Odie update

I know many of you are fans of Odie, our Senegal parrot, so I thought I’d provide and update on him.

It has required a little adjustment with all of us home all the time. We can pay a bit more attention to Odie and to learn some more about how he communicates and what that communication means. Although Senegals are considered ‘quiet’ parrots Odie is still capable of making your ears ring when he gets wound up. So what winds him up? Sometimes we know and sometimes we don’t.

 A wing stretch = friendly greeting

One of the things that puzzled us was that when Richard and I are sitting at the table chatting quietly Odie will often launch into his loudest of loud squawks. He doesn’t need food. He doesn’t need water. We are right there in the room so why on earth is he yelling? When it’s after supper, he seems to be telling us that it is bedtime. If we cover him, turn off the lights and leave the room he quiets down. It doesn’t explain his yelling in the morning when we are having our hot drinks or in the afternoon if we are sitting at the table. One day in desperation I took my chair over, plunked it down right beside the cage and sat down. Odie shut up. Interesting.

With the Covid restrictions Richard has been having his singing lessons via Zoom. Although Odie’s singing along is enthusiastic it’s not particularly helpful. In an effort to keep his vocalizing to a minimum, I’ve been wheeling his cage into my study, placing it where he can see my computer screen, closing the door and watching videos. He has a large cage and when I get it into my study there is just enough room for me to squeeze past to get to the window or the door. I try to keep the cage far enough away from the bookshelves that he won’t poop on my books. At first I made sure I had chewables and millet that I could offer him to try to keep him entertained and quiet and, I gave him a head rub whenever he asked for it. One day I had some transcription I needed to get done. I looked at him and said, “Odie, I’m busy. You’ll have to entertain yourself.” Then I ignored him for the rest of the hour and a half. Not a peep. Again, interesting.

I know it’s not good to reinforce behaviour you don’t want. We could do without the yelling. On the other hand Odie seems to want to have one of us on the same ‘branch’ as he is sitting on. Apparently it’s not good enough to have us not only within sight but within a few feet of him; the bird requires that someone in the flock sits right next to him. We’ve taken to sitting ‘on the same’ branch’ with him more often before he starts to yell about it. Since I don’t think Odie and I will ever get to a point where I will allow him on my shoulder, this is about as companionable as we get. He blinks his eyes, sits with his feet close together on the perch and, at times, even tucks his head into his back feathers and has a nap. So far, knock wood, it hasn’t been difficult to encourage him to be quiet during Richard’s lessons.

Another funny thing about that, the other day R was singing in church. Our church service is streamed online and there is usually one soloist (masked and separated from the pianist) live in the church. I was watching the service online and as soon as Richard started to sing Odie joined in. It seems he recognized Richard’s voice.

Odie is a smart bird so I’ve been trying to think of things to keep him busy and I’ve continued to work on the behaviours that are now on cue. He will come out of his cage to touch the target stick. He turns around with a hand signal cue. He will step on and off a ladder that I hold for him and lately I’ve been training him to ring a bell when I say, ‘ding dong.’ He now rings the bell to let me know that he wants to train. Not sure who’s training whom. He doesn’t get peanut butter if he rings the bell when I haven’t cued him but it’s effective in getting me to go over to him and cue other behaviours before we get back to the bell.

I’m still very aware of that sharp little beak and I don’t entirely trust him but I am enjoying just hanging out close to him when he settles and makes soft little whistles and chirps that I associate with contentment. I don’t think he will ever allow cuddles from me but we are getting along pretty well. He is entertaining and intelligent and I continue to learn about how to live peacefully with him. As I get better at reading his body language I’m hoping that there will be a day when I can get him into his carrier without drama and be able to transport him to various places in the house on a hand held perch. For now, I’ll take stepping up and stepping down off the ladder. I get a bit nervous when he starts to move down the ladder towards my unprotected hands. We’ll keep working on it.

A blink = I trust you. I'll close my eyes in your presence.