My sister's pet cockatiel, Crissy, turns 25 today.
Yep, you read it right: 25 years old.
Unbelievable.
We adopted Crissy in 1980 when she was only about 6 weeks old.
It's no secret that Crissy and I never really got along. She used to attack me, and chase me out of my own room.
She adores my sister, though. She lives with her now in my sister's apartment.
When we first got Crissy our vet at the time told us that Cockatiels usually have a life-span of about 15 years. She's obviously well past that age now. Our current vet (who we have been seeing for well over 15 years now) has said that Crissy is that oldest Cockatiel that he's ever known.... and she's still going strong!
25 years! That means that she's older than our two friends (Aditya & Ami) that we had dinner with last night!
There's some perspective for you.
I just wanted to comment that my bird too is 25 years old. I got "Punky" when I was 8, I'm now 33 years old. For the first 20 years of my birds life, my dad smoked 2 packs a day, so "Punky" had to breath all that in. It's amazing he's still living. Add to that, my bird's super picky. He won't eat anything but the expensive stuff, which includes millet and cockatiel/budgie seed. It diet completely contradicts what the experts suggest...he hates fruit and won't even touch the sunflower seeds. After living all that time, he has developed a routine though. Around 10 pm, he'll start squaking, which is a sign it's his bedtime. It's pretty much like clockwork with that bird. And when his food is running low, he starts lifting his foodtray...and won't stop until he's given food. Punky is a loveable bird, but he does have his quirks. He'll love you one minute, when he's hungry or wants something, but if he's resting and want to be left alone, he'll protect his territory. It's all play though, he never bites with conviction, he's very much like a grumpy old man. I hope he lives for another 10 years, but that's pretty wishful thinking. If there's anything that I think added to his long life is the fact that "Punky" was never caged. We lock him up at night, but during the day, the front door is open so he can romp wherever he wants. He has total freedom of his domain which includes the entire corner of the kitchen. We tried moving him once, we were hoping to renovate the kitchen, but he went nuts. So, back to his kitchen corner he went, and my mom's hopes for a new kitchen were dashed. What more can I say, Punky is more than a bird, he's truly a member of the family. He's sometimes a pain in kneck, but seriously speaking, I would'nt trade that crazy old bird for anything.
ReplyDeleteHi, loved your stories,
ReplyDeleteMy Cockateil named Grady is 27 years old. He will be 28 this coming Jan. 2007. My husband bought him for my 30th birthday early, April of 1979. He only likes cockateil seed, celery and me. I take him out of his cage once a week for a bath and I hold his lower legs and let him flap his wings as though he his flying.
When I sing to him he always bounces up and down across his perch. He also does the wolf whistle like most cockateils.
He is a sweetheart, but starting to show his age.
Turkey, my cockatiel is at the end of his life now, he's getting very frail. He was born in April of 1974, so he's 32 years old. I got him when he was 11 years old and he had been kept in a budgie cage by himself all his life. He didn't have a name and his owner would clean the cage by putting the vacuum hose in. His only friend was the family dog. He was pretty grouchy when I got him hence his name. The first year I had him I bought a "retired" pair of breeders who didn't know what retirement was and who soon had a nest full of chicks. Turkey took every chance he got to go in and feed the babies.
ReplyDeleteHe later "married" one of them and had 6 babies of his own.He and his wife were still mating up till last year but she is no longer laying as she is 18 years old herself now.
For years he only had sunflower seeds but when I got him I expanded his diet to include a mix and some greens and nuts.Thanks for the reminder about the parsley, I haven't fed them any for a long time and I know it is so good for them.
I just wanted to let you know about Turkey who was born in April of 1974, that makes him 32. I got him when he was 11 years old and he had lived in a budgie cage by himself all his life. The people who owned him would clean his cage by putting the vacuum hose in it. His only friend was the family dog. I got a "retired" pair of breeder to keep him company and they soon had a nest full of chicks. Turkey would take every chance he got to go in and feed the babies. Later he "married" one of them and ended up having 6 babies of his own. Up till last year he and his wife were still mating, though she doesn't lay eggs anymore as she is 18 years old now.
ReplyDeleteFor the first 11 years of his life he ate only sunflower seeds but I expanded his diet to include a mix and vegetables. Thanks for the reminder about parsley, they haven't had any for years and I know how good it is for them.
after reading all your stories i am very happy.My cockatiel Ricky is 20 years old and i keep wondering how long he will live. It seemslike he has a few years left in him yet thankfully. He is noisy, messy and bad tempered but i lve him. he is a true individual and although he is small has a big personality and pleases himself at all times.i would put his longlife and health down to him beingout all the time. he does't fly around much these days, but he can if he wants.Long live Ricky.
ReplyDeletehi love the good news for my bird ranger he`s 25 and very loving he has more gentle as the years gone on
ReplyDeletecockatiels are the best imo