Ok we have an issue i lover her but dont want a birdie sitting on my dinner plate.

[Mikestang]

Shelby was doing really well staying on her stand and eating her food while i eat my food

but last few days she has been wanting to sit on my lap or help herself to my food.

 

but here is the real problem she will just fly down to the food and its not the best thing since

there are knives and forks around not to mention the food is hot.

 

So from now on untill i can figure out how to stop her she will sit in her cage for meal time.

I try to make sure i feed her before we all come in and sit down but its not working

 

tonight i gave her some treats while i had my ice cream and she was distracted.

[Shelly Yokum]

My b/g is the same way. I fix him his bowl of food and put it at one end of the table, and he will perch on the back of the chair and eat his food, while we eat ours. Then its cool and the utensils aren't close to him. He feels like part of the family. He thinks he is eating the same things we are, but sometimes he is and sometimes not, depending on what we are having. Sometimes he will examine the other plates and go back to his bowl.

I think its kind of cute.

[thenabrd]

this is what i do, so far (knock on wood) it seems to work. sometimes we're having something not so good for the birds, so, i bring in their bowls, already with their food in them, and then i make a "big show" of "fixing" their food. i use my fork or spoon and bang/scrape on my plate then bang/scrape on their bowls, all the while telling them "i'm fixing it" or "it has to cool off". they watch me do this and then when i put the bowls in their cage, they go after it! athena will give her happy squeak if she really likes it, and kallie just starts chowing down! they think they're getting what we're having, but when i do that, they're usually getting seeds/nuts/veggies/etc, something completely different than what we're having! "bribery" sometimes works!!

[rbpittman]

Awe, come one now, you're supposed to share!

 

I have the same problem with Beau - he wants to eat my dinner with me, only he likes to walk through the spaghetti.

 

Dixie likes to sit on Paul's shoulder and snatch food off his plate, decorating his shirt in the meantime.

 

We do feed them in their cages most of the time, simply because I can't have 7 parrots eating off my plate. There is the rare occasion that someone gets to eat "with" me, but that's usually just a snack and I don't mind sharing those.

 

Robin

[Luvparrots]

Ana Grey enjoys eating with me. I live alone so it's not a problem and it can be enjoyable for me as well. If I am having something she can eat, I just place some to the side of my plate and she sits on the table and eats it. She is good at eating only that which I have given as her portion. If I am eating something not for her, I just close the bird room door and she eats what is her cage, like the others do. Ana Grey does not walk on the bottom of her cage and she loves showers and baths so her feet are reasonably clean to walk on my table.

[katana600]

I do love to put some unseasoned, healthier fare off to one side to share with my birds while I am eating. Have you ever read the book "Give a mouse a cookie"? Well, in our case, give a bird a sample and she will take the whole plate and start guarding it. She goes into full attack mode at the mere suggestion that anyone else should get a bite before she has gleaned every morsel she chooses. So... she and Gil get fresh food in their dishes at dinner time. I do get up and share bits from my plate so they enjoy our flock time, but I save my table time for when I am home alone and give her a plate of her own and guard my own. She is just not a friendly little sharer.

[Talon]

I have 3 birds that eat dinner with us. I always fix a plate a few minutes ahead of time for my birds. Then when we sit down to eat, I can "offer" them a plate of cooled food. They still head for mine, but they have all been taught what HOT means. I continually tell them, "it's hot!". They my try a small bite, then quickly realize i wasn't lying, and then go off to their own plate.

My amazon will think nothing of walking across may plate, standing in my spaghetti, or gravy......it doesn't bother me, but I do make her get off. I'm trying to teach her NOT to stand on our food!

[judygram]

I do not allow my birds to walk thru my plate, after all there has to be some measure of decorum, they have their own bowls that I have given them some of what we are eating and some just for them but for some people if they allow their birds to eat from their plate then whatever works for them is fine. If you do not want your bird in your plate then you will have to set some boundaries and find the solution that works for you.

[munch]

It wasn't easy, they are just so cute! But, like judygram, wecdo not let the bird sit on us or with us (at the table) while we are eating. Took has tried flying to us while we were eating but we did not let her stay. We put her right back on her playstand/cage. She calls from there begging just like the dog sits and waits for anything to fall on the floor. But neither are allowed on the table or the plates. They will both get some treat in their bowl when we are done. (and yes, they both have food sitting in their bowls all the time)

[Ray P]

Each morning we have breakfast as a family and there is a plate at the table for each family member (hunans and birds)and they will always come over and check to see if we have anything differant. They don`t walk on our plates but they will sample what we have on our plates. This part of the day is our bonding time and we interact between us.

They eat with us for other meals but breakfast is special.

[Talon]

I will make it clear, that my Greys would NEVER stoop so low as to get there little feet dirty by walking on our plate.........but if you own an amazon, you will know, that FOOD is what they live for, and they don't care whose, what, why or how come...it's THEIRS to consume! Standing on your plate or not! I DO keep her off, she is learning and has only done it twice in the last month, so she is getting the idea....slowly.....it used to be all the time!

[Ray P]

Yah those zons do like to have their way when there is food. Cricket is good about not stepping on the plate but her beak is there.

[Dave007]

If I had this problem, I'd simply put them in the cage when we're eating. Actually, I don't have this problem but I still put them in their cages while eating.

[Azzie]

Occasionally Cleo gets to eat with me off my plate. It doesn't happen often, because she picks out the largest pieces, has a small nibble, and tosses the rest on the ground where the dog is happily waiting. She also picks out the bits she doesn't like and biffs those too. Having her own plate doesn't work, as she seems convinced that whatever is on my plate must be a lot better than what's on hers.

 

Most of the time she is in her cage when we eat, but she knows a small portion has been put aside for her (if it is something she is allowed to have). It goes into her special red treat bowl, and she goes beserk when she sees me handling it, because she knows what's coming. She knows the word "wait", when I put it aside to cool it down.

 

Still, it is a lot of fun to watch her pick over my plate and make a mess of things, and I am sure she is purposely feeding the dog, as those 2 get on very well.

[judygram]

Yeah because no one not even his greys are going to step in Dave's food!

[Dave007]

Actually, I don't find it appealing if one of them decides to take a dump on my gravy covered mashed potatos. Kinda hard to remove. The texture of the gravy changes a bit.

[Talon]

Actually, I don't find it appealing if one of them decides to take a dump on my gravy covered mashed potatos. Kinda hard to remove. The texture of the gravy changes a bit.

 

Never had that happen!! Actually, they are very good about not going during dinner, they prefer to wait, or fly to the back of an unused chair so it falls on the floor for me to clean up! How thoughtful of them....

 

I LOVE to have them at the table enjoying dinner with us. They get Breakfast every morning with me, and dinner most times, sometimes they are in their cage tho.

[Luvparrots]

Ana Grey never poops on me and has never messed on the table. She is quite a lady when it comes to dinner time. That is why she has this privilege of eating with me and I get to have a lunch/dinner partner!!

[Mikestang]

Thanks every one for your 2 cents and methods of eating around the bird

was fun giving her a bath trying to get the chicken gravy greese out of her

feathers and back...........

[Mikestang]

Just a quick update I have been trying the special treat in a special bowl method and its been working very well

Thanks for the advise. Ususally its something we are eating that is parrot safe last night was some hamburger and

3 unsalted french fries. Tonight was just some beans but still works well at snack time i been giving her some treats

too and so far no unwanted dinner guest!

[chezron]

When you think about it, in the bird world, they always share. I think it is kinda mean not to. I always fix more lunch than I will eat since I know a good portion will go to feeding the birds. If I give them their big portion first, I usually can sit down to eat with no interruption, as long as we are close together. There is something nice and family-like to eat nearby the birds and to make eye contact while enjoying food.