There are a lot of different factors that come together to create a parakeet’s life expectancy. Some parakeets live for only a few short years, while other felines can live for decades on end. Find out how long parakeets can live for when Dr. Jess answers, How long do parakeets live?
What is a Parakeet?
Parakeets, are also known as Budgerigars, or “budgies”. They are small members of the parrot family of birds, with over 100 different types of parakeets present worldwide.
They can grow to about 7 inches in length and can weigh up to as an adult.
They can commonly live to 10 years or more in captivity with the proper care and health maintenance routines performed by your veterinarian.
They are seen in a bunch of bright beautiful colors, ranging from yellows, greens, blues, whites, and purples being the most common hues.
Most parakeets are smart and easily trained to listen to commands of those that they trust.
Most are friendly and like companionship and interaction with their owners – handling these birds daily makes most of them very happy!
Parakeet Life Expectancy Factors:
There are many factors that can shorten or lengthen your parakeet’s lifespan. Please keep in mind, that this is more the majority of birds, most of the time. There will always be outliers when talking about how long do parakeets live for.
Here are the more common factors can affect a parakeet’s life expectancy:
How Long Do Parakeets Live?
Many sources will say that the average indoor domesticated parakeet will have a life expectancy somewhere between 7-10 years of age.
However, there are many factors, many of which were discussed above, that come into play when talking about the length of a bird’s life.
Some parakeets will unfortunately live just a few months, while others will live on for decades. Some parakeets are luckier than others and seem to actually have many lives!
In fact, the oldest parakeet on record as of the time of writing this article, was a parakeet named Charles who was 29 years old [source].
There are always going to be outliers. Some outdoor parakeets may live into their teens or twenties, while some indoor birdies my only live a few months or years.
What is the Average Lifespan of an Indoor Parakeet?
With advances in modern medicine, modern diets, modernized bird products, modern indoor living, etc. parakeets, as well as other pets, are living healthier for longer.
The average indoor domesticated parakeet will have a life expectancy somewhere between 5 to over 20 years of age, depending on what type of parakeet we are talking about and multiple factors that were discussed later in this article.
The majority of indoor pet parakeets will live somewhere between 7-10 years.
The Outdoor Parakeet Lifespan:
The threats of living outside can far exceed the threats that an indoor bird will typically face in its lifetime.
Therefore, it is common thought to think that an indoor bird would have a much longer life expectancy when compared to an outdoor one.
This is not true about wild parakeets, as they can live just as long as an indoor parakeet can.
Outdoor birds can encounter fights with other animals, cars and other industrial or manufacturing equipment, severe environmental conditions, possible encounters with serious diseases and illnesses without medical help or with less veterinary care that an indoor domesticated bird would never experience.
With all of these things, plus more, in front of them, it is easy to think that their lives may be drastically shorter than their indoor counterparts.
While it is hard to find solid data on a more exact life expectancy of an outdoor parakeet, one source states that it is from 10 to over 20 years.
How Old Is My Parakeet in Human Years?
Your parakeet’s beak and eyes are a good place to start for a veterinarian to guesstimate what age your bird is.
The condition of the feathers and other body systems can also help your vet determine an approximate age of your pet.
Therefore, it is always a good idea to bring your avian friend in for a vet exam to help determine their age if you do not already know.
Once you know your parakeet’s age (or age range), many pet owners want to know how old their bird is in human years.
It is thought that for every year old your bird is, they are 5 to 6 times that number in human years.
Parakeet Age Groups Defined:
Another big component around bird life spans is how birds are defined by their ages. In general, this is how I identify different age groups of birds.
#1- Baby Parakeets:
- Up to around 6 months of age.
- From birth to months old, a baby bird will be learning so many things about their world, and growing so so much. They will learn to become more and more independent during this stage.
- A baby parakeet will have black eyes which will slowly turn to a gray by the time that they are between 6 and 8 months old.
#3- Adult/Mature Birds:
- 6 months to 3 or 4 years old.
- This is equivalent to early to midlife for your pet. They may tend to slow down a bit (even though they may still have bouts where they revert back to baby-like behavior espcially when playing).
- It is important to keep up with veterinary care through these enjoyable years.
#4- Senior Birds:
- 5+ years old.
- Most birds will slow down and tend to sleep more and be less active.
- Routine veterinary care is extremely important to help identify and treat many of these diseases.
Increasing Your Parakeet’s Life Expectancy:
Now that we understand the factors that can influence your parakeet’s lifespan, we can try and help your bird live their life to the fullest and longest.
Remember that some of the factors that can affect a bird’s life expectancy include: diet, genetics, exercise, environment, veterinary care, etc. Some of these factors we can manipulate to help our bird’s potentially live longer.
Here are a few things to consider:
- Keep Your Bird Indoors: This will help with what veterinarians call HBC’s, or “hit by cars”. Keeping your bird indoors will also help decrease the chances of bird fights, other animal fights, and some potential diseases.
- Exercise & Your Bird: That’s right. If your parakeet is spending their days inside, it is more likely to not move around as much as its outdoor counterparts. Your indoor bird will need to exercise and play inside to keep their body moving and healthy. It is also very good for their mental health to be moving and get the blood pumping.
- High Quality Diets Only: One of the single biggest factors to the health of your pet bird is their diet that you offer to them. That is why it is extremely important to feed them a complete and balanced diet. That includes bird treats and fresh water too! Have a conversation with your vet as to what you should or need to feeding your bird before changing their diet and do it immediately if your bird stops eating or drinking.
- Medical / Veterinary Care: Everything from routine vaccinations and other preventatives, parasite therapy (especially for mites and intestinal worms or yeast infestations), and emergency care, will all likely be a part of keeping your bird around for longer than if veterinary care was not available to your parakeet.
Caring For a Parakeet For Longer Lifespan:
Give your parakeet the best chances at a long lifespan.
Make sure to care for your parakeet just like you would any other pet bird to help them a long healthy life.
Good parakeet pet care includes:
- Proper hygiene: Pet birds can be messy little guys. Even if you are lucky and have a tidier bird, all bird cages will need to be cleaned regularly.
- High-quality nutrition: Your pet bird will not be able to pick out the best and healthiest foods for their bodies. In fact, if you give your bird many options of things to eat in their bird cage, they will simply eat what tastes good for them first, and leave everything that is less-tasty to them, for last. This is why it is so incredibly important to feed your bird a well-balanced diet to help ensure that they receive the proper nutrition for their life stage, health issues, and other needs throughout their lifetime. Bird feed pellets are the easy way to serve your pet bird a complete food, a food that delivers all the necessary nutrients to the animal as long as the animal ingests the proper daily amount.
- Fresh, clean water: A water bottle, water dispenser, or water bowl, filled with fresh water and change at least daily, is a necessity.
- Adequate housing: Your bird’s cage is extremely important, as they will be spending many hours of their life in it – it needs to be well-suited for them. When looking for the proper cage for your bird, look at the size, shape, and material used to construct the cage. Also looking at where the cage will be located is huge. Do not place the cage in a high traffic area, in an area that is drafty, or one that is well-lit at night.
- Opportunities to socialize and exercise: Your pet bird does not need ten million toys in their cage to play with, but they do need toys to engage and interact with. This, along with time with others, will help create times to exercise and socialize, which are important for both physical and mental health.
- Proper Sleeping Environment
Summary:
Parakeets live for a life span between 5 and 20 + years, depending on what type of parakeet is in question, any medical issues, genetics, and their environment.
Wild parakeets can live just as long or longer than indoor domesticated parakeets.
