Tales of Oddyseus (Part Two)

A week of settling in...all we did was talk to Odie a lot and offer him treats through the bars. He seemed more than happy with this arrangement. After he calmed down we would leave his door open during our conversations. We would reach into his cage to arrange toys and slip food into his bowls. He would act very nervous but not hysterically so.

Weeks two through four...Odie was starting to bond with the flock...Olivia, Kiwi and Prophet. He was also showing signs of enjoying, even encouraging, our company. If we were careful he would let us scratch his head through the bars.

Six months in and Odie was climbing out of his cage and hanging out on Olivia's cage. Seems he was in love...but Olivia could care less and bit his feet through the bars. We tried to get him to step up but he didn't respond. Rather, he would dive off of the cage onto the floor. This is when we discovered that he welcomed a helping hand and would step up and stay on your hand. No bites. Fact is that Odie liked head and neck rubs and would sit on your hand for hours if you let him. He still seemed to keep a careful eye on us but you could tell he liked us. Back in the cage he was still a monster to me. He and Debra had a different relationship. She could reach in and try to touch him and he would push her hand away but he would never bite her.

Two years later...Odie still doesn't step up. He lets Debra and I rub his head while he is in the cage but he pushes Debra away when she tries to get him to step up. He still bites me.

Where do we go from here? Debra has a theory that Odie hasn't really bonded with either of us. We hope that one day someone will come over to see a baby and Odie will fall in love with them. If that ever happens we'll try our darndess to get them to take him. We want a good life for Odie. In the meantime Odie is more than welcome here for the rest of his life. He still enjoys our company and he demands a head rub through the bars every night before I go to bed.

Parrots don't have to be cuddly to wonderful pets. Odie has shown us some wonderful kindnesses and talks to us often. He just has different parameters than some of the flock. We respect his space, he enjoys being here. Life is good...Craig
- posted by J-Birds @ 8:33 PM |