Rainbow Lorikeet Strange Behaviour

[E&MBudge]

Hi folks, bit new here so excuse any mistakes.

We've recently adopted a Rainbow Lorikeet (have yet to name him/her so any suggestions there are welcome), she's an absolute sweetheart when we have her out of the cage, will sit with us, knows how to sit on our arm etc. However when trying to take her out or put her back in the cage, it's an absolute nightmare, like she is afraid of it or us, will jump away and fall and defensively bite and make those crow-like unhappy sounds. But again once she is inside she is perfectly okay.
I'm no expert but I feel she may have had some trauma involving a cage in the past which is causing this behaviour. Any suggestions?

On another note, can anyone please clarify what certain sounds signify for Rainbow Lorikeets, she was sitting with me the other day and I was rubbing her cheek, she was perfectly still and calm but making sounds that could have been distress, but once again she seemed relaxed.

 

[simon777]

I don't know anything about cages, Simon does not have one. The sounds you will have to learn for yourself what they mean. Simon has many sweet I am happy sounds, as well as I am annoyed sounds, I am in trouble sounds. All of which I had to learn by trial and error. Basically ask your bird if she is happy while she makes a certain sound or if she is annoyed. The 'I am in pain' sound should be unmistakeable. She should respond by continuing to make a certain sound when asked. Remember she can understand what you say so she will give you answers I her own manner. Just be patient, you'll learn.

 

[Rain Bow]

I can tell you based on all the reading I've done here that many birds are nervous w/ hands in the cage. My Buddy was like that & is great now, I can actually get away w/ my whole upper body through the door. Some birds will get better & more trusting over time & some never will. My suggestion is to use you arm to steer him into the cage after you put him/her on it. Be sure to not touch him/her while you're doing this. Once you get them in & get the door locked, give them your favorite treat.

As for a name pick one that matches their personality. Maybe a nice unisex name.

This is from Wikipedia
There is little to visually distinguish between the sexes; however, to a keen observer of their colouring and behaviour, their dimorphism is readily apparent.
Juveniles have a black beak, which gradually brightens to orange in the adults.


Until you get them into a vet & have them DNA sex tested you will not know if it's a girl/boy. Unless I miss understand what I'm reading here. I know nothing about lorikeets. The reason to know the sex is because Female birds can have issues w/ egg laying that can harm their health. I don't know about their noises but try searching on Youtube, & you could find your answer their.

I can tell you the cage, hand issue is normal.



Nice to meet you!

I'm going to tag a couple of people that may know more about your fid. @Lady Jane & @WallyLoopey ,

 

[E&MBudge]

I don't know anything about cages, Simon does not have one. The sounds you will have to learn for yourself what they mean. Simon has many sweet I am happy sounds, as well as I am annoyed sounds, I am in trouble sounds. All of which I had to learn by trial and error. Basically ask your bird if she is happy while she makes a certain sound or if she is annoyed. The 'I am in pain' sound should be unmistakeable. She should respond by continuing to make a certain sound when asked. Remember she can understand what you say so she will give you answers I her own manner. Just be patient, you'll learn.

I was thinking maybe to go cageless with her when we are in a position to if she doesn't improve with her cage issues, don't want her having stress. Regardless she is in a temporary smaller cage than i'd like currently, but we will be moving her into something suitable ASAP. I definitely can tell some of the sounds but some I'm still unsure of all her specific sounds just yet, especially her "affection" noise. I haven't been able to find any videos or guides so far, but as you said, I'll learn as I go Thank you!

 

[oddyssea]

Many people think lorikeets are a species apart, and I tend to agree. To me they seem more, shall we say, wilful. My little one, a varied lorikeet called Lovejoy, knows very well how to step up but often won’t, he runs away and hides and turns it into a game of chasey, deliberately I’m quite sure. Often when I open the cage door in the morning he avoids my hand and prefers to hop out himself, and usually at bedtime he puts himself to bed. He knows his routine so I leave him to it! I don’t know if your lorikeet has a regular bedtime but if you can establish a routine (my guy puts himself to bed bang on sunset every day!) he may be happier putting his own self to bed

 

[simon777]

Cageless will mean that someone is in the house with her basically at all times. I lock the door when I quickly check the mailbox or take out the rubbish. Simon has never had a cage with me. At first he slept on a high perch. Then he decided he liked to sleep in a large paper bag full of tissues. He really likes the house I have for him now, it is a large cat house sitting firmly on a platform with the roof only about a foot from the ceiling. He has blankets wrapped around it in winter and even hotties stuffed between the wall and the house. Also he has the luxury of sheepskin, sheet and soft snuggle scarves inside. He even has some shrunken cashmere. The house is in my bedroom so I can safely sleep. I promised Simon I would never put him in a cage. It is a lot of work having him cageless but he loves living with me.

 

[E&MBudge]

I can tell you based on all the reading I've done here that many birds are nervous w/ hands in the cage. My Buddy was like that & is great now, I can actually get away w/ my whole upper body through the door. Some birds will get better & more trusting over time & some never will. My suggestion is to use you arm to steer him into the cage after you put him/her on it. Be sure to not touch him/her while you're doing this. Once you get them in & get the door locked, give them your favorite treat.

As for a name pick one that matches their personality. Maybe a nice unisex name.

This is from Wikipedia
There is little to visually distinguish between the sexes; however, to a keen observer of their colouring and behaviour, their dimorphism is readily apparent.
Juveniles have a black beak, which gradually brightens to orange in the adults.


Until you get them into a vet & have them DNA sex tested you will not know if it's a girl/boy. Unless I miss understand what I'm reading here. I know nothing about lorikeets. The reason to know the sex is because Female birds can have issues w/ egg laying that can harm their health. I don't know about their noises but try searching on Youtube, & you could find your answer their.

I can tell you the cage, hand issue is normal.



Nice to meet you!

I'm going to tag a couple of people that may know more about your fid. @Lady Jane & @WallyLoopey ,

I guess it's something that I never experienced with the cage nervousness, we have a number of Budgies who never did it at all. Hopefully she improves with time, we'll try to get her used to our hands in the cage and that steering trick, thanks!

Yeah, i was told that apart from beak colour when younger, there's really no way to determine age. If it becomes a concern at any stage we'll take her to a vet for a DNA test ASAP, but for now the only worry is finding a proper name to call her/him by Appreciate the help, hopefully some other people have some info too. It seems to be proving a bit of a challenge when finding info for tamed Lorikeets online. A lot less info out there than for Budgies and Cockatiels for sure!

 

[Les charlson]

Hi. She feels the cage is her safe area. I combat that by making a big deal of cleaning the bottom of the cage so they get used to sharing the space, I put as much of my body in the cage. I always open the door to offer treats rather than through the bars. When they are out I put a perch that is long enough so as it is partially out of the door as a way for them to to come out on their own but they can retreat inside if they change their mind. As she is new, its all she has to call home, that's her tree branch and like any bird she will fight off any intruders . Things will change over time. My lorries make all sorts of noises. Soft piping when comfortable. A louder peep when eating. The scream is when they are threatened or want to get away. A whistle when interacting with me and pretending to wrestle and a loud scream when just letting off steam.

 

[Rain Bow]

Hi. She feels the cage is her safe area. I combat that by making a big deal of cleaning the bottom of the cage so they get used to sharing the space, I put as much of my body in the cage. I always open the door to offer treats rather than through the bars. When they are out I put a perch that is long enough so as it is partially out of the door as a way for them to to come out on their own but they can retreat inside if they change their mind. As she is new, its all she has to call home, that's her tree branch and like any bird she will fight off any intruders . Things will change over time. My lorries make all sorts of noises. Soft piping when comfortable. A louder peep when eating. The scream is when they are threatened or want to get away. A whistle when interacting with me and pretending to wrestle and a loud scream when just letting off steam.

That's some good information in that post!

 

[Fuzzy]

She sounds gorgeous - hope we can see some pics of her soon.

I too would try letting her come out and go back in again on her own if she acts like that. I never take any of my birds out of the cage (except Chico as he is disabled), but open the door and let them choose to come out themselves. To get them back in, I just have to slot food bowls in and they come flying. They know the routine. You could try letting her out an hour or two before breakfast so she takes herself back when she is hungry. Then gradually increase the time she is out. That's how I worked it with my used-to-be-untame Amazon, Ollie.

If she is unhappy with your hands in the cage, try offering treats from your fingers when she is in the cage (what does she pick out of the food bowls first? These will be her favourites) - that way she begins to pair your hands with good experiences.

I was also thinking that perhaps if it is a small cage, the door might be small which she doesn't like coming through? Also with a small cage a bird hasn't got the space to get away from something that is scaring it.

 

[Fuzzy]

My suggestion is to use you arm to steer him into the cage after you put him/her on it. Be sure to not touch him/her while you're doing this. Once you get them in & get the door locked, give them your favorite treat.

Just be aware that this is using negative reinforcement or escape/avoidance training. The bird goes back into the cage to escape/avoid your arm. With your arms/hands already an aversive in this situation, it is not really teaching her anything but to keep escaping or avoiding your hands/arms. Your hands/arms continue to be aversives.

With a new bird who hasn't had the time to gain much history of positive reinforcement with you it is better to try to use as much positive reinforcement as possible because you want to be pairing yourself and your hands/arms with awesome experiences in order to gain her trust. So having her go back of her own accord because you have just slotted in a yummy food bowl is an example of positive reinforcement. If you ever have to use negative reinforcement (and yes, sometimes you might have to) always follow it up with positive reinforcement, just as Rain suggested (ie. the treat).

 

[E&MBudge]

Hi. She feels the cage is her safe area. I combat that by making a big deal of cleaning the bottom of the cage so they get used to sharing the space, I put as much of my body in the cage. I always open the door to offer treats rather than through the bars. When they are out I put a perch that is long enough so as it is partially out of the door as a way for them to to come out on their own but they can retreat inside if they change their mind. As she is new, its all she has to call home, that's her tree branch and like any bird she will fight off any intruders . Things will change over time. My lorries make all sorts of noises. Soft piping when comfortable. A louder peep when eating. The scream is when they are threatened or want to get away. A whistle when interacting with me and pretending to wrestle and a loud scream when just letting off steam.

Thank you for the info! We'll try to get her as used to us in her space as possible We do leave her cage open when we're around to supervise so hopefully she'll start to become a little more confident, though so far she only really will come out when on our arms, but with time I'd imagine she'll start to do it! Ah yes ours does all the same and more, she does make soft crow-like noises quite often when she's being cheeky or when we come near the cage, so I'm not sure if that's something Lorie's do, or if it's something she learned. I don't think I've ever heard any wild ones do it hahah.

 

[E&MBudge]

She sounds gorgeous - hope we can see some pics of her soon.
u
I too would try letting her come out and go back in again on her own if she acts like that. I never take any of my birds out of the cage (except Chico as he is disabled), but open the door and let them choose to come out themselves. To get them back in, I just have to slot food bowls in and they come flying. They know the routine. You could try letting her out an hour or two before breakfast so she takes herself back when she is hungry. Then gradually increase the time she is out. That's how I worked it with my used-to-be-untame Amazon, Ollie.

If she is unhappy with your hands in the cage, try offering treats from your fingers when she is in the cage (what does she pick out of the food bowls first? These will be her favourites) - that way she begins to pair your hands with good experiences.

I was also thinking that perhaps if it is a small cage, the door might be small which she doesn't like coming through? Also with a small cage a bird hasn't got the space to get away from something that is scaring it.

It's quite possible that the cage size is the issue, it was also a similar size to the small one she was in before we bought her, but we've now upgraded her into a bigger one that she's slowly exploring and having fun with so hopefully we see some improvement with this one too. It has a very large door as well as an opening at the top that you can leave with a perch so she can come out on her own accord. So while we're around we'll leave it open for her to do as she pleases! We have been trying the treat trick with her and our currently-un-tame Cockatiel, however, neither seem to be interested in taking them from our hands for whatever reason

She is gorgeous and very sweet, here's a pic of her here on my knee:

 

[Fuzzy]

Such a sweet photo of her on your knee! The new cage sounds lovely. Looks like sitting on your knee is reinforcing for her. Reinforcers don't always have to be food.

 

[Rain Bow]

Just be aware that this is using negative reinforcement or escape/avoidance training. The bird goes back into the cage to escape/avoid your arm. With your arms/hands already an aversive in this situation, it is not really teaching her anything but to keep escaping or avoiding your hands/arms. Your hands/arms continue to be aversives.

With a new bird who hasn't had the time to gain much history of positive reinforcement with you it is better to try to use as much positive reinforcement as possible because you want to be pairing yourself and your hands/arms with awesome experiences in order to gain her trust. So having her go back of her own accord because you have just slotted in a yummy food bowl is an example of positive reinforcement. If you ever have to use negative reinforcement (and yes, sometimes you might have to) always follow it up with positive reinforcement, just as Rain suggested (ie. the treat).

This was initially to show him what we wanted. Now we just show him a cracker & ask him what he has to do for it & he goes in. I never thought of it as avoidance (you made a great point, TY). Although we were avoiding, for our parts (we thought he'd eat us). Buddy's a zon.

@E&MBudge
What beautiful colors! Did you choose a name yet?