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Is your bird a natural thief too?

CrazyBirdChick

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Almost every morning when I'm putting on my makeup Blu will make his move. He is such a natural at pretending like he's all innocent and them...boom...he strikes.

He runs or flies over and grabs something he's not supposed to, and he knows he's not allowed cause he takes off with it in a split second. If he takes something he is allowed to play with he never flees.

Lately he's been trying to run off with my little Nivia cream canister. Today we had a showdown. He had it in his beak ready to fly but I wouldn't let go and I won.

I'm just wondering do your birds know when they're stealing something they shouldn't be? Do they immediately run or fly away when they grab It?
 

Mizzely

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OH yeah Jingo does this a lot. Example: He knows he's not supposed to take food from my son, so as soon as he nabs it, will fly off. Did you know a quaker can fly halfway across the house with a whole piece of bread?? :rofl:
 

DQTimnehs

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Yes, my Timnehs do it. Quack is usually pretty good and minds her own business but when I was wearing hair clips she would land on my head and try to steal the clip. If she did get it, she would fly away with it.
Darwin steals everything he can! He doesn't usually fly away with it but when I was trying to do a jigsaw puzzle, he figured out that he really wasn't allowed to have the pieces so would swoop in and fly away with them. By the time I'd get to him, the pieces were ruined. :rolleyes:
 

TikiMyn

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That is so funny:rofl: Tiki loved to take my things. The first thing he ever chewed was a book I was Reading that I left on a shelf:D Henkie does like my stuff as well but a bit less. Fëanor wants everything I hold:lol: He takes things with him when he can, but mosty he sits on my arm or a perch Nearby while he plays with it, and when Henkie or I want to take it he guards it with his life:rofl: The same with foot toys, he takes them all and sits on them with one door so they don't fall down, and Henkie can't have any!
 

Tiel Feathers

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:coffeescreen:These are all so funnny! My tiers do this kind of thing all the time too, especially Twilight and Sunset. Hair clips and hair ties are favorites, but any of my kids school stuff is really sought after by them. Then of course there is the food they always try to steal off both my daughters plates. It can be frustrating, but it's so funny too because they know they are being naughty!
 

cassiesdad

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Milton has a funny way of "acquiring" things. He'll sneak up on you- walking slowly... SIDEWAYS...then the claw will quickly come in at the wanted item...from the side...while he's looking the other way.

If he gets the item, then it's in his mouth, and he runs back under his cage...it's harder to remove him from the item when he's there...and he knows this fact...the snot...
 

Jenphilly

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Max doesn't, but Ivory (bare eye cockatoo) does it all the time... She will land on the table, grab a piece of some food and hop across the table and leap off and fly up high. She grabs items and flies too, the worst was the little turd head grabbed the xD camera card while it was in the computer, she did not grab the adapter, but just the tiny xD card from the reader and flew off and when I yelled at her, she dropped that tiny little card and to this day we have yet to find where it ended up!


 

DQTimnehs

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:coffeescreen:These are all so funnny! My tiers do this kind of thing all the time too, especially Twilight and Sunset. Hair clips and hair ties are favorites, but any of my kids school stuff is really sought after by them. Then of course there is the food they always try to steal off both my daughters plates. It can be frustrating, but it's so funny too because they know they are being naughty!

Itsy is always trying to steal food from our plates. I keep a rope perch on the table for her to stand on and to retrieve her when she's being naughty. If she's getting shooed from the plates, she runs back to the rope perch where she is "home free". It's funny because she knows she's "safe" there but also can't resist coming back 25 times. :lol:
 

JLcribber

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Almost every morning when I'm putting on my makeup Blu will make his move. He is such a natural at pretending like he's all innocent and them...boom...he strikes.

He runs or flies over and grabs something he's not supposed to, and he knows he's not allowed cause he takes off with it in a split second. If he takes something he is allowed to play with he never flees.

Lately he's been trying to run off with my little Nivia cream canister. Today we had a showdown. He had it in his beak ready to fly but I wouldn't let go and I won.

I'm just wondering do your birds know when they're stealing something they shouldn't be? Do they immediately run or fly away when they grab It?

Well of course when you turn it into a fabulous stimulating athletic game.

Well done. :D :hug8:
 

JLcribber

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Tika doesn't steal food off your plate. He grabs the edge of your plate and drags it across the table to his side and stands there with that look (I dare you to drag it back). :lol:

That's why we don't eat in front of the cockatoos. I don't get to eat unless I want to bleed first. :)

Never goes after the wife's plate? I wonder why? :)
 
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CrazyBirdChick

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Well of course when you turn it into a fabulous stimulating athletic game.

Well done. :D :hug8:
That's probably what it is. The other day he grabbed an eyeshadow pallet, that I didn't care about very much, and he flew it to his cage. I guess when he realized I didn't care, he dropped it in his food bowl and forgot all about it.
 

tka

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Think about what your bird's getting out of it. It's probably less a case of actually wanting the item and more the case that if you touch or steal something, you get to have a wonderful tussle with your human, maybe some interesting vocalisations from them, maybe you get to fly around while they get more and more excited and chase after you - this is great! What a fun game we are playing! To the bird, this is incredibly rewarding.

In short, be more boring :)
 

CrazyBirdChick

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Think about what your bird's getting out of it. It's probably less a case of actually wanting the item and more the case that if you touch or steal something, you get to have a wonderful tussle with your human, maybe some interesting vocalisations from them, maybe you get to fly around while they get more and more excited and chase after you - this is great! What a fun game we are playing! To the bird, this is incredibly rewarding.

In short, be more boring :)
So true, and a great way to describe It!

I will try not to care or react in most cases but that little thief knows just what to steal that will get a reaction out of me! Because most things he wants can be dangerous in one way or another. My phone, cords, objects that have questionable metal. It's a vicious cycle :lol:
 

Garet

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I have two thieves, unfortunately. Mimikyu's always polite and gives me the puppy eyes when she wants something, Ciri's too afraid to steal anything... My lovebirbs are another matter.

Guzma waits until I have food and he'll literally jump in my plate and drag his feathery butt all over everything. Thankfully, he only does this with pasta and he's trained me to always bring a bowl of the plain stuff down, and Nana... Nana steals my drugs.

I have prescription meds I need to take, and her old owner used to give her seeds and treats in very similar pill bottles. When she sees them, she simply must have them. It doesn't matter if she has the ones with the nuts and yummy things in them, she has to have my bottles, too. Thankfully, she can't get into them, no matter how hard she tries.
 

Ankou

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:lol:
Everyone's stories have me :roflmao:

Every dog I've ever known does this but Axel does it best. He'll wait until he knows you can see him do it, and if not he'll drop it by his feet or lay on it and wait. As soon as you notice - RUN! Chase me! Chase me! Then there is an 80lb shepherd zooming circles around the couch as fast as he can with a pot holder or something in his mouth, wiggling happily as he can as those speeds. What a rascal, he's fun.

Peanut does not steal, she takes. She knows everything is hers so no reason to run. If it's something unsafe I have to get back, like a bar of soap, I'd better have something else on hand to trade. She has zero shame or awareness that maybe some things are not hers. If I'm going to eat in her space I'd better bring her a meal too and some things like noodles, chips, corn, and cereal just can't be eaten around her because mine is always "better" (and usually too salty/sugary/seasoned to share.)
 

JLcribber

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So true, and a great way to describe It!

I will try not to care or react in most cases but that little thief knows just what to steal that will get a reaction out of me! Because most things he wants can be dangerous in one way or another. My phone, cords, objects that have questionable metal. It's a vicious cycle :lol:

:lol: You're not dealing with some dumb animal you know. :lol:
 

Peachfaced

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I don't really have one of the birds, but my dog took something a few years back.

Aarkie didn't immediately find what she wanted one time (a toy), so she grabbed what she thought would work as one; a baseball bat. She grabbed it by the end, and was prancing around the living room with it... and was dangerously close to breaking a few things as she passed by. :horse2: :scared4:
 
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