Old Parakeet

Question
Hi,
I have a parakeet who's about 5-6 years oldand I think he's dying. Lately his feathers are thinning out and he hangs out on the bottom of the cage. He gets these big hard balls of poop that I have to break up on his butt that seem to clog him up. his face is pink and he looks very tired all the time. What could this be? Old age? How long do parakeets live in the Northeast?  

Answer
Hi.  Thanks for posting your question.  Life expectancy depends on many factors.  A 5-6 year old parakeet is getting old, but they can live longer if they are well cared for.  It sounds like your parakeet has intestinal/digestive problems of some sort (could be many things).  Whenever a bird hangs out on the bottom of it's cage instead of perching, it doesn't look good.  I recommend you get your keet in to see an avian vet immediately (he needs diagnosed ASAP and put on proper medication for the specific problem).  In the meantime, keep your keet warm with a heating pad under it's cage, keep it in a quiet location, I always cover the cage of any ill birds to keep them free from drafts, separate it from any other birds, make sure it drinks water (use Pedialyte unflavored for water...find it in the baby department of your drug store or dept store)....don't just put water in the cage and hope it drinks...you need to ensure it drinks by dropping one drop at a time into the side of it's beak until the bird appears satisfied (not too much at a time or you can asperate your keet).  Ensure your keet eats food, however, at this point your keet may be too weak to eat on it's own, therefore, you may need to handfeed it with a handfeeding syringe and baby bird formula (buy both at the pet shop or where pet items are sold).  If you don't have either of these on hand, you can use an eyedropper (or your finger or something similar to deliver food to the side of the bird's beak) and human baby food, very thin cream of wheat or give it watered down honey (to give it some strength/energy), etc.  Whatever food you put in it's mouth yourself, ensure it's very warm (should be about 104 degrees F when bird consumes it).  Your keet is very sick and if you want it to survive, you must diligently care for it until you can get him in to see the doc.  Call the vet for an appt as soon as you are finished reading this...be sure to tell them it's an emergency.  

Chrys