Preparing for My Senior Cockatiel: Life With Cockatiels, #2

By Laurel A. Rockefeller

Cockatiels are amazing birds! With an average lifespan of twenty to over thirty years, cockatiels are a life investment offering some of the most rewarding relationships you will ever know.

In this guide book and sequel to "Preparing For My First Cockatiel," author Laurel A. Rockefeller explores how to enhance your birds' lives so they live well beyond the "senior bird" threshold of ten years old. Diet is covered extensively along with how to improve your birds' home environment for the challenges older birds face.

As with "Preparing for My First Cockatiel," "Senior Cockatiel" is filled with personal stories and science, exploring what a cockatiel is and how to live a long and very happy life with your best friend.

Includes detailed nutritional data on popular bird food brands, including ZuPreem, RoudyBush, and LaFeber's Nutri-berries.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Laurel A. Rockefeller
• Release date: Jul 19, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005884314

Laurel A. Rockefeller

Born, raised, and educated in Lincoln, Nebraska USA, Laurel A. Rockefeller's passion for animals comes through in everything she writes. First self-published in 2012 as a social science fiction author (the Peers of Beinan series), Laurel has expanded her work into the animal care/guide, history, historical fiction, and biography genres.  But she is best known for her biographies, particularly the Legendary Women of World History series where she applies her formal education from the University of Nebraska.   Find Laurel's books in digital, paperback, and hardcover in your choice of up to ten languages.  Audio editions are published in all four available languages:  English, French, Spanish, and German.  Most of them feature period music performed by actor-musicians.  You can also hear Laurel sing on three of the audiobooks: Catherine de Valois (Spanish), The Arban and the Saman, and Songs of the Beinarian Court.   Besides advocating for animals and related environmental causes, Laurel A. Rockefeller is a passionate educator dedicated to improving history literacy worldwide, especially as it relates to women's accomplishments. In her spare time, Laurel enjoys spending time with her cockatiels, travelling to historic places, and watching classic motion pictures and classic television series.

Book preview

Preparing for My Senior Cockatiel

By Laurel A. Rockefeller

Copyright ©2020 by Laurel A. Rockefeller

Laurel A. Rockefeller Books

Johnstown, Pennsylvania

All rights reserved

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Suggested Reading and Bibliography

Popular Parrot Species

Pellet and Seed Mix Ingredients

SCA Research Paper: Food for Parrots

Introduction

Happy bird-day and happy Gotcha Day to your feathered friend or friends! If you are ready for this book the bird sitting on your fingers, hands, shoulders, or perhaps the top of your head is no longer a baby but entered a whole new era in her life. She’s turned ten years old (recently or years ago) and has exited the baby phase and is currently or soon to be entering her teen years. Gone are the days of handfeeding her and/or (in many cases) her first clutch of chicks. She has lived life, we hope to the fullest and ready for a new adventure with you.

The cockatiel velcroed to you right now might be a new arrival you recently adopted (there is always need for homes for older birds) or she might be like my Mithril and lived her life with you since she was a baby. You may be very close or perhaps still might be working on that relationship—especially if you are not the first home she’s had. But no matter how long you’ve known her or what her life has been like before today; she’s entered a whole new stage of life: maturity and old age.

For me, this new adventure has been exclusively with one cockatiel: Mithril. Mithril was hatched in New Jersey, a gift from a downstairs neighbor after that neighbor’s lutino cockatiel pair started having chicks and I begged for one to keep my cockatiel Aragorn company. That was the summer of 2003. Little did I guess back then I was forging the longest and deepest friendship of my life. It’s been a friendship that has survived many illnesses, many relocations, and multiple cockatiel companions. Mithril has taught me about cockatiels in ways no budgerigar or previous cockatiel ever did or could. In staying with me, often perched on my head or shoulder, she’s been my greatest mentor and often my spirit guide as well. Though I am the human typing these words that you are reading now, much of this book comes from Mithril herself. It is her story and it is mine. It is our journey together we are sharing with you now so that you can foster an even stronger bond with your bird. And it is a guide designed to share with you what I’ve found works, doesn’t work, and helps best as Mithril and I tackle the new challenges that maturity and coming old age bring us.

Not everyone believes that investing in older cockatiels is worthwhile. In November, 2019 the western Pennsylvania veterinarian trained in treating pet birds expressed a lack of confidence that much if anything can be done to treat illnesses faced by mature birds, let alone that one can do anything to make life easier and better for them. She dismissed my efforts to make Mithril’s life full, vibrant, and happy as unnecessary. Older cockatiels, like so many older pets appear to be disposable once they reach a certain age. When I took Mithril and six-year-old Arwen to see her in June, 2020 on another health matter, this same vet could not believe that Mithril was seventeen years old and, accordingly, put her hatch date wrong into the computer. No cockatiel could possibly be that old—at least to this veterinarian—even with conclusive evidence in front of her.

This book then is for those who believe that life continues after the first blush of infancy and childhood have passed. It is a book for those who know and understand that there is so much more of life to live after you’ve passed the flower of youth and vigor. Though not as energetic as before, Mithril’s life is far from over. I aim to show you how to help your feathered friends achieve the same goals that Mithril and I are working for, one day and one cuddle at a time.

Chapter One: Your Cockatiel is Unlike Any Other Bird

October, 2003. Barely weaned off infant parrot food and still mastering flight, Mithril bobs for treats hidden in a small plastic pumpkin. Forging for treats is a great way to keep your cockatiel both mentally and physically healthy. It’s also a great bonding experience for you and your bird.

Cockatiels are unlike any other bird on Earth. You know that. I know that. Anyone who has ever lived for more than two weeks with a cockatiel knows that. It takes them very little time to wiggle their ways so deep in our heart that they never leave and we become incurably addicted to their presence in our