More guilt than I had over my kids!

[SavvyMoon]

Has anyone ever noticed how birds can make ya CRAZY?? :icon_eek:

I've been see-sawing back and forth with the idea of re-homing Oscar, my
Meyers Parrot for the last few weeks. Some of you may have noticed that I even went so far as to place an ad in BirdBoard's classified section....

Let me start off by saying I only want the Best for Oscar. Nothing more, nothing less- just the best I can possibly do for him.
I do love the little sh*t, believe me, but this is what's been
happening in our world lately and I'm betting that several of you out there can probably relate;

Several weeks ago, Oscar decided he didn't love me like he used to.
I posted about this development a couple weeks ago somewhere here on BB.
He LOVES my (24 yr old) daughter to pieces, even goes nuts for her boyfriend who comes over frequently, but me- well, me he hisses at and tries to bite about 75% of the time! Some nerve, considering I'm the one who feeds him and cleans his cage and all, huh? :aiwebs_01

I've thought about what it could be that pisses him off about me, and why Nina (my daughter) is his new favorite.... well I've come to the conclusion that he's unhappy with me because he sees me interacting a lot with the other two parrots (the TAG and the Ekkie) I have. Nina barely pays them any attention at all, but she's "all over" Oscar as soon as she comes through the door.

Also Oscar seems to suffer from "Short Man's Syndrome" - also known as
Napoleon syndrome - with the other two birds.
He can't share playstands, or cage tops with them. He isn't happy if he sees them playing atop their own cages (and he's out on his too!) unless he can try to fly over to them, or climb down his cage to get there somehow, to 'attack' them.
He doesn't seem to realize they are Three Times his size and can probably hurt him very badly if he annoys them too much!

Oh don't worry, I know he can hurt THEM as well... he could probably snip off a toe with no problem, and definitely do eye damage with an on-target peck.
Well, because of this new-found aggression, Oscar doesn't get as much out of the cage playtime as the other two birds do.... and that probably comes back around as resentment and pisses him off more - and round and round we go! [sigh] So what do I do??

I want Oscar to be happy. (I also want him to love me!)
I want him to be a hands-on bird like the other two.... But
I also want him to be SAFE as well as happy.

So I got it in my head at one point that maybe, just maybe, Oscar would be
much happier in a home where HE was the ONLY bird, or if there were
other birds, they were his size and not so much bigger than he is.
Thats when I placed the ad. Just to see if I could find him a
more "perfect" home situation that he would be happier in.

When my family found out what I was thinking of doing, they Freaked out.
Good Gawds, you'd think I was looking to sell him into Bird Slavery or
to a Tyson Chicken processing plant the way they carried on!

Not only that, but the replies I got from the ads I placed here (and there) on line.... well, some were from the typical bird selling/money scams, some were from people that have no business owning ANY birds, never mind MY bird, some were from folks that wanted pets for their young kids, and only one or two were even somewhat worth considering.

Then *I* started feeling guilty too!
I pulled all the ads, and will give Oscar more time to work through his
problem with me- and with the other birds here - and see how things go.
I'm going to make a big effort to give him more one-on-one attention he demands whenever I can. I hope he mellows out a bit and reverts back to the happy-go-lucky little shrimp he used to be......

OY! These birds can make ya crazy!

Savvy*

[LMPego]

I'm glad you're giving that "little sh*t" another chance! Can your daughter take him?

[SavvyMoon]

Originally Posted by LMPego

I'm glad you're giving that "little sh*t" another chance! Can your daughter take him?

Well, she would........ except she still lives with me!
She goes to college nights, AND works full time as well.
She won't be ready to move out for at least another 6 months or so,
if all goes well. (She just got a new better paying job Today!!)
But I doubt she would really take him when she moves. Nor if she should; She's not home enough to keep him happy either!

Savvy*

[Monica]

Have you tried letting the birds have different individual playtimes??? When the big birds are out, he is in, but when he is out, the others are in??? And give atleast each bird 15 minutes of interaction (or more, but the same amount for each one), or even have them (him) on your shoulder as you go about doing your daily chores???

Just some things to think about...

[Chariclo]

Yea - I saw your ad and was curious - although I know you have posted about his sudden change of heart. Is it possible to move his cage to a completely different area in the house away from the others? Maybe if you were in this private area with him alone he would be more affectionate - if it's a competition thing? I don't know - but it may be worth a try. I know Laurie had good results with her Elwood after moving his cage to a different space - although the situation was different.

I can certainly relate to wanting to give him a better home. My cockatiel despises everyone in our house. I feel like I am tormenting him whenever I walk by the cage! But Ramone and him have become buddies - sitting together all day (they are both out except at night) and I can't even think about separating them. I just hope that one day Fluffy will come around and not lunge at me all the time. He has definately given me a challenge.

And I don't know about you - but I get really pissed when I can't win. (Scorpio - if that helps :icon_smil ) However - I do understand you giving it a thought. Sometimes we just want everyone to be happy. There's no fault in that.

Hang in there! We're with ya!

[TooLover]

Boy do I feel your frustration! I was seriously considering sending Elwood to Nancy's boot camp to straighten his wild little self out; hubby absolutely would not hear of it as he said the trip would stress him out too much. So I said okay then let's think of rehoming him as he obviously isn't happy here. That didn't go over well either, which lead me to rethinking the entire bird setup in my home.
Maybe a little time away from the bigger guys might help? Let us know how it goes, and please feel free to vent those frustrations; goodness knows it helps!

[David S]

Originally Posted by elwoodblue

Boy do I feel your frustration! I was seriously considering sending Elwood to Nancy's boot camp to straighten his wild little self out;

Is the boot camp for the birds of for those owned by the birds?

[TooLover]

Originally Posted by djs1958

Is the boot camp for the birds of for those owned by the birds?

LOL
I already did my time in boot camp many, many, many years ago! Guess we could start a boot camp for bird owners though, huh?!? :eusa_danc

[kathyellen]

Hi, I don't have more to offer than the great ideas that have already been put out there, just wanted to say good luck. I understand so much the feeling of just wanting everyone to be happy!!!
Keep up updated.
kathy

[David S]

Originally Posted by elwoodblue

LOL
I already did my time in boot camp many, many, many years ago! Guess we could start a boot camp for bird owners though, huh?!? :eusa_danc

Nancy,
What do you think? Can you straighten all of us BAD parronts out? :eusa_sile