Older Parrots & Unknown Ages

[Astrid660]

Does anyone here have a bird that is older ? Who is the oldest bird in your flock?
My CAG is 17, according to her leg band. Next might be my other CAG, but I'm not sure of his age. Trooper is around 10.

Strangely enough, I don't know the Date of Hatch (DOH) for any of my birds! They were mostly adopted, so most people just gave me an estimate of their age when I asked.

Are there physical signs to look for to tell if a bird is older ?

[girly]

Interesting-when I adopted Robbie Sue, someone had returned him to a pet shop. I don't know why, but I assumed he must still be young. I had him for 30 healthy years (never was sick for a day), then suddenly he died. I'm thinking he must not have been very young when I got him. He may have been 10 or 20 already.

[LovelySydney]

I dont think even the vet is able to tell you how old a bird is if you dont know. Obviously if they have baby beak coloring or something that tell tale of a young bird they could, but if its over a few years old I dont think there is any way to know.

[becca623]

The oldest bird we have is my mom's rehomed moluccan. She is probably in her late twenties. I was told she was in her mid twenties when we adopted her. We were supposed to get more information on her but the owner never sent them. He had gotten her when she was a baby from a pet store. He hadn't added a new bird in over 20 yrs so that would have made her at least twenty but I was told he had had her a few years more than that so she would now by in her mid to late twenties. One of the amazons she lived with was documented to be in his 60s. The moluccans live with my mom because of my severe allergies. The oldest bird living with me is an 11 1/2 yr old senegal.
Some birds they are able to better guess than others due to coloration (like dyh amazons). A vet or breeders can sometimes get an idea from the eyes, feet, and other suddel indicators.

[Scritch]

My mom's (previously my) CAG Butters was wild-caught, so he's at least umm... 16... but could be much older. I have next to no history on him so I have no idea just how old he might be. There's no real way to tell -- he's healthy, except he has several once-broken and poorly healed toes, possibly from the shipping crates when he was first caught.

My friend has two somewhat older birds. She bought her Nanday conure, Monty, back in '93 as a 1 yr old, so for a conure he's doing pretty well I think... and does not show his age at all. His lower beak is split in two places so he looks funny, but he can eat anything and otherwise his health is fine.

The Nanday's best buddy is a BF Amazon, Blue, I rescued when he was about 15, and that was 10 years ago, so he's about 25... which should be young still, but unfortunately he's had a really rough life and shows it. The vet thinks he's probably had a minor stroke or two (he has difficulty with his left leg) and he battles with fatty liver disease and respiratory infections.

When Monty first had his beak injury (it was a process -- it started off minor but the vet, good intentions and all, made it worse by trying to fix it) he had more difficulties eating... and Blue would actually feed him. It was adorable. Now, when Blue is having his bad days and can barely move around the cage... Monty will feed him. It brings tears to my eyes, how much those two love each other. I just hope Monty will be able to handle it when Blue finally has his last "bad day."

MY oldest bird is Charlie, who's only 10, but he's been with me since he was 8 mths old so it seems like a long time!

The oldest bird I've met was a scarlet macaw at a breeder's home I once visited. She was 75!

There's no real way to tell how old a bird is, once they reach adulthood. Obviously eventually they start experiencing age-related health problems, but just when this starts depends sooo much on the individual and how they've been treated throughout their lives.

[Abby]

Scruffy (RB2) is 35yo. Sweet old thing she is.

[Astrid660]

Interesting stories! Wow 75, that is probably a very wise parrot

[afantasia]

My oldest bird is a Yellow Naped Amazon. She is 22 and I have had her since she was 8. They told me she was a boy and her name was Donald. She layed an egg shortly after I got her so I knew she was a girl. She already called herself Donald, so her name remains!

[RicosMom]

I only have one parrot, Rico, who we adopted in January. I was told he is at least 15 years old based upon his first and second homes each had him for about 7 years and then his third home had him about 6-7 months. I am hoping we both die about the same time (I'm only 32). :0)

[Monica]

I don't know who my oldest parrot is, and out of all my birds I only know two of their ages for sure... Casey, cinnamon pearl pied cockatiel, 8 years old. Charlie, mitred conure, 15 years. The rest? Who knows. My cherry head, Noel, is estimated to be 17-19 years old, but for all I know, she could be older than me. Two cockatiels are at least 11 years old, but probably older than that. The bourke is estimated to be about 12-14 years old. I have no clue about the rest of the cockatiels since previous owners were not really bird owners and didn't care in the least, but I suspect for them to be 5-10 years, if not older. So really, for all I know, they could be 15+, and even if avian vets can give you a good estimate on age, they could be off by several years!