Many pet birds like budgies die young; others live for a very long time and remain fit and healthy. But there are some birds who are indeed very old, but unfortunately they're also struggling with some typical old-age diseases. One of these birds is the turquoise-colored male budgie called Tamlin. At the age of about eleven years - his exact age is unknown - he has moved into my bird room, he came here on 01/23/2010. Previously, he has lived in my friend Petra's bird room. She is a very responsible bird owner and pays a lot of attention to her budgies. When he arrived at her place, he felt very comfortable there at first. But then, some of the female birds started to constantly attack and annoy him. This must have been terrible for him because he is so old and he can't just move around and face the "enemy". That's why my friend has decided to look for a fond new home for him where he would not be annoyed the whole day long by other flock members. My birds are very friendly, and therefore we thought it would be a good idea to allow him to live in my bird room.

Tamlin was a bird with very special needs. We don't know much about what happened to him before he came to Petra's home. When she first saw him, he already suffered from several health problems related to his age. For example there has been a sanious arthrosis affecting his right foot and leg. He had to be treated with an antibiotic for a long time. This aching arthropathy made him prevent to stand on the right foot what meant he overstressed the other foot. The result was an abscess that occurred on the sole of his foot (bumblefoot). This infection caused pain as well. But after he had moved to my place, soon his bumblefoot healed nicely and the health problems never appeared again. But I have to admit that it was necessary to have a close look at his feet each and every day. Due to the arthrosis Tamlin was handicapped. He was unable to grip perches, that's why he needed shelves where he could rest and sleep while he was laying on his belly.

Another handicap was his dropped wing. Petra and I, we were not sure about what happened to his wing, and regrettably Tamlin couldn't tell us. He was unable to fly, maybe the shoulder joint had been damaged in the past or maybe the wing has been broken. And Tamlin also suffered from a plumage defect. His tail feathers always broke. Maybe this happened because he fell onto them while he tried to fly. When the plumage grew back, from time to time there were blood feathers at his tail. To prevent heavy bleedings, it was important to pull the blood feathers out. Tamlin of course didn't like it, but it was necessary to do so, because it was the only way to protect him from harm.

As you can see, Tamlin was an elderly bird who has to deal with some health issues and limitations. He needed a surrounding that allowed him to live a happy life even though he was handicapped. My bird room is a place like that; there were many other disabled birds so he was not alone. Despite of being disabled, Tamlin was a friendly and cheerful little guy who loved to tweet and chirp the whole day long. His best friend was Woodstock, a very charming guy. Just a few weeks after Tamlin's arrival, he fell in love with Maggie. They were a happy pair until she regrettably died in September 2010. Since then, he was single. On 01/16/2012, Tamlin suddenly died without any warning. I guess he died due to being senile. I really miss him much since he was such a handsome budgie. The photo on the right shows him on his favourite perch which was suitable for handicapped birds like him.

Tamlin's colour variety is called yellowface. His plumage is blue with a little bit of yellow, that's why his breast, belly and back look turquoise.

Meaning of the name
Before Tamlin became a member of my little flock, he carried a different name. He was called Kleiner what means "little one" in English. But some years ago I already owned another budgie called Kleiner as you can see on his homepage. I think budgies have unique characters and therefore I don't like the idea of two birds carrying the same name. So I had to choose a new name for Tamlin before he moved into my bird room. I like the Scottish ballad about the knight Tamlin (or Tam Lin) who lived with the fairies and one day fell in love with the mortal Janet. On Halloween, she rescued him from the fairy queen and took him back into the world of the mortals. On the site "Tam Lin Balladry " you can find more information on the tale.