Lorikeet questions google can't answer!!

[SarahSkitt]

Hi All,

I have a few questions about my beautiful girl (Skittles) Rainbow Lorikeet behaviour, I've tried to find some answers on Google and other web pages but haven't had much luck and saw lots of helpful responses on here in the past so figured I'd give it a go!

First thing, she is VERY needy. She was a hand raised baby and I purchased her when she was about 11 weeks old. From the moment I got her home she's had to be around you at all times, at first I thought that was a baby quality and that as she got older she'd grow out of, she's 7 months old now and still just as needy. She doesn't like to do anything on her own, if you're in the room she just wants to be out of the cage and with you. I bought her an expensive, big play area I guess you'd call it, it's as tall as a standard kitchen bench, has sticks, perches, ladders, a swing, a ball, feed and water bowls, etc. that I was hoping she'd spend a lot of time on playing but instead, she just wants to jump off it and be on you wherever you are, which is great unless i'm trying to work, or do the the dishes, or cook, etc. and I want her to be out of her cage and not in the cage while I'm doing those things. Is this a standard behaviour for young loris that anyone might be aware of?

The next thing, and the biggest issue so far, she is very squawky, she gets really loud whenever I'm not in the same room as her! I don't talk to her when she's being noisy and I try to avoid re-entering the room until she's making nicer noises and not squawking but 5 months on we still have the same problem and I'm not sure what else I can try and do to get her out of this!

One final question, I've been trying to toilet train her, I want her to go to the toilet on her perch, she's really good in making sure that when I put her up there she'll do one (big or small) and she really tries to get one out, I praise her and smile and make a whole bunch of noise to reward her but she is still having heaps of "accidents". she's kind of adopted a habit of pooing as I make the motion towards her perch which more often than not misses the designated poo zone, or she's just poo whenever she's standing on anything, like my leg, the back of a chair, etc. Is there like an average time that it can take for a lorikeet to pick up this kind of training?

That's it for now (I think). Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can offer

 

[JanaJae]

Hi, I can't really help with the toilet training, but I do maybe have an answer for the first two. Dudley, my scaly breasted lorikeet, seems similar to Skittles (very cute name btw). He follows me no matter where I go, I can't even leave the room without him following, and the second he sees me, he starts screaming to come out of his cage, but once I go to his cage he goes silent. I think the "neediness" could just be that she is bonded to you (as Dudley is with me) and may even see you as her mate. If I've learnt anything from owning my two lorikeets, its that they're very playful and love attention (I've only owned lorikeets for about 7-8 months so far, Dudley being our first). Regarding the screaming, birds are birds, they'll scream, and in this case I think she just wants your attention and to be with you. With my lorikeets, if they aren't calling to others outside, they usually settle down once I've been out of their sight for a while, but once they see me, they start screaming again in hopes that I'll let them out. But anyway, I hope this helps and gives you an idea of what it could be!

 

[Mizzely]

Birds are flock animals. It is unnatural for them to be alone. A hand raised baby has been taught that humans are her Flock - that's you! She wants to be with you, which is why she calls out to you when you leave her; that's a contact call. "Hey! You forgot me!" Or "Hey silly, you must be lost, I'm over here! I'll keep calling to help you find your way back!"

As for the poo, it's generally not recommended to potty train them. Some birds will refuse to poop without being told to, which can increase the risk for bacterial infections, or they will try to please you by pooping when they don't have to poop which can cause a cloaca prolapse.

 

[Ned1644]

I have an old Quaker parrot. He’s ”about” 26 years old. I have no idea what his life was like before he came to me. The elderly lady who gave him to me can’t remember what he ate! Anyway, when I leave the room, I tell him, “I’ll be right back.” When I leave the house, I say, “Bye-Bye”. He understands and he doesn’t holler. If I’m out of the room and he yells, I call his name and tell him “I’m right here.” Or “It’s okay Oatis, Just relax.” I know NOTHING about birds, but I think patience and repetition are helping me.

Quaker Oats = Oatis. His previous owner named him Quaker. I know I’m not supposed to change his name, but Quaker just wasn’t cutting it for me.

 

[Gigibirds]

Well about the toilet training I might be able to help! I have a little parrotlet, and she sits with me all day at my desk. I also have a playstand there for her. Basically, whenever she had to poop I would put her on her rope and say 'Go poo-poo!' (yes, I know....very mature sounding ) And when she pooped I would praise her and give her scritchles. So I basically just did that for months, and eventually she would be sitting on my leg/shoulder/hand/whatever, then suddenly walk over to her playstand, hop up on her perch, and poop! I only ever asked her to poop when I saw that she needed to (twitching tail, nippy, etc.). She won't poop 'on command', because guess what? She doesn't have a poop to poop! So you can get them to learn where to poop with lots of patience and time, but pooping on command won't happen. But time, and patience, and treats, and praise, and did I mention time yet? That's what you need to potty-train your lorikeet!