Green Wing Age

[TheChickenMan]

I'm doing research on green wing macaws, and I've been getting a lot of mixed results on their age. Some say that they live to be 80 on average, and then other sources will say less than 50. I just want to see if any green wing macaw owners had any actual data so I could get a good average. Thanks!, any replies are appreciated.

 

[Scott]

Good luck with your research! I've not had a macaw for the full lifespan so cannot comment. You'll find a huge continuum of longevity online, and I imagine captive lifestyle attributes are as important as species capacity for life.

 

[ChristaNL]

It's one of those "nobody knows" (yet) questions.


Parrotkeeping is a rather novel idea, and keeping records is almost non-existent... plus the "art and science" of keeping them alive keeps changing (better food, medical care, housing, exercise)...
so the consensus is "they live verrry, verrry long lives" but nobody has a number.


No matter what parrot you get to share your life..always make sure there is a contingencyplan: if something happens to the human -> where will the parrot go?
Some rehoming organisations offer a kind of contract - they will step in in time of need, some people do it the old fashioned way and the children take care of the bird from then on or maybe friends will take them.

 

[Kiwibird]

I can't say where due to forum rules, but on another forum there was a member who had a GWM in her 70's I think. Still played with toys and acted like a parrot too, albeit a bit slower due to cataracts and arthritis (both common in senior birds).

50 sounds like an old school maximum lifespan estimate, back when owners knew little about proper care of parrots and fed them wrong, put them in the wrong size cage, poisonous things in the environment, bird was wild caught and age was unknown in the first place etc... That or they only live to around 50 in the wild. 70-80 would likely be a more accurate estimate for a large macaw hatched in captivity today who received a proper diet and routine care with a avian vet.

 

[TheChickenMan]

Thanks for the info! I'll use it in my consideration.

 

[noodles123]

If you can't imagine 80, I wouldn't take the gamble...

 

[Salinde]

I'm doing research on green wing macaws, and I've been getting a lot of mixed results on their age. Some say that they live to be 80 on average, and then other sources will say less than 50. I just want to see if any green wing macaw owners had any actual data so I could get a good average. Thanks!, any replies are appreciated.

I had a Greenwing just die at 32 yo. I had her since 3 months. She had an enormous flight indoor/out over 2000 sf. She had a mate. She had 6 hrs a day human attention and great care. She died of a bacterial infection that wouldn’t respond to treatment. Most parrots die from bacterial infections in captivity. My oldest is 40, and African Grey

 

[DonnaBudgie]

That must have bern very sad to lose your Greenwing after so msny years. She must have been an amazing bird.

Everything I've read about parrot lifespan says different things for in the wild and captivity. In the wild it may say 30-40 but 70+ in captivity. I guess they factor in deaths from predators and accidents that brings it down and they use zoo lifespans for captivity where the animals (usually) have access to the best avian Veterinarians. I don't think they really know the outer limits other than anecdotal reports.

 

[Macawdamia Nut]

I think it is unrealistic to think an average life expectancy is 80. Think of what an average means. It is RARE for a bird to live more than 80 years, so all the birds who die before 80 pull the average age down. An average age of 80 is a great exaggeration. I asked my avian vet and she said her oldest patient is 65 and most don’t make it past their 30s.

She said wild -caught birds have the strongest DNA by far. Survival of the fittest and all that. Captive bred, hand-raised birds are very fragile in her experience.