Not accepting treats

[Green4]

My parrot won't accept treats from me. When ever I offer a treat, he will snatch it out of my hand with his beak and then toss the treat on the floor. I don't know why he does this.
I don't want it to be a game because he does this over and over and over again. i want him to accept treats in order to teach him tricks. Any ideas on how to fix this? Thanks guys.

 

[MollyGreenCheeks]

Please give some details about your bird ie, name, species, sex (if known), age, how long have you had him, what do you feed him, does anyone else in your family engage with him, any other issues/problems.

 

[Green4]

He or she is an Indian ringneck name Lou. I'm not sure how old Lou is but I've had him for a little over a year. He eats chopped apples coated with crushed pellets for breakfast. I crush the pellets into a fine powder by putting some into a ziplock bag and then going over it with a rolling pin. I'm trying to get him to eat pellets. So far it is working he is actually going into the pellet dish with the whole pellets and munching on them. Thought the day he has access to parrot mix and a separate bowl of peanuts. He goes nuts for peanuts lol. He like to take them one by one, climb to the highest perch, shell the peanuts, toss out the shell and eat the nuts. He also gets kale and a special fruit everyday.

I've tried chopped peanuts, sunflower seeds, popcorn, apple slices anything that I can think of and he will just take it from my fingers and toss it onto the floor or sometimes bites my fingers.

As for the rest of the family, no one else handles him because he's a biter. He will attack. He has gone passed the bluffing stage and right to the attack. He has attack me many many times. About 3 or 4 times a week he will attack me for whatever reason, almost always leaving me withs bloody hand. Once he's out the cage he's fine but no one else in my family trusts him. There's something special about him and that's why I like him. He has his moments of beng nice. We watch tv a lot and i can pet him. Also I have thought him a few tricks by saying, " good boy".

How do I get him to take treats from me and actually eat it. Or is he that bird that just doesn't like treats?

 

[MikeyTN]

First of all, you shouldn't offer treats in his bowl at all times!!!! IF you offer him at all times, what's the point? He sees in his bowls already, he knows he'll get some regardless if he gets it from your hand or not. Plus giving him those excess treats is NOT good for his health. Since he is eating pellets, probably is best for you to remove the seeds completely, then put pellets in one bowl all day long then feed fruits and veggies in the morning. Then when it comes to treat time, offer it from your hand! I hope you have read about the issues peanuts can cause. I'm not opposing to give peanuts cause I know birds goes nuts over them. But please do read up on it to give you an understanding on what can potentially happen if your willing to take the risk.

 

[antoinette]

When Mishka my African Grey refused to take a treat, I placed the treat in my mouth, and he willingly took it.
When ever offering him something new to eat, I do the same.
Mishka is a very placid, calm bird, I am fortunate to offer treats from my mouth.

Be careful though, you do not want to be bitten on the mouth

 

[Green4]

Wait what is it about peanuts?
Is it bad for them? I give Lou the same peanuts that I eat. It has the shells on , unsaulted peanuts that I get from the grocery store. I'm not sure what brand but I get it in a dark green pack.

 

[Oedipussrex]

Its just that many nuts, -with peanuts in particular- are very fatty, and if fed in excess can lead to liver (and other internal) problems. They sure do go for them though XD
- there is also a completely separate debate about shelled peanuts, and that even human grade ones have a risk of containing mould, and you wouldn't know about it until your bird had shelled it and eaten some...

It is best to have very small chopped (insert treat of your birds choice) treats for training, because then you are not spending half the training session waiting them to stop eating the last treat, and they also aren't getting a heap of treats just from training each day.

Removing them from the cage so they really do become a special treat that must be earned, like MikeyTN said might work. (after he gets over the dissapointment/anger of not getting his free peanuts anymore of course )

 

[MaraWentz]

Another major problem with nuts is that mold can get in the shell which is fatal for a bird. I would invest in some chopped peanuts to be safe and that allows for no mold and smaller portion sizes, so he doesn't get too much fat. Personally I think the fattier a food is the better treat it makes, just make sure that you give it in small portions. And I agree, leave pellets all day, serve fresh food through out the day, and nevr put anything you're using as a treat in a food dish. It's like putting a cake next to a hot dog and broccoli on a childs plate.

Oh and if you take the advice about putting a threat between your lips or in your mouth be sure to be careful, because stitches arena likely outcome and human saliva is toxic to birds.

 

[MaraWentz]

Its just that many nuts, -with peanuts in particular- are very fatty, and if fed in excess can lead to liver (and other internal) problems. They sure do go for them though XD
- there is also a completely separate debate about shelled peanuts, and that even human grade ones have a risk of containing mould, and you wouldn't know about it until your bird had shelled it and eaten some...

It is best to have very small chopped (insert treat of your birds choice) treats for training, because then you are not spending half the training session waiting them to stop eating the last treat, and they also aren't getting a heap of treats just from training each day.

Removing them from the cage so they really do become a special treat that must be earned, like MikeyTN said might work. (after he gets over the dissapointment/anger of not getting his free peanuts anymore of course )

Lol sorry! I just near about repeated everything you did!