Diana....your link is not working to connect to your article but I went on the Birds site to read it. Thanks for the great introduction to cockatiels.
I have had many cockatiels in my day, and many died of fatty liver disease before I knew about proper diet. It is hard to find a well educated bird vet, as many vets don't specialize in aviary medicine. But I was lucky in that I had an aviary vet who did autopsies on my birds and I learned a lot.
Exclusive seed diets are horrendous for birds in captivity, no matter what vitamin content they claim to have. Birds in the wild eat fruit, insects, greens, and many other things besides seeds that they may find. A good diet would be an organic pellet without all sorts of colors and fruit smells, and instead offer your bird its colorful food through various fruit, veggies, greens, beans, nuts, some organic seed (can be sprouted for additional nutritional value), even a bit of hard boiled egg now and then. Fresh water, a big cage, rotated toys for play and interest, and socialization will add to the longevity of the bird.
Once I knew what I was doing wrong I even had my canaries living longer........up to 15 years old right up to their maximum lifespan. Captive birds in general may not live up to their full lifespan, but there is a lot we can do to extend the typical caged bird lifespan if we are diligent enough and varied in what we offer them.
