My little Gabi

[Jaspa]

I never thought I'd be writing this - so early in my little boy's life. My 2 1/2 year old adorable cute loved cockatiel died yeterday at the vets. He was a bit puffed up Sunday night but its been cold so put it down to that. Yesterday morning, I noticed he was drinking heaily, not eating, sleepy, puffed up and diarheoa. I rushed him to the avian vets before work and by that stage his droppings had blood on them. They xrayed him and found a piece of metal inside him. They put him on calcium EDTA and were giong to have him for 5 days - he was too sick to operate. He perked up at lunchtime and I was counting down the hours to see him at 5pm. Got a call at 4pm as they were trying to resucitate him - he didnt make it and died peacefully in the nurses hands.

I am beating myself up today and feel like I failed him. He was mischievious, always active and like investigating. We think it was a staple that had been removed from a bit of paper. I feel like I failed him as it was something that could have been preventive and not a natural thing.

I got him for company for my 6 year old female cockatiel, Jaspa. Gabi He wasnt the bird I originally chose - I wanted another female but when I came to pick up the one I had chosen the breeder said he was whistling so I choose Gabi who wasnt whistling. Gabi turned out to be a male afterall but it didnt matter by then. He was really scruffy and the vet was concerned he had beak and feather disease so he was quarantined from Jaspa. He got lonely so found a pet carer for him 4 days a week while I worked before introducing him to Jaspa after got the all clear. Jaspa wasn't too bothered about him (she is more bonded to me) but he just adored her. He would wolf whistle, whistle pop goes the weasal, make the noise of the microwave, talk, charm her, put his wings out and puff himself out, struted after her. He was a guard bird for anyone that came up the driveway and would let you know. He was always watching to see what was going on, loved playing with his toys and woud drop them off the top, would go up on the curtain rails knowing I couldnt reach him and look down, was a happy bird, would give me kisses, never bit, was never moody, would sit with me on the ironing board while I got ready for work. He hated being held but would sit on your shoulder or head or knee - the last couple of weeks I had brought him to bed in the morning for a cuddle (Jaspa's used to that). When I met my husband 2 years ago, Tony adored him just as much and feels like he has lost his buddy.

I just cant believe he has left me so early - its really empty and sad without him.

[Jenny P]

I'm so sorry about Gabi. My heart goes out to you & Tony. Thank you for sharing this though - your doing so reminds me to watch out for staples.

Edit: oh gosh, after reading Ellen's post I realize my post might contribute to your feelings of guilt - not my intention at all! My tiel picks up everything & it just scares the tar out of me. You can only do your best to keep them safe, beyond that it's just loving them - & it sounds like Gabi was dearly loved.

[maxollie]

Kaz, I'm so very sorry that you have lost your precious "Gabi"! It sounds like you were a wonderful caregiver to him, and that he brought lots of love and sunshine to your life. As I was reading the post, I could not help but think that perhaps his very early life before you received him into your home might have made him more susceptible to diseases, and maybe his immunity was compromised early on in the process. As far as it being an accident, many of us at one time or another have had a pet of one kind or another that we lost due to something unforeseen happening. I know your heart is hurting and that you feel that you are at fault. But please do not blame yourself! Accidents do happen in the BEST of families! It will take time for you to grieve, and I do know the sad feeling you are having. But also, you can take comfort in the fact that you got him to the vet before he passed, so that he was being taken care of medically, and that you did the right thing by taking him there. Your Gabi is no longer hurting. He is at peace, and is flying over the Rainbow Bridge. And I KNOW in my heart that one day you will be rejoined with him as you cross that Rainbow Bridge to Glory!!

I hope that one day after you have grieved the loss of Gabi you will consider finding another "pal" for Jasper. Reading your posts I see that you also have lost two budgies sometime in your life too. No matter what kind of pet we might decide to have, it is heartbreaking to lose them!! I send to you a BIG HUG! I'll be saying a prayer for you and your family.

[imbrium]

We all know that tiels are horribly curious and will pick up anything- we do the best we can. It sounds to me like you were an excellent and caring owner, since you got him to the best help he could have as soon as you realized something wasn't right. It was a good thing you did to take care of him. I'm sorry he's gone.

[boomer girl]

I am sorry for your loss of your loved Gabi

No matter how careful we are or how closely we watch our birds these things happen and there is no way of stopping them from happening. Try to remember all the love he had for you, Tony and his Jaspa. He sounds like he was a real sweetheart of a bird and I truly am sorry for the pain you have in your heart now.

Fly free little Gabi.

[Jaspa]

Hi

Thanks for your lovely comments and words.

Four days on and I'm still lost and lonely without my little guy. The house feels so quiet and lonely without him.

I'm still in that 'guilt' phase - I have always been so careful with my birds (not using teflon, double checking windows, worrying when they stayed at mum's or the pet carer, etc, and they were so well cared for - they even slept in my bedroom and had sleep cages. I keep remembering things about him (onto three pages now) and the tears keep coming - today I kept thinking about how he'd 'stalk' Jaspa - peeping into her cage when she was on eggs and yesterday looking down from the curtain rail - I keep seeing him there.

Jaspa doesn't seem too bothered - in fact she's sitting on my shoulder while I type this - like in the old days before he came into our lives. He was always following her - I think she's enjoying the peace.

How on earth do you move past all this? How have others coped?

[Jaspa]

Sorry, I should point out that though I have also lost two budgies previously, this time it feels so much worse.

Zakie was 2 years and egg bound, the avian vet tried operating on her to remove the egg and she survived the operation but died overnight at the vets - that was really sad in itself. I got Jaspa not long after that and she helped me with my grief. This time it doesnt seem right to go and get another tiel straight away, though in time we will.

My earlier budgie Sam (4 when he died) was looked after by my mother when I was in England and he got a tumour and my mother had to put him to sleep as he was having seizures - I wasnt there at the time.

[maxollie]

Thinking of you today, as you morn the loss of your precious tiel. Thank you for sharing about your two little keets. Losing both of them the way you did was unfortunate too! One positive is that Jaspa isn't taking the loss of Gabi badly. Sometimes tiels really get into a "mourning" stage when they lose a mate or a tiel friend. I will hope that one day you will decide to find a replacement for Gabi. But I also know how difficult it is to lose them. A few years ago I had to rehome 3 of mine because I had to move to a smaller apartment due to medical challenges and the new landlord would only let me have one tiel because that was the lease policy. I was lucky to find good homes for the 3, but I think of all of them alot and that was 5 years ago, so I don't think we ever forget the wonderful memories (and sometimes funny memories) of our "fids"! I'm sending a big HUG to you on this day!! And I will be praying that one day you will consider getting another one.

[Jaspa]

Thanks for your lovely words. Another week on and I started feeling a little better yesterday but think of him each day and miss him.
I'm sorry you had to make such a decision with three of your tiels - that must have been so hard for you. How did your one tiel handle it? Have you got more now?
I'm allowed two birds where I am (though perhaps I might be able to have a budgie too) but am looking to buy a place in next year or two so am dreaming of having lots of birds in my life.
I've been making enquiries at breeders for a hand reared baby cockatiel so its a waiting game but thats okay as I don't want to replace him so quickly nor do I want another bird in his cage just yet though am sure he wouldn't mind. His cage is still at Mum's as can't bear to see it.

[maxollie]

Hi! Kaz, Well, I was lucky to re-home my 3 cockatiels to a lady that had an aviary with many birds including a parrot. I know they have a good home but haven't made any communication with her for several years. I will tell you that the one tiel I kept, Bobber, was the first one I ever had so he was pretty bonded to me, he and the other 3 all came from the same breeder and I purchased them all within a few months of each other. Bobber was really never happy after they left him. I struggled along with him for a few months hoping he would snap out of it, but one day I just decided it would be better for him if he could go and live with his 3 buddies, so I called up the lady and she immediately agreed to take him. That left me with no fids at the time, but I knew I could always get another tiel even though my heart did hurt for awhile, especially not having the sounds of a fid in my home. Before I downsized to an apartment I lived in a rental home and had 9 parakeets and the 4 tiels, so my fid family certainly kept me busy and entertained.

Right now I have Ollie, a little 6 month old tiel who I absolutely love. I am pretty sure it is a female, and she is the joy of my life. Since the landlord changed the rules for pets and increased the number to 2, I also have a parakeet, Maxi who is full of energy and is a mama's baby. He is almost 5 years old. So my little fid family is complete with one of each because I began my love of fids at about 11 years old with a little parakeet, Micki, who lived to be nine years old. And of course my love for fids never waivers, and it will be with me forever on this earth and into eternity!

I will pray that one day you will find another little tiel to replace Gabi, and that you also will have a complete tiel family! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[boomer girl]

I am happy your feeling a little bit better these days, I know how hard it is to lose a much loved bird and just how emotional it all gets. There is something so special about birds and when you lose them it feels like you lost a family member because our little birds are like family. Its OK to forever miss your little Gabi and I sure know in my heart I will forever shed a tear for my boomer. I smile now when I think of him but I will admit at times i do still cry because loving someone that much will forever hurt you when you lose them. Another bird will waddle into your heart just like Gabi did and you will know it is the perfect forever friend for your Jaspa.

I dont know what kind of cage you had for Gabi but I can tell you I didnt know what to do with boomers cage after he died as well. I didnt want to give boomers cage away so it sat in our laundry room for almost two months. I then found a hurt dove in our yard and put it in boomers cage and took the hurt dove along with his cage to the local rescue and gave them boomers cage. To me it was so fitting for his cage because he adored looking outside at his wild bird friends and now his hurt wild friends will use his cage to get all better for release. I was going to keep the cage and use it for my sisters bird when he came to visit but I knew it would forever remind me of boomer so giving it to the rescue was a perfect choice for me. If you think seeing another bird in Gabi's cage might hurt you to see then I highly suggest giving it to a rescue, I know giving our rescue boomers cage made me smile because they do need cages so badly.

[Jaspa]

Maxollie - I am in awe of your selfishless in what you did for Bobber - I really can't believe how you had the strength emotionally to do that. I guess afterwards you must have been torn in wanting to see your fids and it being better for you to let them go and not see them. It must have been hard coming home to no fids. I found it quiet again tonight coming home without my little man and I got home before my husband - Jaspa stays at mum's during the day and mum lives next door so I pop across to get her when I get home. It's great you can have two birds now - I reckon it makes for extra company and noise. Ollie and Maxi are very lucky to have such a selfless mum. Am taking 9 is a great age for parakeets - are they a bit smaller than budgies? Parakeets arent so readily available in NZ.

Boomer Girl - thank you - I put a picture up of Gab in the weekend and was okay then but today felt sad again. Yep - Gab (and Jaspa) was definitely a family member. Im sorry you had to go through it with Boomer - I think I remember you writing about Boomer a few years ago when I was a bit more active on here just before Gabi came into my life. I know that another little bird is out there waiting for us to give him/her a home sometime. I was humbled reading about what you did with Boomer's cage - such a wonderful gesture - Boomer would be proud. Gabi and Jaspa have separate cages and both are large (in fact they each also have a second cage in the bedroom where they sleep - Jaspa's currently in Gab's night cage during the day at mum's) - I haven't decided what to do yet - I am hoping that I will feel okay to use it for a new bird as Gabi loved sharing but will play it by air.

[maxollie]

Kaz, Thank you for your kind words. Yes, it was really hard for me to part with Bobber, but I felt it would have been selfish of me to keep him, knowing that he was really missing his buddies that he had grown up with. The breeder I got them from had handfed all of his tiels. He had so many fids in that house it was unbelievable. And it seemed that ALL of them were so even tempered and very healthy. All four of them reminded me of 4 "kids" (human) that had grown up together. Most of the time they got along really well together. There were two in a cage. They were very, very smart. One morning upon waking I heard them just chattering away out in the living room. When I approached the living room they all were flying all over the place, perched up on the curtain rods, and looking at me as if to say " Ah, Ha!!!" We decided it was time to "get out for awhile" and fly around here!! How they let themselves out I will never know. I always kept some of those wrapper strips that usually come in the boxes of garbage bags on the big door of the cage, but had never put them on the small ones (food and water) so somehow they got out and were having one good time. And I have no idea how long they were out! LOL


I must say when I speak of parakeets, I am speaking of the small ones that most people call "budgies". Here in America you can get the larger ones but they are very, very expensive. I began my young childhood life at age 11, with a little green budgie, that lived for NINE years, and since then have always had some kind of bird in my home most of the time. Right now I think I hav the perfect match . . a budgie and a tiel! They each have their own cage, and both make plenty of noise to entertain me! Max, the budgie is a mama's baby. He won't let me even leave the room but will begin to chirp to let me know I'd better be back real soon. I am retired so I have the whole day to spend with my fids! I'd also be lost without the sound of them in my home, so I certainly can identify with the "silence" in your home without Gabi. My house was like an empty one before I replaced Bobber.

[Jaspa]

That's so cute - imagine them letting themselves out of their cages - they just couldnt wait for mum to come and let them out!

Gabi used to love getting up on the curtain rods and looking down - must be a male thing. He used to go on the bedhead and do the same - anywhere where he was up high.

I started off with budgies too - Zakie became egg bound at 2 years old and despite an avian vet trying to operate on her to release the egg she passed away in the incubator at the vets - I did all I could to try and save her. Decided then to move up to tiels, but I do want another budgie sometime. My mother has one and he's coming up 10 - he is still learning new words and chatting - the other day he said "Are you okay"! He learnt mum saying that to dad when dad had dozed off!

PS I can't wait to be retired so I can be home with my feathered babies :-)

[maxollie]

Hi Kaz! Well, low and behold Ollie has laid her first egg. This was a complete surprise to me. I have only had her in my home since the 2nd of June. I purchased her at a Pet Shop, and they told me she had only been there for a week. Of course Pet Shops are retailers and mostly only trying to make a profit, so sometimes you cannot believe all they say. But having experience in the past with tiels I really felt she was about 3 months old. So if my calculations were correct she would be about 6 months old now. Doing research, I have read that they can begin laying as young as 6 months so perhaps that is what has happened. I really was scared yesterday when this all happened because I was not expecting it. Luckily I was keeping an extra eye on her the last few days because she was displaying hormonal behavior, but I never dreamed she would lay an egg. I only have the parakeet in another cage and no other tiels here. But one lady posted to me that tiels can display this behavior and sometimes even are chronic egg layers without a mate. So I am praying that won't happen to us. Ollie is the sweetest little tiel I have ever had. She is just a little ball of the softest feathers, and has such a great personality. She LOVES music, food, fresh veggies, and going on-line to watch the "birdies" on YouTube. I don't know if watching the birdies could have caused this or not. In the meantime, I boiled the egg she layed and put it back in the cage. I imagine there will be 4-5 maybe more. So I'm getting ready for the next one tomorrow. This is a brand new experience for me having a female tiel laying without any mate. I'm really happy I have fed her so well since I got her. The egg she laid was very solid and had good calcium shell content. I am very lucky she wasn't egg bound, because at her young age that could have happened.

Yes, parakeets are such a "hardy" and "loving" bird. I've had them in my home most of the time since I was a child. The first one I had learned to say "birdie want some beer, beer?", because my step-father would have a few beers now and then and Mickey was allowed to fly all over the house and would sit on his shoulder while he was sipping beer! HA I have the perfect pair now, one tiel and one parakeet. And it appears I also will have lots of entertainment with Ollie laying a clutch of eggs now and then. I'm hoping to keep it to two a year because it is so stressful on her. Not sure how I will accomplish that if she is going to be a chronic egg layer. But there is lots of info on the web to read.

You know all about egg binding, so know how serious it can be. One of my tiels used to say "are you doing o.k.?" Thanks for your reply. I'll keep you informed about my little Ollie!

[Jaspa]

Hi Ellen
Jaspa (who was meant to be a boy) laid an egg at about 18 months old - can't quite remember the timing. She's nearly 9 years old. She's gone in patches of laying eggs over the years (even had no egg laying for about two years) and for 6 years was an only bird but she still laid them. She would lay about 3-5 eggs each time. She usually made clucky noises for a few days prior to laying the first one and had her tail up in the air. You can feel when she has an egg in her. Subsequent eggs come about 2-3 days apart. I've left the eggs in with her for about 4 weeks, or until she's fed up with them and doesnt want to sit on them anymore. Just before Gabi died she had four rounds of egg laying so I have her on hormone injections now to try and stop - so far so good. Just don't want her having a fifth round for her health. She also doesnt release droppings in her 'nest' cage so I had another cage I would put her in as she would hold it in all day. When Gabi was here he even tried copying her and tried rolling some small toy balls under him and one day a ping pong ball - it was hilarious! He would always be watching her on her eggs and want to be close even though she would hiss at him - he was quite fearless particularly as Jaspa could get vicious - to the point I'd have to use a flannel to grab her sometimes.

Ollie sounds cute doing all those things.

Jaspa loves preening herself and loves sitting on me or snuggling - she puts her beak up to my face and rests it there. She's really sweet. Also one day my husband was having a sad moment in the bedroom, and Jaspa was on her eggs and she heard him and got off them and came up to her perch watching him - I think that's pretty remarkable that she is sympathetic. Another time Gabi wouldnt go into his cage and I was out. Tony was chasing him around and couldnt get him to go into his cage (we often used Jaspa as bait to get him in as he hated going into his cage - we would put her in first (she was more obedient) and he would follow her in) - anyway Tony was getting frustrated and jaspa was watching them coming and going following with her head and finally she got off her eggs and came up to the perch and waited by her door as if she was offering for him to use her to catch Gabi!

Cute about Mickey - amazing for their little brains!

[Suse]

So sorry to read about your little Gabi, fly free sweetheart on Rainbow Bridge until you can all be reunited

[maxollie]

Kaz, Tiels really are intelligent. And I truly believe they can "tap into" our emotions. And also, they can show emotion themselves. When I read about your precious Gabi and Jaspa, I definitely can feel all of the LOVE you have (and had) for them as you write. They do have such personalities, that things they "say" and "do" always stay in your heart. I truly hope that one day you will be able get another "friend" for Jaspa. In the meantime, I'll keep you posted about my little Ollie over on the thread about her laying her first egg!! Sending you a BIG HUG!!

[Jaspa]

Thank you Suse.

Ellen - thank you also - I was touched reading your kind words as I did love him very much and would do anything to have him back. And yes I still have my gorgeous Jaspa.

[maxollie]

And I LOVE the name Jaspa!! There are sooooooooo many names that are NEAT that people come up with for their fid pets!!