hoodoowoman

Oliver will walk around too-he's not clipped. He'll go looking under furniture, etc....he's a hoot. I have hardwood floors, so it's easy to hear him approach. When I have guests, either watch him carefully or put him in a cage because I don't think it would be safe for him.

Oliver used to sleep uncovered in my bedroom-he was always very quiet-but when I would come in at night (even though I didn't turn on the light) I would get a sleepy "hello". In the morning he was always quiet till I got up, he would sit and talk quietly to himself sometimes, but save the big noise till I was up and about. Now he has a sleeping cage in a spare room and he wakes up and quietly talks to himself till I go uncover him. I get a chuckle out of the things he says in the morning-he practices words, etc and just has a good little self chat.

I keep a small amount of seed around all day-but just enough so I can see when/if it's being eaten. I notice he usually takes a few bites while still covered in his cage-he likes a little nibble first thing. When he moves to his perch in the living room he gets a couple of nuts-sometimes almonds. I'll hand feed pignolias to him, but they have to be limited-he'd eat till he exploded if I let him have those all the time. In the early afternoon he usually gets fruit or veg and at night when I feed the dogs he likes a little bit of cheese or some beans. If I have a frito or something like that-he'll usually get one of those too. I eat a lot of organic food, and he likes a nibble of this or that. I know that sounds pretty relaxed, but he's doing well, and I'm eating better too since I will just cut up a small apple for both of us or share some nuts, etc. I do limit the fritos junk stuff (for both of us). Oliver is 8 and when I first got him he was a seed only, mostly sunflower eater. He hates pellets of any type, puffs, etc. but likes his veggies (now) and loves fruit. Confession: A lot of times I'll just buy a variety of human grade seeds from the health food store-he gets a good variety and it's cheaper than buying a good grade parrot mix that is half wasted. I don't buy salted...and I do buy a lot of nuts, etc in the shell because he enjoys cracking them and digging out the nuts. I also buy dried peppers in bulk that way-much less expensive than petsmart. We BOTH go nuts over a little pack of multicolored peppers. Really, a lot of what is good for Ollie is good for me too-so it's a win win situation.

Whoops-I need to cut back Oliver's cheese intake-but I'll do the grating thing-he likes cheese in any form. Glad to see the other kiddos are groovin on cheese too-I thought I had the only one.

I just take Oliver's sleeping cage outside and blast the crud out of it (literally) with a high pressure garden hose, let it air dry and we're done. HIs bigger cage is on wheels, so on nice days I've rolled it out too, but that's a little more involved so it's not a regular activity. He has a perch he can sit on to observe the activities if they interest him-sometimes they do, sometimes he has other fish to fry. He's a very busy fellow.

Oliver had a kitty babble ball for awhile till I tossed it. He loved it-it meowed but he kept it in the bottom of his cage and it only made noise when he went down and pushed it with his nose....so he had "control" over it. I don't think he'd like something going off that he didn't initiate. He loves his telephone-but again, he decides when it talks. Also, the telephone has different buttons and sounds, that he can control-the babble ball just "spoke" randomly.

Oliver came with his own phone conversations-and since he's come here someimes he "talks on the phone" in my voice too. I finally got him an infants phone that he can dial and it plays songs, etc. he loves it. It's his own telephone. (Actually he has one on his sleeping cage and one on his perch in the living room). When he wants me to come and get him he'll either howl like a wolf or call out "hello, helllllllloooooooooooo?" and then he'll just come fly in to where ever I'm at. I'm at home a lot, but he has definite times in the afternoon and late morning where he wants to be left alone-and will sometimes go to his sleeping cage and shut the door. If I'm busy and want to entertain him, I just turn the TV on Reggae or Opera and he's one happy bird. He also has his own CD player with his favorite country and western tape-yeeeehaw.

Oliver has a ladder that he despises-he doesn't like it in any room, in any cage-he simply does not like that ladder-so it will go to some other deserving bird who does. So far, that's the only thing he doesn't like-and it's made out of the same materials as a couple of his other favorites-go figure.

I've got some decals I am going to put on the windows and we are going to continue to work through this. As he flies more, I can tell he's becoming more confident and just generally happier, more at ease with exploring. Of course, this means I have to be double and triple sure that doors are locked, but that is a small price to pay for a happy, confident bird.

Oliver has a sleeping cage in my bedroom-when it gets darkish, I put him that and cover him up. He seems to have adjusted well to the situation-when I come in later he'll whisper "hello" and go right back to sleep. He usually wakes up around 2 am for a big drink and a little nibble, then goes back to sleep till around 7 or 8. When I didn't have a cover, I didn't feel like I could read in my own bedroom, and I hated that-now we are both happy. We have a little routine-he goes in the cage for a bit, then I come in with his cover and cover it, we play peek a boo, and then that's it for the night. He does seem a lot happier since we started this-he used to have his big cage in my bedroom and would come out on a stand during the day. Now his cage is out in the front part of the house, and he loves it still, but he loves his sleeping cage too. My dogs are also crated at night, so an animal in the little square box at night is pretty normal for around here.

I'm new to the forums, I live in Oklahoma City with Oliver, my African Grey, assorted dogs, a cat, some snakes......I've had Oliver since this spring, he's 8 years old and the complete love of my life.

I was letting Oliver's wings grow because I read that it can cause them emotional distress to keep them clipped. Now that he can fly, it's causing ME emotional distress-he just bumped his head on a window again. What do you guys do? He's fine, but I'm really not wanting to go through that again-he had a little bare spot and a drop of blood...and really, I'm not a pansy, I have lots of animals.....but I hate it when he's hurt. (a few pignolias and a cuddle and he's fine)