I joined this site to ask a question about an old Cockatiel.
In the 70s and 80s I did a lot of parrot rescue so I am not new to birds. My first bird however was a male Cockatiel who fathered several offspring (despite being a terrible parent). He died a few years ago at the age of 36.
I now have just one bird who is the son of the above Cockatiel and who is now 31 years old. He is quite spry but I think he has at least one cataract and perhaps a little hearing loss. (So he takes after me.) This old guy falls off his perch now when he is startled and this has lead to breaking most of his tail feathers. He has not had a complete molt for at least a year.
Is there anything I can do to stimulate regrowth/molting of the tail feathers? I have tried to arrange perch sizes etc to reduce the crashes, but like most birds he prefers the high spots. I do not want to rearrange the cage to much or get a new lower cage because I think it would be disorienting. He eats well but has never been a huge veggie fan. He will sporadically demolish kale and broccoli.
Mostly he loves warm pasta of any sort. (and Grape Nuts cereal in the morning.)
Any thoughts on geriatric care would be appreciated.
In the 70s and 80s I did a lot of parrot rescue so I am not new to birds. My first bird however was a male Cockatiel who fathered several offspring (despite being a terrible parent). He died a few years ago at the age of 36.
I now have just one bird who is the son of the above Cockatiel and who is now 31 years old. He is quite spry but I think he has at least one cataract and perhaps a little hearing loss. (So he takes after me.) This old guy falls off his perch now when he is startled and this has lead to breaking most of his tail feathers. He has not had a complete molt for at least a year.
Is there anything I can do to stimulate regrowth/molting of the tail feathers? I have tried to arrange perch sizes etc to reduce the crashes, but like most birds he prefers the high spots. I do not want to rearrange the cage to much or get a new lower cage because I think it would be disorienting. He eats well but has never been a huge veggie fan. He will sporadically demolish kale and broccoli.
Mostly he loves warm pasta of any sort. (and Grape Nuts cereal in the morning.)
Any thoughts on geriatric care would be appreciated.