Rainbow Lorikeet

[Nice as pie]

Hi
We have a Rainbow Lorikeet and I was wondering if anyone knows how often you are supposed to feed them...It is tame and sits on top of the cage and I have noticed it is looking fat.

I feed it honey and toast in the morning and through the day I give it pieces of apple...and other fruit if I have it....It has in it's cage it dry mix also....

Anyone suggestions please will help...I dont want it to get tooo fat !!

[JATS]

http://www.petcraft.com/docs/lori.shtml

As far as I know feeding it bread and honey isn't a great idea... I could be wrong but I'm sure I heard it's bad for birds.

[Lauz]

as far as i know lorikeets expecially live on a very special diet when in captivity... part of it is a powder... nectar powder or something.. can't remember exactly - ring a breeder or specialist pet shop, they'll tell you

[rynosmum]

http://www.petcraft.com/docs/lori.shtml

As far as I know feeding it bread and honey isn't a great idea... I could be wrong but I'm sure I heard it's bad for birds.

That's what I heard as well. We used to have wild lorikeets around our house and Parks and Wildlife told us never to feed them bread and honey. We fed them wildbird seed mix and as they were wild, they then stripped the palm trees etc for everything else they needed.

[Tristans_Mum]

Hey

Your lorikeet should be having a special mix called Loriwet and Lori Dry. Lorywet is like a powder that you mix with water until it is a paste (not to think) and Lorydry you just put it in a container as is, but it needs to be next to water so that the bird can mix it himself.
They like fruit and bottle brush.
If you want any more info just Pm me as ive had many lorikeets :thumbsup:

[Mum2Tyla]

Hi,
bread is not good for any bird and it should always have the lorikeet mix either the wet or dry available to it plus fresh fruit and flowers eg bottlebrushes, grevillea any flowers that have alot of nectar, does the bird fly around much or is it pretty stationary most the time as you can imagine flying uses up alot of energy so if the bird is not flying much I would try to get it to do more, dont give too much honey is very calorie dense and cut out the bread.
Kelly

[Nice as pie]

Hi guys.

Thanks for your responses......When we bought the bird the pet shop was very vague.. The young chap told me to feed him toast with honey on it, so that is what I have been doing...So I am trying to find out what I supposed to be doing.....

Tristan_Mum - The bird is Tame and has it's wings clipped. The cage is open and he sits on top of the cage most of the time...It's wings are clipped so doesnt do much flying....I feed it the Lorikeet dry mix in the cage.....I put fruit such as apple, apricot and nectarines on top of the cage constantly during the day....This probably explains the messy poo ! I will try and pm you when I work oout how to do it since I am new at this !!

What I am not sure about is can I overfeed the bird.....Am I supposed to feed it three time a day like a dog....Is too much fruit a good thing...As I said earlier the bird appears to be getting a bit fatter, but that could also be due to it growing since it is baby.....

I just want to make sure I am doing the right thing (as it cost a fortune !) and the kids love it to death !!

Sorry fot the long message guys .

[Tristans_Mum]

Is there water next to the dry mix. It cant eat it dry it mixes it with water. Maybe you should just buy a mix you mix with water and leave it on top of the cage.
If you leave the mix near by it will eat when hungry, they do eat alot of this tho.

[ogilberry]

i have two rainbow lorikeets and basically i just keep the bowls full i have one with dry lorikeet mix(the creamy white biscuit type mix) i give them a bowl every few days of the wet mix..and fruit...i dont give them too much bread only on the odd occasion you can buy a nector syrup in a bottle which you can add to things.

lorikeets will have runny poops no matter what you give them unfortunately that is the only downfall from these colourful clowns

im sure he will only eat what he needs in the wild they have an abundance of nectar and seed in the trees and get to help themselves...if he was only a baby when you got him he would have not long been weaned so perhaps the whole novelty of the food may wear off...

anyways that is my long post hehe hope something i have dribbled helps

fee

[Mum2Tyla]

Hi,
I wish it were true that birds only eat as much as they need but as vets we often see overweight birds, this lorikeet has very little exercise as it's wings are clipped, it may be growing or it may be overeating it is hard to say without seeing the bird, try to get him toys that make him move around like ladders etc so he gets some exercise, and it is true that they have sloppy faeces and tat they spray everywhere this is to do with the breed not the diet.
Kelly:)

[Nice as pie]

Hi guys
Computer has been down for ages so I am finally now able to reply....

I now understand a little more about how I should feed the bird....

I guess the best thing to do from all the suggestions is leave the dry mix for him to eat in the cage when he wants too and give him fruit randomly during the day....And I guess I will stop the honey on toast even though he seems to love it !!

Thanks again for all your help.

[Talirose]

Hi
I use to have a RL - we would feed him fairex (baby nutritional food mixed with water - can buy from Woolworths/Coles etc) is suppose to be v good for them - from a bird expert/carer. We would only give half a cup a day once mixed with water - if that! (I think would need to ask my dad to be sure if its different will come back and tell) - some of it in morning and rest in afternoon.

They love water especially during hot days - wait to baby is a big bigger/older just in case! - but put out a shallow dish of water for her/him to splash around in. They make a mess lol Most baby birds though shouldnt get wet so wait to he/she is older.

Mine use to have favourites (would change) and if you went near them when he was there he would chase you and bite your feet! VERY jealous lol Also rub head and body on you - very affectionate and loving AND would mate socks lol Beautiful birds. They really are like mini dogs! people dont realise until they have one!

Have fun!