I thought food aggression was just a dog thing

Aspie_Aviphile

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Jul 19, 2018
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England
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Biddy, budgie, departed 2nd Sept 2018; Bo, Indian Ringneck, 5th Feb 2020; </3
My loving but willful fid has started biting me if he suspects I'm not going to immediately give him food that he thinks I'm going to pick up, even if I'm simply opening a cupboard or refrigerator where he knows I don't always offer him what's inside. When I try to take food out of the microwave he tries to get inside it and is nippy as I try to remove it and dish up. I can't touch the fruit bowl even when he isn't interested in eating the fruit. He won't let me remove pieces of bread from its packaging, despite the fact that I always offer him some before eating any myself. He will steal a whole slice and fly off with it instead of the small piece I break off for him, then launch an aerial attack on me for getting myself another slice, and will keep chasing me away from the breadbin. When food except bread is actually on the plate and I sit and offer him the first bite, he settles down on or with me and shares it nicely. As soon as food is out of sight his demeanor goes back to normal and he's my best friend again.

I want to start using food rewards instead of praise and excitement alone so I can start adding more challenging training to his enrichment activities, but at the moment if I show him the treat he's meant to work for and don't instantly hand it over, I get bitten.

I know ringies are usually greedy, but I haven't heard of parrots having irrational possessive aggression specifically over food before. Is this normal and how should I handle it? He is definitely getting enough food, as I took him to the vet just a few days ago and he weighed 128 grams.
 
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Billdore

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Nov 12, 2016
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Vermont
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African Grey Timneh
My Timneh will dive bomb for colored beverages and what not. Be sure if he’s not being friendly no reward. Timneh was getting aggressive also. You have to be consistent above all else. But when he bites you for getting food. Immediately set him down and turn your back. With a firm no. I set Timneh on her house and walk away for 20-30 seconds. I forget sometimes but my best buddy is a parrot and not a person. They don’t know etiquette or manners till we show them. Timneh loves wings and now sits patiently waiting for her share instead of dive bombing me. Hope this helps good luck.
 

EllenD

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Aug 20, 2016
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Senegal Parrot named "Kane"; Yellow-Sided Green Cheek Conure named "Bowie"; Blue Quaker Parrot named "Lita Ford"; Cockatiel named "Duff"; 8 American/English Budgie Hybrids; Ringneck Dove named "Dylan"
It is becoming a learned behavior that is being reinforced the longer it goes on!
This may help!
http://www.parrotforums.com/training/57935-brainstorming-biting-parrots.html

Yep, that's exactly what is happening! And it will only get worse and worse if you don't put a stop to it. Also, there is no way that food will be thought of as a "reward" for training if he gets it the way that he has been. But Flboy is exactly right, you are reinforcing his behavior of going for any food you have in your hands and biting you if you don't hand it over, by just allowing him to have the food and eat it after he comes over and either takes it or bites you and then takes it...He's already learned that if you have food that he wants, all he has to do is fly on over and grab it from you, and if you won't immediately just give it to him a little bite will fix that, and then it's his! So anything you have that he wants, he now thinks that he has every right to and he knows how to get it from you.

You have to realize how intelligent parrots are, all parrots. This doesn't have anything at all to do with "Food Aggression", that's a totally different thing all together...You are correct in that "Food Aggression" is a behavior often learned by dogs, as dogs don't have near the intelligence of parrots, and with dogs it's much more simple. Parrots on the other hand "figure things out" using logic and reason. So this is not at all an "IRN" thing or a "Food Aggression" thing, but rather a "I figured out how to get what I want when I want it" thing. It could have easily been something other than food that he wanted that you had. The bottom-line is that "he trained you"!

So the only way to stop this problem is to stop letting his behavior get him what he wants. Negative-Reinforcement almost never works on parrots due to their intelligence, while again it does work on dogs. So instead of punishing him when he goes for your food, you simply need to stop letting him have ANYTHING when he goes for it, and especially when he bites you for it. Whereas you would usually give him a small bite of whatever you're eating, if he attacks you/bites you for something, he then gets nothing at all. And if he gets away with some food, like he grabs an entire slice of bread out of your hand, you need to go and get it back from him, you can't just allow him to sit and eat it. And then you don't give him ANYTHING at all after he does that. And if that means that he must be put inside his cage whenever you're handling/preparing food, then that's what you'll have to do.
Then AFTER you're done eating and he hasn't tried to take it from you or bitten you for it, ONLY THEN does he get a small reward (Positive Reinforcement)...But you can't just keep letting him dive-bomb you/attack you or sneak up and grab food from you, certainly not bite you and get away with the food, and then just let him have it!
 

ChristaNL

Banned
Banned
May 23, 2018
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NL= the Netherlands, Europe
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Sunny a female B&G macaw;
Japie (m) & Appie (f), both are congo african grey;
All are rescues- had to leave their previous homes for 'reasons', are still in contact with them :)
It has already been said: do not let your parrot dictate your actions.


You have trained him very well actually: the moment you handle food -> it is his for the taking.
So you have a very trainable and smart bird -- so untraining that behaviour is going to be a bit tough, but very, very do-able.
Just be carefull with those smarts, he got you trained as well!! ;)


It is a very thin line:
It happens here as well, when I am preparing food or just snacking I will look up/ around to check if anyone else is interested-- and when they are they will get some (most of the time, sometimes it is not parrot-safe of I am too stuck in what I am doing) ...
but...
when nothing is coming their way the will (sometimes) raise a stink!!
(Sunny especially has foodissues anyway)
If I am giving in to that...I will create a nest of tiny dictators.
So I try to block my ears and use the subtitles on the TV etc..


Screaming for food will definitely NOT get you any.
(not in this house anyway)
and any attack gets you a shunned time-out as a matter of fact
 
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Flboy

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Dec 28, 2014
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Greater Orlando area, Florida
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JoJo, 'Special' GCC, Bongo, Cinnamon GCC(wife's)
I really must add, this is such an easy trap to fall into! We did it with our first baby, Tango!
She yelled, we jumped! We always thought it was so cute, if one of us would go anywhere‘s near the kitchen and open the refrigerator all hell broke loose! She was an incredible sweetheart that would let anyone cuddled her for hours! But if you had food and you did not share it with her, you were immediately attacked!
 

EllenD

New member
Aug 20, 2016
3,979
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State College, PA
Parrots
Senegal Parrot named "Kane"; Yellow-Sided Green Cheek Conure named "Bowie"; Blue Quaker Parrot named "Lita Ford"; Cockatiel named "Duff"; 8 American/English Budgie Hybrids; Ringneck Dove named "Dylan"
I really must add, this is such an easy trap to fall into! We did it with our first baby, Tango!
She yelled, we jumped! We always thought it was so cute, if one of us would go anywhere‘s near the kitchen and open the refrigerator all hell broke loose! She was an incredible sweetheart that would let anyone cuddled her for hours! But if you had food and you did not share it with her, you were immediately attacked!


Oh absolutely! I'm very guilty of it too, my Green Cheek Conure Bowie still has an issue similar to this...When he was a baby he would be sitting on my shoulder, and whenever I'd eat ANYTHING he would peck at my ear or start pulling on my hair. So what did I do? Of course I gave the cute little baby Green Cheek a piece of my food! And I knew better! And now Bowie is 2 and a half years-old, and as soon as I raise any food to my mouth he comes flying in for a landing on my shoulder...I swear he smells like a bloodhound, he can be upstairs and the second I take a bite of something he suddenly appears on my shoulder! And to this day he still leans over and "beaks" my face while I'm eating, I give him the stink-eye, and he backs-off, for the most part he's just not allowed on my shoulder when I'm eating...And if he's good and doesn't even attempt to land on my shoulder (instead staring at me from across the room like he's going to rip into my neck), then AFTER I'm done eating he gets a piece of whatever it is. But only if he doesn't even attempt to come over to me while I'm eating it...Sometimes he is able to control himself, sometimes he still says "What the hell!" and takes a chance...And it's totally MY FAULT!
 

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