Need help :(

[Oscar]

Recently one of my beautiful pied lovebirds has passed away leaving her mate alone. I was wondering what i should do for him, currently he doesnt seem to mind it, they never bred and he always seemed more connected with me, he used to bite the female (zoey) when she came even close to me. i was wondering if there is anything i can do to make him more comfortable.. maybe introducing another lovebird, im just concerned about his age he is almost 8 years old. I feel guility when i have to go to work, just getting upset thinking that he is alone for 6 hours,i have bought him a ton of toys, have him out before i leave, and leave a movie on for him (stuart little 2 seems to be his favourite) hes eating and drinking and pooping..
if anyone has suggestions to make him even more comfortable please please let me know
thanks so much!

Suzy - Owner of Oscar and Zoey(RIP)

[Janie]

Hi Suzy and welcome to the forum. I'm sorry to hear that Oscar lost his buddy. Do you know for sure that he is a male and that Zoey was a female? You mentioned that they never mated but did she ever lay eggs? Were they caged together? What was the cause of her death? I'm asking that since you still have Oscar and wondered if it could have been an illness that he could contract.

As far as adding another lovie.....you just never know whether a new bird will be accepted by Oscar. Six hours alone, during the day, is not too bad at all. Many members here with a single lovie do work and are gone for 8 to 10 hours a day. As long as the lone bird gets plenty of attention when their human is home, that seems to work just fine. If you do decide to get a new friend for Oscar and you don't want babies, I'd go for a male. After a 30 to 90 day quarantine (separate cages and separate rooms) you could introduce them slowly (supervised) and see how things go. I have an older lovie, about 10, that I adopted a couple of years ago. I really wanted one more but knowing that Oliver is very bonded to me, I decided to get two, DNA'd brothers. They are about 9 years younger than Oliver but oddly enough, after 8 months, all three get along very well. Oliver has his cage and Big Boi and Shy share a cage but the three of them do have lots of outside cage time together. I did not expect Oliver to accept them or them him and was prepared for that but it has worked out very well and I know that he enjoys their company when I'm gone....all three are always caged when I leave.

So, if Oscar is eating well and seems to be happy, it doesn't sound like he's missing Zoey too much. Adding a friend for him might be great but you might end up with two birds that won't get along and will always have to be caged separately.

[Oscar]

Zoey never laided eggs, my mom was certain that both were males, but Zoey always acted so female like. Her death was actually quite awful and it is hard to speak of it. i was away at university when it happened, my mom got a new puppy and she was busy down stairs folding laundry, the two birds (oscar and Zoey ) were in my bathroom (where they normally fly around) the door closed ( so what my mom had told me) my new puppy was crated and downstairs with my mom, happily chewing on a bone. Im guessing the door wasnt like fully closed and Zoey got out flying downstairs to see my mom she normally stays with them in the bathroom, but she was literally gone for 2 mins just to finish something up.. Zoey being the very very friendly type so my mom said landed on the puppys crate , well as u can guess the puppy got her, my mom saw it ran to the cage, first my mom just thought maybe the puppy had scared her and she was in shock, but well awful to say Zoey never woke up from that.. i was extrememly upset and annoyed with my mother.. it was like a freak accident, that i can barely speak of without getting upset. Needless to say i drove down asap to pick up oscar since i just couldnt trust my mother..he is here with me now in my university house extrememly happy to see me, always bonded with me the most and was distrot when i left for unversity. he seems so happy, he is actually chasin my fingers as i type this for u, i may try another bird, but he was always so dominant when zoey even came near me. i think zoey was more of a buddy they fought a little in the cage but not much, i think oscar looked at me as more as his mate. but i still feel awful about leaving him.. anything i can buy to keep him busy. thanks so much..

[Janie]

Suzy, I'm so sorry....that was a terrible accident. I am glad to hear that it wasn't an illness but I'm sure it is very painful for you to think about.

I agree with your mother and think that Zoey probably was a male, too. Depending on how old Zoey was, he would more than likely have laid an egg by the time he was two, or at least by the time he was three, if he was a hen. Some males display hen behavior and some hens display male behavior, especially when you have two of the same sex.

When Oliver was my only bird, I always left a radio or TV on for him, low volume. Oliver doesn't play with toys and is afraid of them for the most part, probably from some kind of accident before I adopted him, so I really hated leaving him, knowing he'd just sit in that cage while I was gone. If Oscar does enjoy toys as most lovies do (my young boys LOVE toys) he should be fine and happy in his cage while you're gone. Six hours really isn't that long for him. He can play, nap and listen to a little music or TV. It sounds to me that he is very bonded to you and I think he'll be perfectly happy with you as his mate. :)

[Oscar]

Thanks for replying so fast! i was soo upset about the situation i needed to talk to someone, my friends dont really understand saying its a bird, and "life goes on " but both i had since i was in grade 8 about 8 years! so i have been very attached to them both.. we have burried Zoey in our front yard.. horrible to say but my mom thinks that the puppy would dig her/him up if she was burried in the back yard and we placed a flower over where she was burried.. im still just in shock and i woke up this morning thinking there would be two in the cage but there was just one. its extremely sad. oscar also has a mirror that he loves to flirt with so i think that is also great from him i was thinking of getting him something fuzzy to sleep with since they used to sleep against each other, it breaks my heart to think he would be sleeping alone :(

[Janie]

Suzy, eight years is a long time and I know you were very attached to Zoey and will miss him terribly. I've lost many pets, dogs and cats, in my 58 years and it is the worst pain. Since Oliver is older and I know that the typical life span of a lovebird is around 15, I've been dreading loosing him since the day I adopted him. We do have a member here, "Ebby's mom" who has a lovie that is 18! I was so happy to hear that.

Everyone here understands the loss you're feeling. We know that a lovie is just as much a pet as a dog or cat and we care just as deeply for them as we would any other pet. In a way, Oliver is really the most special pet I've ever had. Probably because he is a velcro birdie and there is nothing quite like the closeness you feel when a bird practically lives on your shoulder and naps next to your neck. I adore my dog but she has never slept, snuggled up to my neck! :lol It's a closeness that I'd never experienced before having birds. Yep, non bird people just don't get it. Heck, I never would have understood it....before Oliver! The only reason I was lucky enough to adopt him is that his former owner was heading off to her first year in college and her parents didn't want to keep him. Their loss...my gain.

BTW, we'd love to see a photo of your boy, Oscar. We have a photo section on the forum with instructions on linking your photos through a server like ImageStation or a similar one.

[sdgilley]

Hi Suzy,
I'm very sorry about Zoey, I understand how hard losing a pet is, especially when you have many years and memories with them.
If Oscar seems to be happy and eating, I think you're doing quite a bit for him. It's nice that you give him toys and leave on a movie for him. Having you is probably the most comfort to him. You said he was eating well, so it sounds good. There are plenty of folks with single lovies who are quite happy. Many times a lovie that's bonded with it's owner doesn't want to share - not even with another bird! And as Janie pointed out, many people leave their birds for the work day. The birds get used to a routine, and will be happy to greet you when you are back home to them.
Good luck with Oscar, it sounds like he's a lucky bird to have you.

[LauraO]

Suzy: I'm sorry about your loss. Losing a lovie, or any beloved pet, is always hard. It sounds as if Oscar is doing well and adjusting. Just my :2cents:, but I would not be in a hurry to replace Zoey so fast. We recently lost our five year old masked lovie who also had a mate (zimber). Zim, the remaining lovie does not seem at all interested in our other birds and doesn't even like playing with them. my husband and I both work, but when we are home we just spend extra time playing with him and he seems fine with that. So maybe all Oscar needs is a little extra time which you seem to be giving him.

Good Luck and welcome to the board:)

[Z28Taxman]

welcome to the board! Sorry it couldn't be under better circumstances. :cry:

It sounds like Oscar really likes you though. My little Dittobird spends most of the day alone during the week. He has the sparrows outside to talk to and believe me he does. He sounds so much like them I think he's forgotten he's a parrot. :lol

When I get home he starts calling me before I even get out of the car. then he comes out and we get his veggies ready and he spends a good bit of the evening with me and he's happy as can be. I just made sure he's got a nice big, roomy cage and plenty of toys to keep him occupied during the day and in the evening it's velcro birdy time.

[Oscar]

Thanks so much everyone! this really has been a hard time and you guys are helping so much! i dont feel so bad leaving him for a couple hours and quickly replacing Zoey, i dont think i will even have to! i think he likes to flirt with me the most! silly little bird. right now he is gobbling down food, so i know hes a happy bird!, ill get pics! asap! i have a couple of zoey and oscar together the first day we got them but i have NO idea where they are i would love to find them! would be a nice memory!

thanks again!

[Z28Taxman]

Thanks so much everyone! this really has been a hard time and you guys are helping so much! i dont feel so bad leaving him for a couple hours and quickly replacing Zoey, i dont think i will even have to! i think he likes to flirt with me the most! silly little bird. right now he is gobbling down food, so i know hes a happy bird!, ill get pics! asap! i have a couple of zoey and oscar together the first day we got them but i have NO idea where they are i would love to find them! would be a nice memory!

thanks again!

I'm glad to hear that Oscar is adjusting nicely. Soon he'll be like my little Ditto is. He's decided I'm his best buddy and gets so jealous if someone else even touches me. That's about the only time he'll bite anyone, don't touch me and you're his buddy too. Lay a finger on me and it gets bloody! :rofl: