Question about begging by name

[misskale]

Hiya!

This is my first post on a bird forum, but this seems to be the one I come back to the most when I've been searching for any answers to bird owning questions. I checked around on the boards before posting this question, but I've come up with a problem behavior that's more annoying than anything else but didn't seem to be similar to ones I found.

I have a blue crown conure, Bertie, who is going to be 2 in May.

He's a really good talker and that's been fun, but, recently he's started occasionally begging for food by name. Specifically saying "Want papaya", "Bertie want some papaya" and "Give Bertie papaya." I've tried giving him other things when he begs because I know he shouldn't have too much fat or sugar. But even when he loves green beans as treats otherwise if he's asking for papaya he won't even eat other fruit. He pushes it away and says "No papaya!" and grumbles. He stops begging like that if he gets papaya, but I don't want to have to give in to it every time.

Any suggestions?

 

[MonicaMc]

He sounds like Alex the Grey! lol

Short of trying to find a similar colored and textured fruit, it sounds as if you have one stubborn, but smart little blue crown!

What about berries? Mango? Other vegetables? Sprouted seeds? Maybe something else he may enjoy? Unless he's a picky bird! Then I can see how that would be more difficult! LOL

 

[BillsBirds]

How about giving him a very small piece of papaya when he asks. Then offer something else, and make it into a game with him. He must be very smart to know what he wants, ask for it, and refuse other things. Try to work with that and stimulate his brain further.

 

[SandyBee]

I like Bills idea.
look at the bright side at least he can tell you what he wants, and he knows what he lies. Saves a lot of guess work.

 

[tokensmom]

Wow...wish i had a suggestion for u. Im glad i came across your post though, as my boyfriend wants our green cheek to ask for things by name, I said NO WAY...it would be worse than a toddler in the grocery store.

 

[sodakat]

When Maui, CAG, was alive she asked for watermellon, yogurt, spaghetti and many other foods. These were things she learned at her previous home when the couple were talking to their toddler. When a bird says every syllable in "watermellon" believe me I want to give that bird watermellon. Most times Maui didn't really want it.

Now Sully, one of my Eclectus boys, came to me asking for and frequently talking about crackers. Obviously he isn't going to get that wish granted very often. I learned that he is talking about a Ritz cracker in particular. When he gets a tiny bit of that he'll say "cracker!" in a very loud voice. Saltines don't excite him.

 

[misskale]

Good suggestions.

He likes other foods for snacks: broccoli, star anise, bananas, kale, chard, chilis, pomegranate seeds, blueberries, greenbeans, safflower seeds, sunflower seeds, unshelled pine nuts and carrot greens. Him liking a lot of different foods is the one benefit of the first command I was able to teach him being "try it." It means he at least will try a new food when I give it to him.

Papaya is the only one he'll ask for though he knows the difference between the others. He also usually will only want one piece of papaya, I just don't want it to turn into more pieces. Mango was actually what I tried yesterday, he tried some and pushed it away saying "No papaya".

Though, papaya is also the only one he food doesn't go "Oh boy!" for. I wonder if it's because it's the one that we consistently have available.

In terms of working on his brain, he knows his colors pretty well and we've been working with him on the stacking rings. We also watch Gilbert and Sullivan with him which he likes. He likes watching or listening to things where people talk very quickly. I've also been trying to get him to learn categories. So: toy, girl, boy, treat, ring, stick.

He does definitely seem to know what he wants though. I found it was amazing how many nips went away (and he wasn't a big nipper to start with) once he learned to say "Don't wanna".

 

[misskale]

My two most recent videos of Bertie.

He actually did push the record dot in this first one to stop it.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SqPMJmj0tV0"]Bertie gives kisses - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gXRGe7WvoyY"]Bertie is a pirate king - YouTube[/ame]