How Old Am I?
Ron Hines DVM PhD
Hi My name is Sammy and I live in Canyon Lake, Texas, and I am 27 years old. I went through several wives in my first 20 years, but now I have a younger male companion. We get on fine – most of the time, but our owners keep us in separate adjoining cages when they are at work just to be sure.
Earlier in my life, I ate mostly store-bought seeds. You know, the kind you see on supermarket shelves in the pet isle. Luckily, my owner fed me salad greens as well. Over the past five years, I’ve been eating an organic mixture of human-grade seeds mixed with organic bird crumpets, a couple of pieces of dark green leafy vegetables or a green bean each day. My owners want to keep my water intake high to help prevent avian gout. I have not been able to fly for about 5 years now, but I can still jump off of my perch when I want to, and I get around well using a narrow ladder my owner made for me. That and my new diet have given me back some of my lost wing strength and my feathers look better than they have in years.