Saturday, March 26, 2011

Do wild captured parrots age slower than had raised?

My mom has had her parrots for 40 years (2 amazons and a cockatoo). Her double yellow head was captured as an adult in the wild (we don't know her exact age, just that my mom has had her for 40 years, and she was sexually mature when she got her). She is as healthy as a horse, still vibrantly colored, feathers arrant thinning, still very active.... My moms green cheek, who was a hand raised baby on the other hand, looks like a well used feather duster. His feathers are gone on his head so he looks like a vulture, (he went bald over 20 years ago, and the vet checked him for every condition under the sun) and his body feathers are coming in lighter, and crooked. He wheezes, has a cataract in one eye, and can barely move around. Why is an older parrot healthier than him? They've spent their lives in the same caring environment, same diet, same everything... Do wild caught birds just age slower?

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