Oscar the Grouch is soooooo mad at me!

[theoldchick]

One of his cockatiel buddies passed away so I had to bury the poor thing. Oscar is livid! He's been screaming for two days now.

And this is how he greets me.

I know he will be okay in a few days but I hate to see him go through this.

 

[Imp]

Poor Oscar. He's grieving.

I would like to get parrots again, but I realize that the screaming got on my nerves, so they are not a good match for me.
I'll have to live vicariously through others.

Imp

 

[gertiie]

try putting a small stuffed animal about his size, in his cage with him . And maybe a full sized birdie mirror. A toothrbush hanging works wonders for distractions too.

 

[theoldchick]

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Poor Oscar! I'm sorry you both lost a friend. It might distract him a little if you give him some new toys or foods that he really likes. When my pets are grieving, I try to distract them with foods and activities they enjoy. For the dogs, it's car rides, walks, petting and any kind of food. The cats get catnip toys, wand toy time and petting. It seems to help.

I also need to distract my African grey if he gets fussy during a molt. When he turns into a real pill, I know he's probably going to drop either a primary flight feather or a tail feather the next day. I think when they're part way out, they wobble around and bug him. As soon as they drop, he's back to his old self.

When he's feeling fussy, I distract him with foods, foraging toys and soft chewable toys that he really likes. I also try to make his meals especially tasty. Sometimes I pull out the hanging food skewer or food cage, so he can work on some big chunks of vegetables and maybe a piece of fruit. His foraging toys have little wood cups and paper cups that have seeds, dried fruit, nuts or wagon wheel pasta in them. Sometimes I put a small bit of peanut butter on his hanging spoon and press some dried fruit and seeds into it. I also have a hanging box with holes in it. I put toy parts inside, with a few seeds, a peanut, bit of Avi-cake or a Nutriberry and lots of shedding materials like tissue paper, plain raffia and short pieces of Shredders. He loves to pull it all apart. I also wrap a nut in tissue paper or a paper towel sometimes.

Kirby likes to destroy something when he's frustrated, too. So, lots of shreddables for him then, too.

Does Oscar have any activities he really likes? Or any place he likes to go? Maybe it would help him to get out of the house for a bit and get a change of scenery. Kirby likes to hang out on the patio with me. We've got a small travel cage for him. He likes to watch the fish in the pond come to the surface to feed or watch the song birds at the feeder. He also watches the chickens and spies on the neighbors when they're outside.

Does Oscar like music or watching TV? I know other birds enjoy music. Kirby isn't really into music, but he loves watching Star Wars. R2-D2 is his favorite character, with all the whistles, beeps and other noises he makes. He also enjoys my CD of bird calls.

I hope he feels better soon. It's hard to see one of your pet companions grieving, when you're dealing with your own grief. Plus, the screaming must be getting to you by now. I can't take a lot of that, myself.

 

[theoldchick]

Thank you for the kind words. Oscar is doing better today. He has plenty of toys to distract him and other cockatiels to associate with but he sorta bonded to this one.

 

[gertiie]

I am sorry about your loss too, I didnt mean to come off cold. I had a Timneh, who died in my hands, heart problems, and it was very traumatic for me. I can relate Hope Oscar moves on soon

 

[AquaEyes]

Quote:
If he's anything like my amazon, I wouldn't suggest the stuffed animal. Sammy attacks the few stuffed animals I have (meaning plush-toys, not taxidermy) and would destroy them if I left one for him.

In my experiences with Sammy, my previous experiences with Popeye (R.I.P.), and talking with other amazon owners, I can say that they are VERY food motivated. Is there something he absolutely loves? Try offering it in small tidbits throughout the day. I know that with Sammy, nothing improves his mood faster than the sight of a favorite food being placed in his dish. He'll go from his annoying grab-the-cage-with-his-beak-and-scream-full-volume tantrum to "ooh, Chris has peanut butter" in the blink of an eye, and come over to me to investigate.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Amazons do seem to be the biggest foodies of the parrot world.