# My Cockatiel is 30 years old in April 2012



## Herbie's Mum (Apr 30, 2012)

Hi all,
I'm new on here, and thought I must join as my Tiel has just turned 30 Years old in April 2012.
I wanted to ask members if anyone has had, or come across a Tiel this old before?
I think the oldest Tiel recorded lived to 38, but does anyone know different?

Herbie is very well, but needs his beak and toenails trimmed quite regularly. He has had two health problems in his life, the first when he was about 12 years old, and he developed a cyst on his right wing. This was surgically removed. 
Last November he seemed to suffer a little stroke when he returned from having his beak trimmed at the vets. He was off colour for a week, he was wobbly and didn't seem to be able to see properly. We kept him warm and put his food and water within reach and now he is fine again. Although he has a slightly changed personality.
It would be great to hear from anyone


----------



## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

Hello and welcome to the forum... wow 30 years old that's awesome


----------



## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

The fact that his beak needs to be trimmed regularly indicates a health issue.

Happy birthday to him, that us a ripe age for cockatiels..but I do hope you investigate the possibility of him having a health issue. Can you describe his diet?

Welcome to TC!  hope to see you around.


----------



## JaimeS (Nov 28, 2011)

30 years is amazing!


----------



## RexiesMuM (Sep 7, 2011)

Welcome to the forums !!! 30 years old wow he is almost as old as i am


----------



## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

Welcome to the forum 30 years old?!!! Thats incredible:clap: Happy 30 years to Herbie!!!


and he is older than I am


----------



## PearlB (Apr 28, 2012)

Hello and Welcome! Congrats on your tiel being 30  Any way you can post some pics?


----------



## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

*Last November he seemed to suffer a little stroke when he returned from having his beak trimmed at the vets. He was off colour for a week, he was wobbly and didn't seem to be able to see properly.*
--------------------------
Congratulations and may he have many more Hatchdays! 
At this age he may also be hypocalcemic, and he may benefit greatly from Full Spectrum L:ighting (FSL) or access to real sunlight which will help with good feather and liver health and also help to assimilate any calcium in his diet.


----------



## SuzieQueue (Mar 12, 2012)

wow that is fantastic happy birthday !

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2


----------



## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

Wow, 30! That's great. That's the oldest tiel I have heard of. My tiel, Sunny will turn 16 this year. Hopefully he has as long and as nice of a life as Herbie.


----------



## mishkaroni (Jan 6, 2012)

Wow, 30 years old! Great looking out! I have heard (through internet research) of birds making it there and longer, but no one I know owns birds the way I do so unfortunately I havent come across this. Right now I have some youngins in comparison...as young as 3 months to my oldest who is about 8 years


----------



## nassrah (Feb 27, 2012)

Happy hatchday Herbie !!!:bday:


----------



## Simbah (Feb 9, 2012)

WOW! I can just wish that my fids will make it to and past thirty


----------



## Cryren8972 (Oct 3, 2007)

I'd be curious to know his diet from a research stand point. In other words, whatever he's eating has been working for him. I agree he may need some changes in his diet to combat the liver issues, but otherwise, the old chap has lived to be 30! I'm impressed. Please do let us know what he's been eating. =)


----------



## leeisme (Feb 4, 2011)

Fantastic! To live so long just goes to show what a good owner he has and how well he is loved.


----------



## Carla (Mar 10, 2012)

what does it eat? how are you sure that its 30 yrs?


----------



## Herbie's Mum (Apr 30, 2012)

Thanks for all of your kind comments everyone. In answer to your questions- we know he is 30 because we bought him from his breeder in the summer of 1982 when our previous tiel had died. He had his juvenile plumage and we thought he could be male as his mottled face showed more colour than his siblings. 

He has a varied diet, but his staple food is cockatiel mix, but he also has Trill. His diet is supplemented with some greens occasionally, like lettuce, peas, beans and sometimes a cornflake! He has a millet spray maybe once every couple of months. He always has access to a cuttlefish. Maybe that doesn't help his beak problem? What do you think? Although he never seems to eat much of it. 

We put his fast beak and nail growth down to his age as this problem has only started in the last four to five years.

He regularly goes outside in his cage on sunny days, with access to shade of course. 

I will post some pics on here later. I'm at work right now.

Any more advice on his beak/ nail growth would be gratefully received


----------



## hanna (Apr 14, 2012)

CONGRATULATIONS HERBIE, hope you will have many more beaytiful Hatchdays and the loving care of your mum.   :bday::flowers:

Yes, tiels can reach the age of 30 and more, sometimes they live past their owners, bigger parrots can reach an age of 80 and more, it is amazing


----------



## Herbie's Mum (Apr 30, 2012)

*Photos of Herbie*

I have just posted some photos of Herbie in the gallery. I would be interested to hear what members think of his 'looks' at his age! His feathers are more mottled in the grey than they used to be and he has a white feather on each shoulder now which he never had in the past.


----------



## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

Herbie's Mum said:


> I have just posted some photos of Herbie in the gallery. I would be interested to hear what members think of his 'looks' at his age! His feathers are more mottled in the grey than they used to be and he has a white feather on each shoulder now which he never had in the past.


If you copy the


----------



## Cryren8972 (Oct 3, 2007)

Oh my goodness! He looks great! I have a rescue that came to me with liver issues. I made him a tea out of a product called Herb Salad. It recommends that you not make a tea, but instead let the bird pick at the herbs, but this particular bird would have nothing but seed, so I did what I had to do to get him to drink it. He wasn't supposed to live 6 months, and has been with me for three years. The Herb Salad contains a lot of greens that are fantastic for liver health. I'm sure srtiels will be on here in a little while to give you some more advice...and will be dead on as always, she's very knowledgeable.  I wanted to share what worked for me.


----------



## Cryren8972 (Oct 3, 2007)

Here's a link to the Herb Salad: http://www.herbsnbirds.com/herb-salad-for-birds.shtml


----------



## Herbie's Mum (Apr 30, 2012)

Thanks for that link Cryren. I'll certainly give it a go and see what Herbie thinks of it. I hope I hear from srtiels. I would like to get as much advice as I can for keeping Herbie healthy and happy.
I will try and get the photos in the gallery on this post too. Its all new to me on here, so I'm not sure what I'm doing!


----------



## Herbie's Mum (Apr 30, 2012)




----------



## meaggiedear (Nov 20, 2011)

He's just a cute little sweetheart.


----------



## JaimeS (Nov 28, 2011)

Herbie is adorable


----------



## AMom2011 (Apr 25, 2012)

awe look at him! what a lovey! CONGRATS on keeping him happy for sooo many years!


----------



## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

What a handsome boy.


----------



## Oni (Feb 20, 2012)

Sounds amazing! 

Pleased you've enjoyed each others company for so long and hopefully many years to come.

Ours are only juveniles...we have a LONG way to go


----------



## lingvic (Apr 1, 2012)

WOW!!30 years old, amazing, my oldest one is just 10 years old~


----------



## hanna (Apr 14, 2012)

Awwww, look how gorgeous your boy is  heart melt....


----------



## acem77 (Mar 23, 2012)

so neat to see the 30yr Tiel  congrats !! Happy belated bday


----------

