Hey everybody. I'm so happy to have found such a robust forum dedicated to parrots of all kinds, with knowledge and experience from all over the world. This is seriously a breath of fresh air, and I felt my anxiety drop after finding you all.
Some background about Tobi's flock: I am 63, married, and have been caring for my father and his Congo African Grey for a few years now. My dad has gradually lost his mobility (he is now chair-bound and unable to walk) and is on hospice care. Seeing him age so much over the past few months has been a wake-up call to dedicate more time to our Tobi than I have been. I think I've probably been in denial about my dad's predicament, not ready to accept that his ultimate demise is not too far off—though his health in general is great, and at 95, he looks nothing like an elderly person, with no wrinkles at all!
Anywho, I moved my office into the birdroom with Tobi about a year ago, so I'm with her all day. She has bonded with me. She makes lots of whistles and chirps and says some words, though she doesn't have a large vocabulary. She steps up, and if I don't pick up on her wanting to be held, she will fledge and walk over to me so I notice her, allowing her to hang out on my arm or walk around with me on my shoulder. She didn't used to get as much engagement as she does now (from what I can tell from other bird experts online).
Her roommate, Monet, an older Rosy Bourke's parakeet, passed away earlier this month, and Andy, a green Eclectus, passed away shortly after my mom passed in 2017. My mom visited the store in Chester, NJ, from the time Tobi was a hatchling until she could come home. She was a good bird mom. She had Eclectus parrots and even two Moluccan Cockatoos! Mom's not here anymore, and since I was not living in their home much of the time when the birds were there, I do not have the whole scoop on her care. However, judging from Tobi's nice feathers, Mom did really well making sure she was healthy and received attention.
Now it's my turn, and I have to step up myself! The more my aging father sees me enriching Tobi's life, the faster he will be at peace, knowing that Tobi is going to spend her life with her family and not get sent off to a rescue due to my incompetence... although he insisted on having a backup plan in place for Tobi to go to Oasis should things go sideways. I'm willing to make major life changes to ensure that doesn't have to happen.
My morning routine is that I feed her at 8 AM and then sit next to her cage with my morning coffee. We chat and I share some of my breakfast with her, since she won't go to her bowl if I'm sitting near her. Then I make callouts to her throughout the day. I typically do not leave the office until 8:45 PM, when it's time for her and my dad to go lights out.
I've included a photo showing my view of Tobi. The pic of Tobi snoozing was taken as I finish up this post. She's snoozing! My dad is right outside the birdroom, and I have been concerned that he is disrupting her sleep during the night (I hear Tobi making noises late at night and early morning sometimes). She is fed again at 1 PM, and in the evening, we replace the wet food with pellets because leaving the wet food in her cage overnight was causing a lot of small flies to accumulate.
(edited for atrocious spelling and gramamtical errors.)
Some background about Tobi's flock: I am 63, married, and have been caring for my father and his Congo African Grey for a few years now. My dad has gradually lost his mobility (he is now chair-bound and unable to walk) and is on hospice care. Seeing him age so much over the past few months has been a wake-up call to dedicate more time to our Tobi than I have been. I think I've probably been in denial about my dad's predicament, not ready to accept that his ultimate demise is not too far off—though his health in general is great, and at 95, he looks nothing like an elderly person, with no wrinkles at all!
Anywho, I moved my office into the birdroom with Tobi about a year ago, so I'm with her all day. She has bonded with me. She makes lots of whistles and chirps and says some words, though she doesn't have a large vocabulary. She steps up, and if I don't pick up on her wanting to be held, she will fledge and walk over to me so I notice her, allowing her to hang out on my arm or walk around with me on my shoulder. She didn't used to get as much engagement as she does now (from what I can tell from other bird experts online).
Her roommate, Monet, an older Rosy Bourke's parakeet, passed away earlier this month, and Andy, a green Eclectus, passed away shortly after my mom passed in 2017. My mom visited the store in Chester, NJ, from the time Tobi was a hatchling until she could come home. She was a good bird mom. She had Eclectus parrots and even two Moluccan Cockatoos! Mom's not here anymore, and since I was not living in their home much of the time when the birds were there, I do not have the whole scoop on her care. However, judging from Tobi's nice feathers, Mom did really well making sure she was healthy and received attention.
Now it's my turn, and I have to step up myself! The more my aging father sees me enriching Tobi's life, the faster he will be at peace, knowing that Tobi is going to spend her life with her family and not get sent off to a rescue due to my incompetence... although he insisted on having a backup plan in place for Tobi to go to Oasis should things go sideways. I'm willing to make major life changes to ensure that doesn't have to happen.
My morning routine is that I feed her at 8 AM and then sit next to her cage with my morning coffee. We chat and I share some of my breakfast with her, since she won't go to her bowl if I'm sitting near her. Then I make callouts to her throughout the day. I typically do not leave the office until 8:45 PM, when it's time for her and my dad to go lights out.
I've included a photo showing my view of Tobi. The pic of Tobi snoozing was taken as I finish up this post. She's snoozing! My dad is right outside the birdroom, and I have been concerned that he is disrupting her sleep during the night (I hear Tobi making noises late at night and early morning sometimes). She is fed again at 1 PM, and in the evening, we replace the wet food with pellets because leaving the wet food in her cage overnight was causing a lot of small flies to accumulate.
(edited for atrocious spelling and gramamtical errors.)
