Margaret Madison wrote:
> Younger nandays have more black on their feet. Their feet gradually
> turn more pink as they age. My nanday is 10 now and only has a little
> black up towards the nails. The rest of her feet are completely pink.
Another sign to look for: A nanday under a year old usually has an all-black hood. As they near a year, the hood usually turns to brown
> Visually though, once birds hit maturity, telling the difference
> between a 5 yr old and a 15 yr old, for example, is hard. As they
> become elderly though, you can usually tell the bird is getting old.
> They might develop a little arthritis so their feet don't grip as
> well as they used to (that could also happen though if the bird had
> previous injuries or if the feet didn't have ample opportunity for
> proper exercise - a variety of perches) and their feathers tend to
> look a little more shabby and "unkempt". For a nanday though, you're
> probably talking like 30 to 40 yrs down the road though.
In my experience, the signs of age depend very much on early nutrition. We have one older nanday who was abused for several years when she was about five. Now, at 30, she looks a little unkempt, just as you say. By contrast, her mate, who is 27, who has always had good nutrition, still has very glossy feathers, although they are possibly not as spectacular as before.
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