How long do cockatiels live?

my Jojo just passed away this morning, he was 30yrs old

I'm so sorry for your loss of Jojo. He must have had a wonderful life to live that long. He will live forever in your memories.. ((((((((((((((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))))))


patty

My late husband rescued a baby cockatiel 34 years ago from an abusive home ...where a teenage boy would hit him with a pencil and knock him to the floor of his cage and the bird would lay there crying in pain . My husband witnessed this one morning when he swung by his co-workers house to give her a ride to work . He hit the boy up beside the head and said : " how do you like it " ? The boy's mother asked my husband to please take the bird home and so he did . We later found out that birds have very small fragile bones that can break very easy just from them falling off of their perch and this kid was probably breaking his bones .

When I took " Buddy " to the vet a month ago to have his beak and nails trimmed , they also asked me his age and when I told them 34 years old ...I was also accused of fibbing about it and got the same thing ..." that's not possible as they only live to be 12 to 15 years old " . I said I have photos of this bird with the dates on the front of the photos . She goes ...." you are mistaken and that is another bird ...there is no way they would survive that long " . I really don't think they know too much about these birds at this point .

I live on a ranch in The Mojave Desert and this bird has spent a lot of time on the front porch in a large cage socializing with local birds and has had a variety of all kinds of foods and only clean filtered well water . I think household toxins , smoke and other stuff helps contribute to a short life span for them . They thrive on nature outside and being with the sounds of other birds singing with them as they are a very social bird and will grieve for companionship and stimulation of music and things . Without that they get really depressed and lonely . I think the more interaction with a lot of variety is a good thing and helps them want to live longer .

When it's raining ...he comes into the office and I put the YouTube videos of cockatiels singing and he just loves it . The way you treat them is the key to not shutting them down to a short lifespan .

How big was their cage? Are you are smoker? Do you care about bird health, social interaction with other birds and you? Do they get to fly around and exercise? Seriously people need a license. Do you have predator animals harrassing them like cats or aggressive dogs? Common sense. Some people should not be allowed to care for birds. Unless you have radon poisoning, or live in Flint , MI with terrible water.



Edited by Staff

Our family had a Cockatiel that lasted 32 years and all he ate was typical Cockatiel bird seed blend. I currently have two Cockatiel boys that are 13 and 10 and they are just so sweet and precious - I hope they live forever!!! I feed them pellets and they are in great health.

I put them up to the window to "say hello" to our new 7 week old pullets outside. The Cockatiels chirped their excitement but the Chickens gave them a "***??" sort of look with big eyeballs and stretched out necks. haha. (don't worry I do not ever intend on putting them near each other.)

My cockatiel, Fred, lived a few months past his 32nd birthday. The breeder started him on a basic seed mix but I managed to switch him to ZuPreem pellets after a few months. He also got a variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, plain pasta, bread, and seeds as occasional treats. In his late 20's he started refusing pellets and went back to a seed based diet, with lots of healthy supplements.

He was very healthy his whole life, other than minor respiratory infections in the autumn during his last few years. He died from accident rather than illness, getting a toe caught in a rope toy and breaking his neck in falling to the floor when he pulled loose.

I still miss my sweet old man.

I have a cockatiel egg in my incubator I'm hoping to hatch I have been wanting one for so long