RE: Eating the bird!
You don't have a problem at all; at least not yet. You have a young pup that wants the bird. That's a good thing. I would find a training program that you like... there are a ton out there. I like Doc's favorite Smartfetch quite a bit. Covers good obedience and everything leading up to force fetching the dog. Are there any others that live around you that train their dogs as well? Could be a good source of help and ideas and a lot of fun.
I would stop playing with birds at this point.
Good luck