

[clark_conure]

Um, brb google. So far not an issue but....(oh sh** maybe?) brb

 

[clark_conure]

So apperently my grill is UNSAFE. Fortunately for me I have two sections of my house and I'd set turn it on set a timer and go downstairs then come up unplug it and grab the meat with a plastic fork.

But my search has led to safer solutions so I will go and purchase that now. ZOMG thank you for the heads up sunnyclover. If I had actually been an attentive cook clark might have fallen ill or worse! Also I just hijacked my own G.D. thread.

 

[clark_conure]

so ceramic is safe right?

Buy?

 

[Sunnyclover]

Yes I believe that is safe. However, when you get it please make sure the inside where the plates come out isn't Teflon.. sometimes they stick in there for good measure.

I had a BIG feeling the GFG was Teflon because my husband and I got rid of ours when we got Ollie.

Glad I was able to help! Yay.

 

[clark_conure]

Your my hero!

also that problem ...solved.

additionally that one less appliance I may have to eventually clean.

Any other takers on the original post are still welcome!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ChristaNL]

Teaching boundries (esp when it comes to your own safety ot the birds) is never a bad thing.
So you did great.
Birdy crossed the line - Birdy gets called on it.
simple.


You did a good thing afaik.



Appie is the same...she came here used to get her way when it comes to people foods, she would actually go dumpsterdiving in my mouth if only I would let her!


Not her fault (nor mine, I did not raise her - with 7+ previous owners it is hard to find someone to blame) but she had to learn the behaviours of this flock.
So sometimes she can stare all she want and (unless she manages teleportation) she is out of luck and other times I do not mind sharing (usually when it is parrotsafe to eat).

 

[EllenD]

Yes, George Foreman Grills are all Teflon!!!!!!! You have been extremely lucky, because I know at least one person who posted on this forum who lost their bird due to a GFG...I think typically they aren't used at a high-temperature, and that's why you've probably gotten away with it, but yeah, please stop using it, as your luck will eventually run out...

I'm quite certain that this is a Green Cheek thing, because you describe Clark as being my Bowie's twin, lol. If I'm home, he's stuck to me, that's just a given, and when I'm eating something and he wants some of it, which is always, he makes a specific noise that sounds like a very playful growl along with a sound that can only be described as the exact sound that Tim Taylor made on "Home Improvement", that "arrroo" noise, and then if I don't immediately give him a piece of it, he typically either just tried to take it right out of my mouth, or he nips my ear (or drinking something, specifically any type of juice or Gatorade, so "colored drinks" that look like fruit juice)...Bowie has no boundaries when it comes to me, and yes, it's my fault, I am well aware...

I managed to curb both his nipping and the taking the food right out of my mouth by doing the "Shunning Method", as he cannot stand to not be on me...I'll tell him "No!" or "No Bites!", depending on what it is that he's done, and put him right down on the floor, and then totally ignore him. He can't stand it, he starts out by looking around and making his little "clicking" noise, along with the Tim Taylor "grunt" again, as if to say "What, me? Did I do something wrong?...Aroo?". Little jerk...Then when I don't pay any attention to him or pick him back up, instead of just flying back up to me, he will climb up from the floor, get right in front of me, and then he stops right before he's touching me and just looks at me with that stare, that stare with his neck stretched-out like E.T., eyes wide, like "Hey, I'm here again. Hello? Okay, I get it. It's over. I'm going to climb up onto you again. It's okay, right? Okay, here I come.", and then he starts climbing up me again...So I don't say anything, i just grab him and put him right back down on the floor, and again he'll climb up close to me and start making that Tim Taylor grunt again, like he's asking me if it's okay..."Aroo?" He's a little con-man is what he is, he knows that I can't stand to have him sitting there whining at me for attention...

Eventually he got the point, I'm pretty sure he got the point long before he stopped doing it, he just didn't care. But eventually he got tired of being put down on the floor, because he realized that if he was just patient and waited until I was done, I'd then give him something. So basically that's how I reward his patience, when he just sits on my shoulder and doesn't nip me or try to steal the food right out of my mouth, and he waits until I'm done, he'll then get a treat...Of course he sits and stares at me the entire time that I'm eating or drinking, like at any time he's going to attach himself to my face at any moment, just staring me down and breaking my will, but I can handle that if he's not biting my lips (he's actually tried to put his head INSIDE of my mouth before when I wasn't paying attention, he has no problem doing that)...

Velcro-Birds indeed...

 

[clark_conure]

yeah the "time out" method or otherwise known as shunning method is a no brainer. When New owners come on and the bird is already bonded to some degree....me and Lordtriggs, flyboy, kiwibird, pilaf, etc. et al. are like seriously just do this it takes like max five times, at most a day and the bird will never bite (hard) again...

I just wasn't on the last few months so you didn't notice the constant 'same advice'. For non bonded birds theres other methods but building the bond is the first key, ie foot in the door. after that you can teach anything.

Clark also grunts, I mean he talks and does use words in proper context, the 5-7 words he knows, ("i love you" for scratchy time, "come on" for come here or lets go, etc.) but when he doesn't use the words it's a grrnt grrnt grnt Usually, I can figure out what he's on about.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Oh come on sunnyclover it's usually the bread and noodles it's not like I'm feeding him raw hamburger meat and steroids....I can't help it that he'd murder me in my sleep for cheese.

And it's not bad for him... I've gone down that post before and cited vet sources...most the moderators on here talk about how much parrots love hard cheese (not soft cheese that can be bad, don't feed a bird cheese whiz or that garbage).

Also he gets like a 3-4mm by 3-4mm piece at the most. a tiny square I don't lay out entire cheese slices for him, its a treat.

Amy and BB get bits of melted cheese in their scrambled eggs...WHEN they get eggs! Calcium and all that stuff. As even OUR doctors tell us..in MODERATION!


Jim