Introduction

The pet trade of the 1970’s and 1980’s brought to the United States and some European countries huge numbers of wild-caught birds, and their progeny live on today. Companion birds now live in nearly every country of the world. In spite of this, there is very little information available on the geriatric parrot. So little was known about these birds in the 1970’s,1980’s, and 1990’s that veterinarians scrambled to learn as much as possible, as quickly as possible, to assist the owners and their birds. As time went on, organizations such as the Association of Avian Veterinarians (AAV) were formed for just that purpose, and veterinarians began to specialize in avian medicine. Still, even today there is a dearth of specialists. Many countries, and even some states in the U.S. have no avian veterinarians at all.

Now, forty to fifty years after the huge influx of exotic birds, clinicians are dealing with both wild-caught and captive-bred birds which are reaching old age. One of the complications of caring for both older imported and captive-bred birds is that their health issues may not be the same; in some cases, they must deal with conflicting data.

Avian veterinarians are seeing more and more geriatric birds these days, and the birds are falling victim to the same types of illnesses that aging humans do. These illnesses affect their behavior and mental states, just as they do in humans. Malnutrition, disease, and poor husbandry have caused untold numbers of imported birds to die in captivity instead of reaching their expected lifespans.

The average lifespan of a bird is the life expectancy for that particular species. Longevity refers to the maximum lifespan that can be expected under ideal conditions. Many birds never reach their maximum lifespans, nor even get close to reaching them. “The bird’s lifespan is affected by its species, genetic inbreeding, size, concurrent disease, diet, and environment.” ²⁰ If the diseases they suffered from had been caught earlier, many of the birds would have had longer lifespans. ⁴⁴