Last Updated on March 22, 2023 by Lily Aldrin
One of the common questions that arise in your mind when thinking of owning a pet is that what is its lifespan. You will obviously want to know the answer to this question. If you are going to keep a Cockatiel as a pet, you shall be aware of this important piece of information.
In this article, we are going to draw a detailed sketch of the life of a Cockatiel. It will include the natural life cycle of the bird as well as the various factors that can affect its normal life span.
Let’s plunge into the information given in the article.
How Long Do Cockatiels Live? (Cockatiel Lifespan)
The average life expectancy of a cockatiel is around 10 to 14 years in the wild. In a wild environment, the bird is prone to external threats, like diseases and predators. Due to this reason, they have a lesser life expectancy in the wild.
However, if the bird is held as a pet its average life span would be 16 to 25 years. The reason being that as pets they have no threat of predators. Moreover, it is taken well care of, both in sickness and in health. All of its needs are met and fulfilled by the owner. In addition to this, the bird gets the attention and affection of the human beings around it. All of the above-mentioned factors combined to increase the lifespan of a Cockatiel by at least 5 to 10 years.
Lifespan Of Male and Female Cockatiel
A male and female Cockatiel are likely to have similar lifespans. Gender does not play any role in increasing or decreasing the living years of the pet bird.
Lifespan Of Different Breeds Of Cockatiels
Like other birds, Cockatiel’s different breeds do not vary in their living years. The breeds are in accordance with the color variations of the birds. The remaining genetic makeup is similar. Therefore, the life expectancy of a Pied cockatiel, Lutino, Cinnamon, Albino, and a Pearl Cockatiel is almost the same.
Factors Affecting the Life Expectancy Of A Cockatiel
There are various factors that affect the lifespan of any Bird. In this case, we are going to talk about the Cockatiel and discuss how certain factors influence its lifespan.
Basically, there are both internal and external factors that might have impacts on the bird’s life span.
1. Genetic Lineage
You must be thinking that how can genetic lineage influence the lifespan of a bird. This is an interesting thing. Different birds have slightly varied genetic makeup even though they belong to the same family.
In this case, we are talking about the lifespan of a Cockatiel, it depends upon its genetic lineage. A bird that has survival characteristics and is able to face the harshness of the environment is more likely to live more years.
2. Diet
The most important influencing factor of a bird’s lifespan is its diet. No wonder you are what you eat. This statement is likewise true for Cockatiels.
As a pet owner, you should be very careful about what you are feeding your bird. If the diet is healthy and hygienic it will have good effects on your pet. The Cockatiel would require an adequate amount of food. Feeding can be as harmful as hunger. You need to have a very balanced approach to feeding your Cockatiel.
3. Environmental factors
You must be wondering what effects an environment can have on the lifespan of a cockatiel. Well, the environment can have drastic effects.
Cockatiels can survive only in particular moderate weather conditions. These birds are able to survive at a specific temperature. If the weather becomes extremely hot or extremely cold the bird is likely to face difficulty. For smaller time periods, the phase can pass away but exposure to extreme conditions for longer periods of time may get your bird to become sick. Therefore, it might even die.
4. Hygiene
Hygiene is the most important factor in the survival of any pet. Cockatiels in particular are cleanliness-loving birds. They desire a clean and neat environment.
If Cockatiels are placed in a clean cage and given a hygienic environment to live in, they are likely to spend more living years. A dirty environment will not only disgust the bird but also become a cause for many diseases. Some of these diseases could be respiratory in nature and cause instantaneous death off the bed.
In other cases, some bacterial and viral infections main arise due to unhygienic circumstances, therefore causing the bird to become sick. This might deteriorate your bird’s health over time. Thus, leaving it lesser years to live.
How to Increase Cockatiel’s Life Expectancy?
If you want your bird to survive the maximum there are a few things that you need to take into consideration. By performing these practices on a regular and frequent basis you can easily get to spend more time with your bird.
1. Keeping it disinfected
Infection is a regular cause of diseases. Due to bird infections, your pet can lose its health and fall into sickness. To avoid this, you need to keep your Cockatiel disinfected.
In order to make this possible you will have to keep up your birds’ environment, i.e., the cage, best, tidy and clean. You would have to throw away any leftovers of food and serve them with fresh fruits, vegetables, and freshwater. You shall also provide it with a daily bath to wash away any germs or infectious agents from the body of your pet.
2. Nutritional Content To Their Diet
Similar to other organisms, your Cockatiel requires a healthy amount of minerals and nutrients in its diet. This will not only help your bird to maintain a healthy body but also, so you quit it with the basic immunity that it requires.
A Cockatiel that eats fresh fruits like ripe bananas, apples, papaya, and kiwi as well as vegetables with equal enthusiasm is likely to you have better and stronger immunities.
3. Exercise
Exercise is a very important aspect of your Cockatiels health. Even though it will take some time to start finding it comfortable to exercise on a regular basis but once the routine and habit are established, the bird’s health graph will start moving upwards.
Health is wealth for your Cockatiel. Therefore, you shall take good care of the bird’s workout sessions as well as other physical activities.
4. Safety
Cockatiels are more likely to die of accidents than of natural causes. These are to be taken good care of and held in a safe environment.
If you are keeping the bird out of the cage and giving it the Liberty to roam around in your house, you also need to make sure that it does not stay in the kitchen. This is because the fumes are toxic for the Cockatiel. The gas is poisonous for birds and might choke them to death.
They should also be under your keen sight of observation while they are in their cages. Sometimes the bird’s head gets stuck between the bars of the cage. The bird might also overfeed on the food if it lies and attended in the cage.
Cockatiel’s Life Cycle
Like every organism, a Cockatiel also so goes through different stages of development in order to become an adult. All of those developmental stages have been described below in detail.
Breeding
Cockatiels breed during the rainfall season. During the meeting period, the birds get excited. Especially the Male Cockatiel becomes more energetic, loud, noisy, and aggressive.
Female Cockatiel lays its eggs in tree hollows, especially in the eucalyptus tree. The bird usually lays 4-7 eggs on alternate days. She then allows it to incubate for a period of 17 to 23 days.
During the incubation period, male and female Cockatiels take turns in sitting on the eggs. After around another 5 weeks the babies/chick fledge.
The bird parents take care of their young ones and feed them for about 8 weeks. After this time, the young one is able to take care of itself.
If you are wondering what’s the lifespan of Sparrows is then check out this article on How Long Do Sparrows Live?
Conclusion
Cockatiels are sweet and lovely birds. They like to be free. They feel happy when the room and fly around. It is nice to have such amazing birds as pets.
However, owning the bird comes with its own set of precautions. If you want to increase the lifespan of a Cockatiel so that you can spend more time with your lovely fellow, you must be taken well care of your buddy. Otherwise, it might not even live up to its average expectancy.
FAQ
1. Can a cockatiel die of loneliness?
A cockatiel can definitely die of loneliness. However, this process is indirect in nature. When a Cockatiel feels lonely, its immunity will decrease which will leave it more vulnerable to deadly diseases. Moreover, the bird will stop eating and ultimately die.
2. How long did the oldest Cockatiel lived?
The oldest Cockatiel lived for 32 years. It was moved around the Colorado country and died on 27 January 2016. It was named sunshine.
