Odie, One Sweet Boy

This is Odie. He is a 19 year old (or will be in a few days) male Umbrella Cockatoo. He is an "only parrot" and doesn't seem to even know he's a bird. He loves to come out and just "be with me" in any way he can. I bring him up to my office/bedroom to hang out on the ropes while I work on the computer. I left the room for a few minutes and he somehow jumped down, took a couple of bites out of a shoe, and then got back up onto an antique table. I was warned that "he loves shoes."

I just didn't know how quickly and covertly he could operate! Now I have him down pretty good. He only gets to play on the ropes when I stay in the room! I almost want to install a mirror so I can see behind me as I work on the computer. But just being here seems to keep him on his best behavior. I'm lucky he didn't eat the table!

Odie is a finicky eater. Phoenix, the sweet little Moluccan that I am working with is also finicky. Come to think about it...Josey Wales, my Umbrella, also isn't very interested in food. What is it with these cockatoos? Whoops, Chauncey, my Slender Billed Cockatoo, is always interested in food.

Odie does very well in the big Exotic Enclosure in my living room and in the large outdoor cages. He plays and observes the world with amusement. He nibbles on his pellets and plays with dried corn on the cob half heartedly. He seemed to like a little piece of chicken but only if I held it for him! Tomorrow Shelley will come up to help me serve breakfast and she can spoon feed these two "shy eaters." Sometimes if you "prime them" they start eating on their own!