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U2 Biting at Dinner Time

geekofspades

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Okay so he's 5 years old now and we've been together ever since he was 1 yr old.

The whole day he seems to be his normal self, but now everytime after dinner he becomes overly excited. To the point that when he sees me preparing food he goes crazy doing random things like biting his perch and cage or dragging his beak to his perch.

Then after i give him his food he becomes overly aggressive ready to bite, he carries his food bowl and hits the cage with it, carries it, or drags it around the cage. If i try to get it he tries to bite me. This just started happening 3 days ago.

I usually just wait till he calms down and is just on his perch before i get the bowl so he doesn't get the chance to bite me. But im so confused what is causing his behaviour.
 

sunnysmom

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cassiesdad

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Milton did that a lot after he came here...in the exact ways you're describing now. I was also confused,because Milty has always been a great bird.
I couldn't stop eating or feeding him,so I made sure that he doesn't have the chance to bite me before he eats...just for my own safety.
U2s are sometimes "funny" about eating. They get very excited about food (and the fact that the flock is eating)...then at other times,become very disinterested in all food. How confusing to us humans.
I think you're going though an "exciting" time for your 'too concerning eating. Your challenge is to deal with the situation as best you can...it CAN be done... :)
 

camelotshadow

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At his age maybe he;s getting his hormones?

Did he get some human dinner?
Maybe now he is assoc your cooking family dinner & acting out at his birdie dinner?
 

JLcribber

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Your bird is not a baby/juvenile anymore. At around 5-7 years old these birds grow up and become adults. Hormones start to dictate their behaviours. When they start they usually kick in hard for the first few seasons. They have a hard time handling them at times. Especially the males because they're formidable foes.

Give this a read. It explains a lot and gives insight into how to approach things.

 

Sarahmoluccan

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Milton did that a lot after he came here...in the exact ways you're describing now. I was also confused,because Milty has always been a great bird.
I couldn't stop eating or feeding him,so I made sure that he doesn't have the chance to bite me before he eats...just for my own safety.
U2s are sometimes "funny" about eating. They get very excited about food (and the fact that the flock is eating)...then at other times,become very disinterested in all food. How confusing to us humans.
I think you're going though an "exciting" time for your 'too concerning eating. Your challenge is to deal with the situation as best you can...it CAN be done... :)
Echo certainly gets excited when food he likes is around. Unfortunately it's usually things he's not supposed to have or have has a treat really rarely. I'm still working with him to eat healthier snacks. Thankfully I rarely get bitten when there's food around.

@geekofspades does your U2 like praise? Mine loves it and thrives on it. Sometimes people forget to praise birds when they're calm or shift into a slightly better behavior. Sometimes simply not being bitten when you normally would expect it is a win and deserve some praise. Hopefully your U2 likes simple verbal praise. If he's mostly food motivated with training that would be trickier given your situation. If he is highly food motivated maybe you could find a more boring food that he'll work for but doesn't get overly excited either. :shrug:

You might want find a feeder bowl that locks in place or is to heavy for him to run around in his cage with too. I would guess that behavior whines up him even more. So eliminating that behavior could help too. Good luck with him!
 
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