15 week old Lori

[boofhead18]

Hi,

Just to paint the picture in case anyone is interested. I'm from Australia and spent most of my life feeding wild rainbows (as they are literally in every suburb in sydney I've lived) I moved through covid and became the local cafe for about 20-30, a few would regularly fly into my apartment and feed at my desk. One that was so tame he would sit on my shoulder even without food and just chill for 1-2hrs , I could walk around the house with him on my shoulder, watch TV with him, he just didn't care, then his mate (who was too scared to come in the apartment) would call him after a couple of hours and he would fly his way back out. He was so cool it solidified my love for these birds.

So I've moved to NZ a few months back, and got myself a hand raised 8 week old rainbow. He is now 15 weeks and doing fine, spending so much time hand feeding and holding wild birds in Australia I'm used to the noise, the biting all the stuff that goes along with them. However this being my first pet rainbow, we are having to go back to Australia in February for 2 weeks, I'm concerned about leaving him locked in the cage (as there doesn't seem to be any place that does bird lodging in my town). I have a friend here who is willing to feed him daily, however will be too scared to take him out of the cage. I know these birds have so much energy and get bored incredibly easily. I'm worried for the 23hrs a day he is without any contact and in the cage for those 2 weeks he will become destructive and be permanently different when we come back. So that is issue one.

My second issue is that I was thinking of getting another rainbow as a companion for him, but have heard stories about once they pair up they become territorial and defensive over each other and can no longer be tame.

Any advice would be great.
Thanks

 

[Kiwi's Dad]

@minkylory might know.

 

[minkylory]

hmmm well I got a 15 year old lorikeet who spent a long time in a cage without being taken out often (previous owner passed away, got passed down to grand daughter) and she is mostly okay other than sometimes not wanting to come out of cage. she was stuck in her cage for much longer than 2 weeks and she's still very tame, not destructive and enjoys human company. if you want to get another friend for him, now would be the perfect age to do so, its much easier to get young birds to get along than it is older birds. Im not really sure about the not being tame anymore thing, my two live in separate cages but are always close together so they can talk to each other and get play time out together. they are still tame. I hope everything turns out okay either way!

 

[boofhead18]

hmmm well I got a 15 year old lorikeet who spent a long time in a cage without being taken out often (previous owner passed away, got passed down to grand daughter) and she is mostly okay other than sometimes not wanting to come out of cage. she was stuck in her cage for much longer than 2 weeks and she's still very tame, not destructive and enjoys human company. if you want to get another friend for him, now would be the perfect age to do so, its much easier to get young birds to get along than it is older birds. Im not really sure about the not being tame anymore thing, my two live in separate cages but are always close together so they can talk to each other and get play time out together. they are still tame. I hope everything turns out okay either way!

Thanks, well its good to know they recover from being caged up for long periods. I don't have room for two seperate cages, but I do have a large cage that's big enough for 2 birds could this be an issue ? I probably won't be able to get a friend for him for maybe 6 months, so he will be almost a year old by then, is that too old ?

 

[Shezbug]

Thanks, well its good to know they recover from being caged up for long periods. I don't have room for two seperate cages, but I do have a large cage that's big enough for 2 birds could this be an issue ? I probably won't be able to get a friend for him for maybe 6 months, so he will be almost a year old by then, is that too old ?

You have time so I would be looking for a better more suitable arrangement. I would not be nearly comfortable with what you have set up for the two weeks away if this were my bird- can you call around all the local vets asking if they have any contacts for people who would bird sit either at your home or theirs? Can you advertise looking for a pet sitter? I have found many family homes that take in and care for many animals for others who are away and none of them advertise regularly or in a big way- I have had people send me screenshots of small ads on FB, local community groups and pet care groups from FB.

If your bird is used to being out and having company and interactions for more than an hour a day this huge change of being left alone will be rather stressful even if it is only 2 weeks, birds are not solitary animals and get stressed out being left all alone - I would not be ok with a once a day check for my birds as it is a very long time between getting fresh water or food if anything is soiled or spilled or if there is an accident with a toy or the cage etc.

Twice a day with a 1 hour visit each time I would also be rather hesitant with if the checks were definitely a time limited thing- your bird will not be able to have fresh food left all day so this could actually cause a health issue.

For any new bird.. You need to make sure you can house them separately if they do not get along- not all birds can be safely caged together and they certainly should not ever just placed together as strangers- the cage you have now is your current birds home, the new bird being placed in there will be an intruder and may not be welcomed. You also should do a proper quarantine so will need two cages for that time anyhow.

 

[minkylory]

Thanks, well its good to know they recover from being caged up for long periods. I don't have room for two seperate cages, but I do have a large cage that's big enough for 2 birds could this be an issue ? I probably won't be able to get a friend for him for maybe 6 months, so he will be almost a year old by then, is that too old ?

hmm as Shezbug said I would recommend getting separate cages just in case.. I wouldn't put my two lorikeets in a cage together personally as they can become quite aggressive if I'm not paying close attention. a year old is definitely not too old but the younger they are, the better. the food thing though I wouldn't really worry about, as long as your friend is feeding the correct amount each day and cleans the bowls out each day. my two finish their normal food within maybe 20 minutes so it doesn't have time to go bad. if you can find someone that is willing to take your bird out for even an hour or two a day, I would definitely recommend that! if you can't find anyone else that's fine, just make sure he's got a lot of toys to keep him entertained and maybe even a TV or radio to listen to. (also I would love to see pictures of your lorikeet <3)

 

[boofhead18]

I wasn't worried about food, as I know my friend will be around to feed him everyday, it was being kept in the cage all day for 2 weeks. As my friend will literally just change the food and slide the bowl in through guillotine door. He has plenty of toys, the radio is a good idea I might put that on a timer so it turns off and on during daylight hours.

Here he is,

 

[minkylory]

I wasn't worried about food, as I know my friend will be around to feed him everyday, it was being kept in the cage all day for 2 weeks. As my friend will literally just change the food and slide the bowl in through guillotine door. He has plenty of toys, the radio is a good idea I might put that on a timer so it turns off and on during daylight hours.

Here he is,

oh my gosh what a sweet little guy! he's still got the baby looking beak hehe

 

[boofhead18]

Hi, Just an update. My lorikeet is now about 10.5-11 months old. He has always bonded to me more than my wife, as I spend the majority of the time with him. However in the past 2 months especially I've been working from home so, he only see's her for about 1hr a day.
About 3 weeks ago he attacked and bit my wife extremely hard on the lip drawing blood. Then about a week ago the same with me.

Both occasions we were playing with him doing what he loves, he gets all excited eyes constrict , head bangs like in a metal group, around puffs his body and chirps like he has always done. As I'm sure you know when these birds are done and want a rest from play the show it in their demeanor.
So on both occasions stopped playing, he climbed back on our shoulder sat there for about 10 seconds, then lunged and attacked and bit so hard drew blood on both occasions.

Finally again today, we were feeding him, we have coffee and some banana bread in the mornings, and we give him a few small pieces as a treat as we have always done. He loves to sit on my wifes knee in the mornings. Then again outta no where flew up onto her shoulder and bit her ear drawing blood.
He seems to somewhat understand when I tell him no ! and raise my finger, he doesn't flinch or back away in fear, however there is some comprehension going on in there. Similarly I've trained him to poop on command in the sink, and come when I tell him to "come on", bed time when its time to go to bed and few other
commands so he has built up the ability to comprehend at least from me.

We are still not sure what sex he is, I'm aware that around this age the males become sexually mature and hormonal. Just not sure what to do about this now, can this be trained out of him ? My wife no longer wants to be around him which upsets me because she has been around him since day 1 and I don't want to have a
separate relationship with a bird and my wife especially not for the next 20yrs, and I honestly don't want to get rid of him at this stage, so can someone please advise ?

Thanks

 

[expressmailtome]

Hi, Just an update. My lorikeet is now about 10.5-11 months old. He has always bonded to me more than my wife, as I spend the majority of the time with him. However in the past 2 months especially I've been working from home so, he only see's her for about 1hr a day.
About 3 weeks ago he attacked and bit my wife extremely hard on the lip drawing blood. Then about a week ago the same with me.

Both occasions we were playing with him doing what he loves, he gets all excited eyes constrict , head bangs like in a metal group, around puffs his body and chirps like he has always done. As I'm sure you know when these birds are done and want a rest from play the show it in their demeanor.
So on both occasions stopped playing, he climbed back on our shoulder sat there for about 10 seconds, then lunged and attacked and bit so hard drew blood on both occasions.

Finally again today, we were feeding him, we have coffee and some banana bread in the mornings, and we give him a few small pieces as a treat as we have always done. He loves to sit on my wifes knee in the mornings. Then again outta no where flew up onto her shoulder and bit her ear drawing blood.
He seems to somewhat understand when I tell him no ! and raise my finger, he doesn't flinch or back away in fear, however there is some comprehension going on in there. Similarly I've trained him to poop on command in the sink, and come when I tell him to "come on", bed time when its time to go to bed and few other
commands so he has built up the ability to comprehend at least from me.

We are still not sure what sex he is, I'm aware that around this age the males become sexually mature and hormonal. Just not sure what to do about this now, can this be trained out of him ? My wife no longer wants to be around him which upsets me because she has been around him since day 1 and I don't want to have a
separate relationship with a bird and my wife especially not for the next 20yrs, and I honestly don't want to get rid of him at this stage, so can someone please advise ?

Thanks

I am glad that things seem to be going well overall.

 

[boofhead18]

yeah I'm thinking TLDR , cause they aren't really lol