Who else brings their parrot to the dinner table?

[Kiwibird]

C'mon and fess up, how many of you bring your birds to the table, then totally cave when they want whatever your having? Worse, how many of you allow the feathered family member/s at the table even when (certain) guests are over only to have them pillage everyone at the tables plates? This is meant to be fun and lighthearted, so feel free to share your experience on dining with the feathered bunch!

And yes, I obviously know there are foods you can't feed your bird, but many things we eat they can and will eat too, and I don't know a single parrot owner who's never shared with their feathered friends

 

[Featheredsamurai]

My parents get angry at me if I have Rosie around the kitchen when food is out. They say they don't want bird dander on everything that might make them sick. I often let Rosie sit on the back of a kitchen chair if I'm the only one eating, my parents still complain about me getting bird dander in my own food.

 

[WannaBeAParrot]

Count me in too. Yes to number One, No to number Two. When there are guests, I make sure to give him some of our food at the same time as we eat, since he has direct eyeshot and earshot of the dining room table. A little turkey and sweet potatoe makes a happy Pritti.

 

[Blue]

Odin brings himself... if you have food he's there.

 

[Aquila]

Depending on what I'm eating, I fix a plate for myself, and a plate for my Amazon. My conure doesn't really like to sit and eat with me, though if I have a bowl of rice crispies she'll dive right in!

 

[momto3]

Our parrots love to eat breakfast with the kids in the mornings. I have to keep an eye on the birds because they will dive right into the cereal bowls.

Our conure in particulare LOVES buttered popcorn and will leap into the popcorn bowl. The buttered bits stick to his beak and he looks like Santa...it is super cute!

 

[JerseyWendy]

<Raises hand> I confess...I often let the Amazons eat with us, depending on what we're having. I mean, THEY seem to think ALL the food is theirs.

I've tried having Niko eat with us twice, and I ended up having to mop the entire kitchen floor. :54:

 

[ruffledfeathers]

Gilbert eats with me! He loves it. He is still such a good boy. I made a point of trying to train him he must eat on his eating perch (small table top perch with one bowl attached), and i will not feed him when he jumps down to my plate. (i HAVE allowed it for a moment, but i say no and pick him up and put him on his perch with food again). He seems to have learned it pretty well and he so looks forward to that perch.
Georgie wasn't so lucky. I tried this with her when she was young but she was always my willful, stubborn bird. She wanted her way or no way at all from early on. It became a struggle daily as she refused to stay on the perch and stood on my plate, walking all over my food, throwing it everywhere, gross. Finally, she lost table privilege.
But when it can work out, i think it's an ideal situation because the birds just love eating together.

 

[ruffledfeathers]

oh yeah, and i do often give a nibble of whatever i'm eating unless it is HORRIBLE for a bird. (he doesn't get even a nibble of avocado or very salty foods or coffee or alcohol, but he has had a nibble of cheesecake, which isn't exactly GOOD for him but a bite won't hurt him.)

 

[Boysmom]

I confess also ! I got banned to the kids table at Thanksgiving because I eat with Ruby Everyone else in the family brings their little dogs to family dinners, so I took Ruby. Ruby eats 50% of her meals with me, I just accomodate it and it has made me eat healthier. I have the dressing on the side of salads, and once I guess I was eating more than my share and she took my fork and flung it to the floor. Kya had his biscuit in bed this morning and Marshmallow ignored his biscuit and just wanted to sit on his lap. Problem was that he said her Butt was on his biscuit . So I had to make him another biscuit.

 

[FineFeatheredFriend]

I do but now when I am not @ home my wife actually does it as well. She teases me that I have spoiled all of them. It's highly ironic that this topic was brought up because I did something very unusual last night. I took my wife to a local restaurant and it was not a chain. I snuck in Peaches my baby Sun Conure in. Even my wife was not aware. Peaches was on her best behavior. The patrons did not notice her til the end when we had to get up and leave. Our waitress did notice but did not scold us or report us to the manager. For those who profress that Suns are such loud birds well mine was soo quiet that we did not get kicked out of a restaurant, lol. Peace be to all.

 

[SandyBee]

Ohhh, I am so guilty of this.

Bosley eats breakfast and dinner with us every day. August couldn't care less and would rather eat in her cage.

When we have company I put Bosley on a T-stand close to the table and he gets one of his bowls filled. When it's just us he is on my lap though LOL

I am also guilty of making him something special if we are eating something that he shouldn't have or doesn't like. Spoiled birdy!!!

 

[WharfRat]

nope, no way!! You try fighting off 2 GW's and see how much food you can even eat at the same time!! The Zon's are almost as bad but they're easier to fend off. We learned very early to put the birds up when eating.

 

[KatherineI]

I used to be super guilty of this, but now that we moved it's a HUGE no no (we have CARPET now where we eat ). Loki especially. He actually has decent table manners and mostly eats off his own little green plate. When he sees that, he knows that it's "his" and whatever's on it is fair game. Sugar has horrid table manners and also refuses to eat off her "own" dish and insists on eating off of ours. But we never hesitate in sharing with them unless it's something we know they aren't supposed to have.

 

[mrgoogls]

my family mostly eats in the living room. not at the table. and Cooper's playgym in in there. so he is out while we eat. if he wants some of the food he contnuasly jumps off and trys to fly at us. then when he is on the ground addles over and tryes to climb up our legs. if we put him back he just keeps coming until he gets the food, and he usually does...haha

 

[DerSchniffles]

Ha
Ha



Ha
Ha......


I would love to have my girl at the table with me, she loves it....even if the food is not her favorite, she still loves being part of the group. The wife on the other hand................she CANNOT stand animals at the table during any meal. Ive tried so many times but every time Scarlet starts to chow down, the wife looks like she is going to vomit haha. I think part of it is a cultural thing. My wife is from Mexico and animals have a different meaning and place than they do here. I grew up on 5 acres with all kind of animals, hell we even had a full grown (6 foot) Iguana that just ran around the house and my parents didnt care if all 3 of my birds ate with me haha. They didnt like it at the family table but let me take my food to my room so my little birds could make a mess in my own area.

 

[Kiwibird]

A lot of very relatable posts! I grew up with parrots, and only one didn't come to the table for meals (because he would just fly right back to his cage anyways, he just isn't a sociable bird). It was a interesting dynamic to watch the 2 who did have breakfast/dinner with us every night. The cockatoo (who was never fond of my mom) would only eat off her plate, and the double yellow head (who isn't fond of my dad) would only eat off his plate. I think it was their subtle way of saying "I know better than to bite you, but I will steal your food" lol. I was the only one who ate my meals in peace I just took a bit of my meal over to Barney so he could have some too, even if he didn't want to join us. My husband and I always bring our BFA to the table, and he has his own little bowl we put a bit of whatever were having in. Fortunately, he's never been a terribly messy eater, but I always keep a vinyl cover over the tablecloth for easy cleaning anyways. He must be watched like a hawk though, or he will stomp right through your food and help himself if he feels he didn't get enough of what he wants. When we have guests, we do put him on his play tree with his dish instead (within view of the table), so he doesn't pillage the plates of people who aren't used to birds, but he always shares meals with us.

I see some of you have objecting family members. It is kind of hard for me imagine meals without parrots, since I've been around it my whole life. But I guess i can kind of relate that some people may feel about birds the way I do about dogs/cats- kind of unsanitary and don't belong around food I'm consuming. I guess it boils down to what your used to and how you view animals cleanliness and place in your family.

 

[henpecked]

I draw the line at eating off my plate. I give them their own plate ,but they do have a place at the table.

 

[Kiwibird]

Funny you bring up your iguana. Before we had Kiwi, I took in a huge bearded dragon from a neighbor who was moving (kind of without consulting my husband first). Tiffany was old when I took her in, but I pretty much had her with me 24/7 for the 3 years I got with her (RIP). She was just the nicest animal, and she liked to hang out on the back of my neck as I went about my daily activities. My husband was totally freaked out by her though, so I had to keep her in a terrarium for his sake. When he wasn't around, I'd have her in my lap or around my neck while I ate (and if I was having salad, I'd give her bits without dressing), but had to put her up when he was eating at the table. Funny, he doesn't mind one bit that Kiwi comes to the table. In fact, he tolerates him eating right off his plate (I chase him off, he has his own dish), allows him up on his shoulder (I do not shoulder parrots, period) and unless no ones home, Kiwi has free run. I just don't get why he was so darn freaked out by Tiffany, who was by far, a much more mellow creature than Kiwi is. She didn't even really have teeth!

 

[antoinette]

Love all the stories about your birds at the table, enjoying this post, having quite a few giggles.
Mishka tried to shared the table with us quite a few times.
We placed him at the table with his own bowl, he thought now ways am I eating off my own bowl. He politely walked over the each ones plate, began helping himself.
Yipe you guessed it, he did not eat the food he took, the food was thrown left right and centre.
OMG did he cause such a mess, food everywhere.
There was rice everywhere, vegetables stuck to the wall, and chicken was found the following morning, down the passage.
We tried not to laugh, but could not keep it in. The more we laughed the wilder he became.
We have attempted this many times, with the same result
SO.............. Mishka now sits on his playpen, and enjoys a meal with us.