Does your bird go for coffee?

Betrisher

Well-known member
Jun 3, 2013
4,253
177
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Parrots
Dominic: Galah(RIP: 1981-2018); The Lovies: Four Blue Masked Lovebirds; Barney and Madge (The Beaks): Alexandrines; Miss Rosetta Stone: Little Corella
Early on, I found my Beaks love to share a drink of water with me. They'll perch either on my hand or on the rim of the glass and have a good old drink. Then, they'll shake water all over us and fly off squawking happily. I've found this so cute, I've encouraged it.

Well, the other day the kids and I were playing with the Beaks when my son said 'How about a cup of coffee?' Not thinking of possible consequences, we all agreed to have a cuppa and he made us one.

The Beaks went ballistic! The pair of them went for the coffee mugs like dive-bombers and all they wanted to do was dip their beaks in and get at the brown coffee. It made drinking the coffee quite interesting because as soon as you took your hand off the mug, you'd have a bird right there, poking its beak in! It was the strangest thing! I've never seen the Beaks so animated as they were trying to get coffee.

I filled a spare mug with water, thinking they'd be happy to be distracted by that. Nope! All they wanted was the coffee. When my mug was empty, Barney stuck his head right in and actually licked at the bottom with his tongue.

Last night, they did it again, only not quite so violently. I actually allowed Barney to dip his bill into the coffee once it was cooled down, thinking he'd be put off by the flavour but he seemed to like the stuff and came back for more.

So, my question is, does anyone else's bird like coffee and why might this be?

PS. Since then, Barney has actually been displaying to my coffee mug whenever he sees it on the sink. He eye-pins and does his little courting dance from side to side, then he screams at it and flies off squawking. Is therapy in order???
 
OP
Betrisher

Betrisher

Well-known member
Jun 3, 2013
4,253
177
Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Parrots
Dominic: Galah(RIP: 1981-2018); The Lovies: Four Blue Masked Lovebirds; Barney and Madge (The Beaks): Alexandrines; Miss Rosetta Stone: Little Corella
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #2
Sorry to reply to my own post, but I thought I should add that on no account would I allow the Beaks to actually drink coffee! I just set out to see what they wanted to do and now I know they'll be kept quite away from all caffeinated beverages!
 

MikeyTN

New member
Feb 1, 2011
13,296
17
Antioch, TN
Parrots
"Willie"&"Lola"B&G Macaw,
"Dixie"LSC2, and "Nico" Scarlet Macaw.
Yes birds like coffee but the caffeine is not good for them what so ever so think twice before giving to them again but moderation is ok. ;)
 

Mayden

New member
Apr 22, 2010
2,540
12
UK.
Parrots
Merlin & Charlie (Senegals)
You both beat me to it! Caffeine is bad for birdies, so things like Cola, Coffee etc are all off limits!

I drink decaffe, so worry a little less if I get the stray beak in my drink, but I still wouldn't encourage it. Although ours birds/pets are generally free to have a 'tiny taste' of what we're drinking as long as it's not carbonated, or has caffeine in it.

A lot of people will say that drinks should be off limits because we've contaminated it with our own saliva (and bacteria etc) but I think that's certainly for the owner to decide.

Merlin is less interested in drinks (a tiny taste once in a while) and definitely more interested in whatever food we have!

Barney needs to be kept away from the mug for a while I think! Showing signs of over excitement isn't the greatest, so just use a different mug (if it's the same mug thats causing issues) or don't let him near it at all when drinking until he calms down about it.

Most birds will 'like' what we like purely because we like it! So it doesn't surprise me coffee is on that list with some birds. :)
 

JerseyWendy

New member
Jul 20, 2012
20,995
24
My Hunter goes bonkers over coffee. :eek: I got quite a scared with her one morning when I was doing cage maintenance and the birds were out as usual. Macs on the trees and Amazons on the counter. I was in the other room cleaning cage bottoms and when I turned around, I saw I had forgotten to put my coffee mug away. Hunter was happily sipping away, gulp after gulp, eyes pinning and all. She was NOT happy when I quickly removed the cup. I was SO scared because I had NO idea how much she had consumed. Even though she had no ill effects from her indulgence, I NEVER allow her or any of my other fids to drink coffee. :)

...to this day Hunter looks for my coffee mug in the morning. :54:
 

aliray

New member
Jan 28, 2012
2,269
1
Rotonda West , Fla
Parrots
yellow sided green cheek conure,Chiquita Quaker parrot Sweetie Pie, African red bellied parrot Tiki, spanish timbrado canary Lucas
We have a hard time keeping Sweetie Pie out of a glass of milk. He loves it and usually ends up with a couple of sips:)
 

antoinette

Supporting Member
Jul 6, 2009
13,114
Media
9
18
Sunny South Africa !!!
Parrots
African "Grey"
"Mishka"
Male
7 Years old
Mishka has dipped his head in my coffee mugs a couple of times

I am sure he LOVES coffee
Each morning when waking him up, I am having my first mug of coffee.

He sits in his night cage (while I blow dry my hair)
The moment I pick the mug up he says "Mommy is drinking coffee ummmmmm"

He is probably hinting LoL I just change the subject.
 

courtneyyyy13

New member
Oct 17, 2013
1
0
Connecticut
Parrots
15 year old male Goffins Cockatoo named Lealou
My goffins cockatoo LOVES coffee, and hot tea too. Every time i make it he goes crazy and gets excited while its still brewing- im assuming he smells it but just like your birds, when i go to take a sip, and he is on my shoulder he just dips his head in and has a little sip. i never allow him to drink a lot but he still loves it nonetheless. Im just worried that it will harm him, because although he only drinks it in extreme moderation when im drinking it, all together, hes still drank a lot of coffee in his life.
 

MonicaMc

Well-known member
Sep 12, 2012
7,960
Media
2
43
Parrots
Mitred Conure - Charlie 1994;
Cockatiel - Casey 2001;
Wild Caught ARN - Sylphie 2013
Caffeine is not good for birds. It could potentially kill them if they drink too much, and I've also heard it's caused aggression in a large cockatoo species.

Green teas and some herbal teas (i.e. chamomile) that are caffeine free are much better to give than black teas and coffee.
 

Birdman666

Well-known member
Sep 18, 2013
9,904
258
San Antonio, TX
Parrots
Presently have six Greenwing Macaw (17 yo), Red Fronted Macaw (12 yo), Red Lored Amazon (17 y.o.), Lilac Crowned Amazon (about 43 y.o.) and a Congo African Grey (11 y.o.)
Panama Amazon (1 Y.O.)
None of mine like coffee. Thank god!

But my little sun conure used to try and bathe in the Chardonnay...

I don't know what it was, whether it was the smell, or the temperature, but it was ONLY chardonnay. No other white wines. And he never tried to drink it. He would only fluff up and try and jump chest first into the glass...

Quirky birds.
 

ruffledfeathers

New member
Aug 23, 2012
1,970
Media
5
3
NJ
Parrots
Gilbert Oliver, Blue Crown Conure; Georgie, Sun Conure (2/8/01-8/8/12) RIP little girl; Percy, budgie 1993-1999. RIP Pepito-spanish timbrado canary
Georgie used to try to drink ANYTHING i drank (she would dive for a gin and tonic and get mad when i quickly moved the drink away from her)! In her eyes, what was mine was 'ours'.
 

Featheredsamurai

New member
Aug 24, 2011
4,172
19
California
Parrots
African Greg
2 cockatiels
Lol whever I'm drinking my coffe Kenji says "Want a drink of coffe? *slurl noise* want a drink?" But I just ignore it because I don't want him to think he can have coffee... He also says "want some of papa's beer?" I really hope he never got beer! If he ever did it would only been a sip, I know his last parronts were parrot savvy enough to know not to give him a lot.

When I have a cup of water I'll let Rosie and Kenji each have a sip before myself, once I drink out if it I no longer off it for safety reasons. I may start giving them bird safe tea
 

SoCalWendy

New member
Jun 29, 2013
1,571
0
Kihei, Hawaii
Parrots
None at the moment
Rio took a sip of my coffee the other day. Out of the blue she just stepped up in the rim of my coffee cup and dove in. She seemed to really like it. :)

P.S. She takes hers with half/half and sugar.:09:
 

Mike17

New member
Aug 12, 2013
592
Media
5
Albums
1
0
Outback Western Australia
Parrots
Alex- Eclectus, Ariel- whiteface, Junior- pied, Custard-lutino, Ziggy- pearl cockatiels, Kermit- Princess parrot, Jade- Plumhead parrot, George- budgie, Coco- Rainbow lorikeet, Corey-Little Corella.
Kermit the princess is mad about cups and what's in them. He's especially fond of Milo, and I have to be really careful when making hot drinks- having put the water in and getting milk from the fridge. Kermit is so fond of cups that he's landed on my pre-dinner wine and knocked it over. Wine glasses are not exactly stable, especially with a prines perched on the rim! If the cup's small enough (like those small pill cups) he'll pick it up and walk around with it.

Only Alex the eccy seems mad on coffee, will always try to get a sip or two . It's not just the caffeine I worry about, it's the temperature.
 

shaniahkc

New member
Jan 23, 2014
2
0
Tweed Heads NSW
Parrots
Australian King Parrot
Charlie hears my jug in the morning and goes crazy
I give in all the time but he only has a quarter of a teaspoon of coffee
I know its not good for him but he carries and has a tantrum ...
 

Pinkbirdy

New member
Feb 26, 2013
2,203
1
Clifton Springs Newyork
Parrots
macaw,LS2,congo grey,2Blk Hd caiques,Hawkhead,yellowstrk lory,Blue frnt amazon,sun conure ,Yellow sided greencheek ,Goffin ,Rosebreasted Cockatoo,Greenwing Macaw,Blue and Gold Macaw,Nanday conure,Ecle
Theirs always a huge wrestling match [trying to keep my coffee away from them:)]
 

getwozzy

New member
Feb 26, 2013
7,218
7
Oregon
Ohmygoodness- chili tries to stick her head in ANY cup :rolleyes: I'm not sure if she's successfully gotten a sip, but I'm constantly hiding my cup from her and my toddler lol ...and then it gets hidden from even me and I forget about it :rolleyes:
 

MomtoPercy

New member
Nov 15, 2013
1,816
Media
1
1
South Africa
Parrots
Percy, a 5yo BFA & Jack, a 8yo Budgie
My fid goes for EVERYTHING we are eating. It is insane! We have to cage him before we can have dinner because, although I don't mind sharing with him, often it is too salty or whatever for him.

He's never gone after any drinks though.
 

Allee

Well-known member
Oct 27, 2013
16,852
Media
2
212
Texas
Parrots
U2-Poppy(Poppy lives with her new mommy, Misty now) CAG-Jack, YNA, Bingo, Budgie-Piper, Cockatiel-Sweet Pea Quakers-Harry, Sammy, Wilson ***Zeke (quaker) Twinkle (budgie) forever in our hearts
I had a terrible battle with one of my quakers over a cup of coffee one afternoon. She went after the coffee like she had radar. I took it away before she had a sip and brought her chamomile tea in her favorite glass. She knew the difference, she pulled the glass to the edge of the table and tried to push it over. I never let her see a cup of coffee now.
 

SweetieBird

New member
Jan 2, 2014
15
0
Sunny Florida
Parrots
Bongo: B&G Macaw - Tikki: Mustache Parakeet - Baby: Sun Conure
We have a hard time keeping Sweetie Pie out of a glass of milk. He loves it and usually ends up with a couple of sips:)

Our Tikki absolutely loves milk. She gets a sugar cookie(her favorite treat) and a sip of milk when she's been extra good.
 

Most Reactions

Latest posts

Top