We all have some anxiety
of growing old. We all have some idea of what
aging is about and what changes occur as we
age. Why? We experience it in our daily lives.
We see our friends, relatives, parents and
grandparents maturing. What about our pet
birds? They too are aging and at roughly the
rate that we are. We like to hope that they
are around for at least as long as we are
for a lifetime of enjoyment.
The question of age always comes up when
discussing parrots. Almost everyone is aware
that parrots live a "long time".
But what does that mean- a "long time"?
Aviculturists, veterinarians, pet owners
and novices speculate parrot life spans
and usually express them in safe ranges.
Parrots have been kept as pets for hundreds
of years, so why are we not sure of their
life spans? We do have a good idea of what
we expect that time period to be. We even
have a few documented cases of exceptional
life spans of individual birds. Dr. Susan
Clubb has published the most recent data
on aging in macaws from studies at Parrot
Jungle in Miami Florida. Some of the macaws
were documented to be at least 57 years
old. Anecdotal reports from other sources
have claimed birds living in excess of 90-100
years. In actuality, little documented evidence
of the life span or aging process exists
in the literature.
Aviculture is a relative new study. Prior
to organized efforts of bird keeping, we
had only imported birds to age. No one knew
how old a bird was when it was captured
and therefore it was impossible to calculate
an accurate age. With the advent of captive
production we are able to document exact
ages and follow the aging process. Even
with this new information we can still only
speculate true average life spans. However,
we do have a better understanding.
Gerontology is the study of aging. Geriatrics
is the branch of medicine that treats problems
peculiar to old age. Aging is not a disease
but there are many problems that exist due
to the aging process. You will need to rely
on your avian veterinarian to prevent, diagnose
and treat these problems associated with
the aging of your pet birds.
How do I know if my bird is geriatric?
Aging changes are gradual processes that
begin at conception. According to Dr. Clubb,
in the macaws that she observed at Parrot
Jungle, degenerative changes were variable
in onset. Most notable changes began to
occur after the age of 35 years. Changes
included cataracts, iris color changes,
muscle wasting, dermatological changes,
joint stiffness and reproductive changes.
I have a number of birds that visit my
practice who are elderly. The changes that
I have seen as these birds are aging are
consistent with those described by Clubb.
Degenerative eye disorders are common in
older birds. Other ophthamological changes
include changes in iris color, loss of tone
in the lids and uveitis. Muscle wasting
is also a common change associated with
aging. Weight loss and muscle wasting may
be related to a decreased level of exercise.
Changes in the skin are most apparent on
the feet and bare facial patches (on the
birds with bare facial patches). Wrinkling,
pigment spots and blemishes, and thinning
of the skin are evident on the face and
feet. Splotchy depigmentation on the feet
is also common. Clubb reports thinning of
the facial feather lines on Blue and Gold
Macaws. She also reports that feather pigmentation
was unaffected although feather condition
and luster often declined after age 40.
Joint stiffness and limitations in the range
of motion of the joints are evident after
the age of 40 in macaws. It is not known
if this stiffness is associated with arthritic
changes.
Reproductive life span varies with individual
species. Clubb reported the oldest producing
macaw in this study to be 35 years. There
are anecdotal reports from other sources
of Congo African greys producing at 40 years
and laying infertile eggs at 60 years of
age. We have a Senegal in our collection
that is over 25 years of age and produces
babies regularly.
I have a pet Timneh African Grey that visits
my practice named Papagena. For 20+ years
the owner thought was a male - "she"
laid an egg just a few months ago. Papagena
was as surprised as the owner and I. We
have a number of other geriatric birds in
our practice. We are proud that we are able
to offer the quality care needed to insure
longevity to our clients’ pets. We
service a few cockatiels that are over 20
years old, some greys that are over 25,
a macaw that is over 30 and an Amazon that
is undocumented to be over 50.
Avian medicine is still in its infancy
stages. We are doubling our knowledge in
as little as five years. The advances that
we have made in the past five years are
helping to insure that our beloved pet birds
live longer lives than ever before. It is
important that pet bird owners and aviculturists
support the efforts of the avian veterinarians
and researchers in advancing our knowledge.
A sound preventative medicine program needs
to be established early in your birds' life
to guarantee that it lives a full healthy
life.
We offer a preventative health program
in our practice. Annual well-bird exams
are an important part of this program. This
annual includes a thorough physical exam,
a complete blood count (CBC), a cloacal
culture, fecal gram stain and vaccinations.
These tests are performed on all birds that
come into our practice regularly. These
annual work ups provide important normal
values for future comparison and offer a
screening process that may reveal hidden
signs of illness. We also recommend that
we have on file a complete chemistry panel
including bile acids and whole body survey
radiographs before the bird reaches five
years of age. The latter two tests are kept
on file for normal reference values for
that bird. In the event it should develop
problems later in life, we will have some
normal values for comparison. In some species
of birds, particularly amazons, macaws,
conures and Pionus, we recommend a complete
physical exam every six months to check
for papilloma lesions.
Thorough physical exams are vital to detect
changes related to aging. We always weigh
our patients and compare current weights
to previous visits. This gives us an idea
of general body condition. In conjunction
we examine the pectoral muscles for fullness
and texture. It is common for older birds
to have a decrease in the amount of food
they eat. Their activity and metabolism
slow and therefore caloric needs decrease.
This will cause some weight loss.
During our physical exam we investigate
all body parts. We perform a complete eye
exam. We check for corneal disease, presence
of uveitis, cataracts, vision and tear production.
We have special instruments that allow us
to thoroughly examine the eyes and the ears.
The eardrum is examined for intactness,
infection or other problems. The oral cavity
is inspected very closely for lesions associated
with nutritional deficiencies, masses or
other changes. We check the skin and feather
quality over the entire body concentrating
on problem areas such as under the wings
and around the vent. The feet are checked
for bumblefoot lesions. We always listen
to the heart and lungs. Changes in rhythm
and strength of the heart can occur with
age. Lungs can also lose some functionality
with age. Radiographs are also helpful in
revealing pulmonary and cardiac disease.
The blood work is a good representation
of the physiological status of a bird. A
CBC can expose anemia, infection and other
important and treatable disorders. Organ
failure is a common age related problem.
Liver and kidneys are usually the expected
organs to fail. Chemistry panels can help
with early detection of these problems and
possible treatment options if detected in
time. Cultures and gram stains are used
to detect the presence of disease causing
bacteria.
As birds age the immune system weakens
and is less able to fight off environmental
pathogens such as gram negative bacteria.
Early detection of these bacteria will make
treatment easier and more successful in
the older patient. Yearly cultures on healthy
birds are important to establish a database
of the normal flora for that bird. Finally,
vaccinations are a good part of any preventative
medicine program for young and old birds
alike. Vaccinations are given to prevent
contraction of usually a viral disease and
hence remove that bird from the population
as a potential carrier of that infectious
organism.
Environmental issues are also a concern
for geriatric patients. Musculoskeletal
changes need to be considered when setting
up a cage. If a bird has stiff, arthritic
or deformed joints, these need to be considered
when choosing the cage, perches, toys, playpens,
food and water containers, and cage substrate.
Environmental temperature may also play
a role in a geriatric bird’s comfort.
Feather loss will greatly affect thermoregulation
and should be considered when placing the
cage in you home or making rapid changes
in the house temperature. Nutrition is also
a consideration when keeping geriatric patients
healthy. Currently there is no information
in the literature concerning the dietary
needs of older birds. Follow the recommendations
of your avian veterinarian for individual
cases. Special diets are available for birds
with organ failure such as liver and kidneys
and for digestive problems associated with
age and / or disease. Talk to your veterinarian
before feeding these special diets.
With the advances in avian medicine today
and the formulated diets available on the
market, there is no reason pet birds should
not live full rich lives in captivity. It
is our responsibility and should be our
goal to do better for our birds in captivity
than they could do for themselves in the
wild.
