Caring for Lorikeet’s

Bringing a baby Lorikeet home for the first time.

First 3 days: Never rush your bird. They will be naturally scared because of the changed environment and may not eat much for the first day or two due to stress. Once they are eating properly and feel at home, then it is time to start training! See our webpage, Facebook and Instagram for more information.

For the first 5 days: Watch your bird very carefully to make sure it is eating. It is a good idea to feed your new bird a wet mix with warm water, especially if it is a baby. Sometimes nectar feeding birds will need to be encouraged to eat with a spoon, so keep one handy. After you are sure your bird is eating well, you can put it on a dry diet.

Diet: As a nectar eater, Lorikeets do not eat seed – therefore require a nectar specific mix. This can be given wet or dry. Treats include nectar flowers, nectar treat bars and dried fruit. It is important to use high-quality food, as many supermarket or cheaper brands contain very high levels of sugar which can cause hyperactivity and aggression. High sugar diets also mean the bird will have to drink a lot more water to digest, and this will cause very “squirty” poo! When feeding a wet mix make sure to not let spoil- change every 4 hours in hot weather as baby lorikeets are very delicate to bacteria as they have un developed immune systems.

Cage– Choose a cage which is the biggest possible as this not only will make your lorikeet happier but will make your lorikeet a better pet as lorikeets placed in a small cage tend to be hard to train and become aggressive and can lead to ongoing behavioural issues. Remember they need sufficient room for their toys and swings and a place to have a good flap of the wings.

Worming: Birds should be wormed 4 times a year. Baby birds should be wormed 10 days after taking them home, worming too early can upset a baby bird’s crop and digestion so we recommend from 12 weeks. 

Mite and lice spray: This should be applied on all birds every 3 months as lice and mites unfortunately seem to spread everywhere and birds in an inside environment are still susceptible. Spray your birds when you worm your birds

Toys: Loris are a very high energy bird and therefore require a lot of toys. Have a large variety, from strong to flimsy toys that can be torn apart easily. Avoid “stringy” toys or anything your bird could be tangled in, as lorikeets have been known to get themselves in trouble. Regularly changing your birds’ toys will ensure it is being kept stimulated. Toys are essential for these intelligent birds, they make full use of all kinds of toys including foot toys, hanging toys, natural chew toys, luffa toys, plastic toys and so on.  Environmental enrichment keeps birds happy and stops aggression if you are wanting a friendly happy pet instead of an aggressive monster it is essential to raise your bird properly while the birds young and the brain is developing. Swings can be great for these active birds as they have fun with swings it is also a form of exercise as they use muscles they normally wouldn’t use when standing on a still perch.

Nail Trimming: There are many perches available to help wear down the tip of your birds’ nails. However, we also offer nail clipping services in store 7 days a week.

Wing Trimming: There are pros and cons to having a birds’ wings clipped – it will not guarantee they can’t fly away, however it should reduce flight allowing them to glide safely to the ground and can make training/bonding more manageable. Birds with clipped wings at purchase who are allowed their wings to grow back get plenty of exercise and will see improved confidence. If you are unsure about whether you should keep your bird clipped, chat to one of our friendly staff in store for more information.

Signs of illness: A bird on the floor of the cage fluffed up or with faeces covering their vent or just generally depressed, should be monitored closely – seek advice from us in store or straight to your preferred avian vet. Broad spectrum medication & antibiotics can be given over the counter and refer you to a vet if necessary. Be familiar with your pets’ ‘normal’ droppings.

Handling/training: Basic training and socialisation have huge benefits for you and your bird. Training takes dedication, repetition and persistence especially during the first few weeks. If your bird bites you, do not pull away, continue to work through it. Ignore bad behaviour and reward good behaviour! Lorikeets are naturally cheekier and nippy and have a tendency to “play fight.” 

Boarding is available at www.petsvillehotel.com to book your stay. Come see us in store if you have any concerns, or questions and feel free to bring your bird for us to see!

Diet for Lorikeets

For the Health, vitality and longevity of pet lories lorikeets it is important to feed them a well researched quality lorikeet nectar supplement.  There are many brands of lorikeet food many have good ingredient while leaving some to be questionable.  If you are unsure talk to your local bird experts as they will have seen the breeding results in feeding good quality foods.  Unlike other parrots Lorikeets feed on nectar from flowers as they main part of their diet in the wild.

Many diseases found in captive lorikeets can be avoided with the correct diet and feeding practices.

Lorikeet wet mix– this wet mix is essential for Baby lorikeets we recommend feeding baby lories a mix of lorikeet wet mix and hand rearing formula.  This mix should be fed as a poor-able mixture resembling milk.  Do not let the wet mix spoil especially in summer you will need to be vigilant as spoil t food can cause a bacterial infection which can cause sudden death.  Wet mix is important and should be fed to lorikeets through the remainder of the birds life, after a lorikeet is 8 weeks old it may be weaned onto Lorikeet dry mix which is easier to feed and can be left out all day.  Some great wet mixes include Sheps wet mix, Passwell Lorikeet food, Wombaroo lorikeet food, avione rearing and conditioning food, attraction lorikeet food, vetafarm lorikeet food and Elliots Lorikeet.

Lorikeet Dry food– This should be on offer at all times and must be replaced freshly on a daily basis.  Some Mixes we have trialed with our birds which we recommend are Sheps Lori Dry, Passwell lorikeet food, Attraction lorikeet food, and avione lorikeet rearing and conditioning.  You may have noticed that some of these were mentioned above this is because these foods mentioned twice can be used as a wet mix or a dry mix.

Vitamin supplement– Added via the water supply some Lorikeets are sensitive to high levels of vitamins so i would not over dose them but add to water maybe 2 times a week.  Because of the reason that some lories are sensitive to High levels of vitamins only add vitamins to a lorikeets diet that has no vitamins added to the formula already.  Sheps wet and sheps Dry have been specifically designed not to have vitamins added for this reason.  Do not add Vitamins to the other Brands of lorikeet food mentioned above.

Calcium– Do not feed your lorikeet grit as a calcium source but instead add a calcium source to the water or supply calcium bells or a calcium perch.

Vitamin D supplement–   This is essential for all birds to absorb calcium this supplement is not necessary if your bird gets over 3 hours of unfiltered sunlight a week.  FYI sun through a window is filtered and they are enable to receive the necessary vitamin D

Iodine– many Lorikeets are iodine deficient

Water– always have a fresh supply of water and be careful as sometimes they can bath in their water bowl on a hot day and die of dehydration due to a lack of water.

Wild flowers– Be very careful in Baby Lorikeets clippings from plants as they have not built their immune systems yet and can be highly susceptible to bacteria’s spread from wild birds. Do not feed baby Lorikeets wild flowers until they are 6 months old.  When feeding lorikeets flowers stick with native Australian trees.

Training– visit our bird training page for some helpful tips & tricks

Recommended Vets

The Wild Vet

1300 9453 838 

Glebe

SASH

02 8913 400

Alexandria

SERV 

02 9436 4884

Artarmon

Carlingford Animal Hospital

02 9871 6036

Carlingford

Fruits & Veggie Guide

Examples, not limited to:

Do’s
Fruits– pears, apples, citrus, watermelon, stone fruit, kiwi fruit, strawberries, rockmelon, banana, star fruit, pomegranate and grapes in moderation.

Vegetables and greens– Silver beet, sweet potato, carrot, green beans, peas, corn, capsicum, endive, broccoli, spinach, pumpkin
Don’t’s
Chocolate, Salt, Avocado, Onions, Garlic, Ginger, Iceberg Lettuce, Processed foods, Caffeine, Dairy products, tea, coffee, and alcohol.