It doesn't pay to get complacent

Odie and the carrier

A couple of weeks ago we had Robin, the bird trainer, back to see how things were going and to give us some suggestions about how to get Odie to go into his carrier willingly. That's important so that eventually either of us can take Odie where he needs to go. As it stands now, Richard has to put him into the carrier for visits to the vet or when Odie 'goes to camp.'

I was worried that Odie would decide he didn't want to cooperate while Robin was there but he was a regular little show-off. He targeted on cue, turned around when I asked him to and stepped on and off the rope perch. When he's out on his gym he often rings the bell on one of his toys and I've been giving him a treat when he does it. He even showed Robin his bell-ringing prowess.

Robin was delighted with the progress we've made. She gave us some suggestions as to next steps with the carrier and she encouraged us to keep working with Odie the way we are doing. I admit to feeling a bit smug when she said that Odie and I both got A+ for the training.

A day or so later we were in a festive mood and decided to add a battery- operated candle to the dining room table. We had it on while we ate and then set it to come on before dinner the next night. I so happened that Odie was on Richard's shoulder the next night when the candle came on. Odie freaked out. He lunged at Richard's face and bit him on the cheek. Richard tried to get Odie back onto his cage while Odie hung on with his feet and flapped his wings furiously. Not knowing how best to help, I offered Odie the rope perch and, to my surprise, he stepped on it. I put him back onto his cage while Richard went into the bathroom to mop up the blood.

When a bird perceives a threat it will sometimes try to drive its mate away from the danger. We think that's what Odie did when the candle came on. To say that the experience was a wee bit unsettling for all of us is an understatement. The bite wasn't deep; it healed up quickly and gradually our interactions with Odie returned to normal. It's just another reminder never to take Odie's behaviour for granted and to try to anticipate things that might scare him as he has a tendency to bite first and think later. It also makes me very thankful that we opted for a small parrot and not a cockatoo! And, by the way, we moved the candle to the living room.