Oscar and the sterilisation week

This was a strange week in our house. Bonbon, our Shiba, got neutered on Monday, and then on Thursday we had Oscar (the cockatiel) checked for a lump under his wing. The vet was very amused when I said we had a surgery week. She said birds do not get neutered the way dogs do, but she wanted to make sure his egg-laying habit was not causing trouble. Oscar is female, so, yes, we were a bit worried. Bonbon's surgery was routine. We dropped him off in the morning, he was back home by the afternoon, and he spent the next three days in a cone looking deeply offended. He tried to eat the cone twice. I put a soft collar on him after that, which he hated less. Oscar was far less dramatic. The vet gave him a quick check, weighed him and said he was fine, just a bit overweight from too many sunflower seeds. We have now put him on a smaller seed mix and a lot more greens. He does not agree with this plan at all and screams at me every morning like I am starving him. The thing I did not expect is how much the house changed. Bonbon sleeps all day now, which is nice, but Lala the hamster has suddenly become very interested in the cockatiel cage and the dog's bed at the same time. I have to keep the cage door shut when the dog is awake. If you have a cockatiel, ask your avian vet about the exact checks rather than the general pet clinic. Ours was a lot better once we found someone who actually looks at birds every day. And, sorry for the long post, I was up at 3am with a sleepy shiba on my feet and needed to type something.