Lorikeet alternatives

[IanJ]

Hi!

Maybe the wrong place to post, but wondered if anyone might suggest alternatives that are similar to Lorikeets, but that have a more standard diet?

I fell in love with the friendliest Lorikeet in a store this week, but I learned how specific their diet is and how messy their excrement is, and it just wouldn’t work in a rented flat.

My landlady was happy for me to get a pet bird, but asked me to mindful of the level of mess and this seems the polar opposite of the arrangement

However, I adored the size, playfulness and temperament of the bird, so wondered if anyone had ideas of alternatives.

I’m thinking perhaps a caique, but worried they might be a bit overly stubborn

Opinions/experience welcome!

 

[expressmailtome]

Bump.

 

[aooratrix]

Caiques

 

[MnGuy]

I've only been around lorikeets at the Long Beach aquarium, where you can feed them in an aviary, so I don't have a ton of firsthand experience with their personalities.

Can you specify what qualities and traits you're looking for? That might help us give better advice.

However, based on my loose understanding of lorikeets, I think an Indian ringneck is similar. I adopted one last fall and he's super friendly and upbeat. He bounces around a little, but not as much as a caique. He loves perching on my shoulder and trying to cling to my toes and feet when they're propped up on the table.

 

[PetFoster]

I think a caique is pretty similar to a lorikeet in general -- but all birds are fully unique characters! The caiques I have met and interacted with seemed closer to Goffin's cockatoos: very animated, super cute, will lure you into thinking you want to snuggle and then -- bam! -- they'll chomp you quick and hard The trick is learning to read their body language well enough to know when the strike is imminent, and turning the play around before then. The lorikeet I have (and the one I had years ago) were the most eye-pin-ie birds I have ever encountered, which was the biggest clue for knowing how heightened they were. Not exactly the same with a caique or Goffin's. They are much more subtle. My lorikeet is entertaining to watch play, and she has a fairly large vocabulary, though it is rare to figure out entirely what she is saying at all times. She will say "good morning" (all day long) and "how are you" and she learned "good boy" from me saying it to my dog, and she meows and barks. She also loves a puzzle or a challenge, and if she wants something, she will go after it in a thousand ways before she considers giving up.