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Some questions for the Lorikeet owner

  • Thread starter M.C Bird Rescue
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M.C Bird Rescue

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I think they are absolutely gorgeous BUT.....I have some questions just in case I ever end up with 1 here.

1. What is a suitable style cage for a lorikeet. I do understand that they are also"poo shooters" , so with that...how do you keep poo IN THE CAGE?

2. Temperment.... If raised correctly are they normally very sweet and tame or do they tend to nip, bite, flighty, scare easily?
 

jamie

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I think they are absolutely gorgeous BUT.....I have some questions just in case I ever end up with 1 here.

1. What is a suitable style cage for a lorikeet. I do understand that they are also"poo shooters" , so with that...how do you keep poo IN THE CAGE?

2. Temperment.... If raised correctly are they normally very sweet and tame or do they tend to nip, bite, flighty, scare easily?
Not all of them are shooters, however, most people will have a shower curtain or something similar behind the cage to protect walls. I place towels on the floor around the cages to catch anything they squirt out ... I only have 2 squirters :D I have seen some people attach sheets of acrylic to cages, but I've never done that. I do have a sheet of acrylic that I have leaned against the side of one of my cages to help catch any mess. I have a bigger problem with them slinging food than I do with squrting.

Many of them do get nippy when they are excited and when it's breeding season they can become very aggressive. With experience you can learn when they are becoming overstimulated while playing and avoid getting bitten. Also, many of them like to eat a little bit of food throughout the day. Mine all like to nibble on something every 15 or 20 minutes or so & will get nippy if they don't have any food close by. I will keep some nectar or fruit on their playstand while they are out and they will take a little sip every now and then. I find that having a little food around all the time will help keep them from being nippy. They lick everything and will test everything around them with their beak- I think that is partly why they have a reputation of being nippy. However, there is a difference in a bite or nip and "testing" something with the beak.

The oldest one that I have right now is Dewey & he is about 8 years old. He's still very tame and friendly. Haggie will be 5 in April and Saffron will be 4 in January. If handled regularly and well socialized they will most likely be friendly for life.

In the past I had Loki (a Dusky Lory) and Priscilla (a Mitchell's Lorikeet). Loki was very friendly and about 10 when he died. Prissy was going on 12 when she died and was only semi-tame... well actually Prissy was a male but I did not find that out until after he died so I still think of him as a hen. Prissy was hand-raised but his previous owner had intended to breed him so he was not handled often. However, he would occasionally step up for me.
 

Cydney

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1. What is a suitable style cage for a lorikeet. I do understand that they are also"poo shooters" , so with that...how do you keep poo IN THE CAGE?
Kai is in an HQ flight cage. He's not a big shooter at all, I mean, some gets outside of the cage, but nothing like the horror stories you read! I have a shower curtain behind his cage and usually have rugs or a sheet of some sort under his cage and playstand that I can easily wash.


2. Temperment.... If raised correctly are they normally very sweet and tame or do they tend to nip, bite, flighty, scare easily?
Kai was raised with the breeder not knowing if he was going to a pet or breeder home. Kai's original 'owner' wanted him to breed but ended up backing out and I got him. He's a lot more independent than I think a 'pet raised' bird would be, not a cuddler, very interactive and playful. He's starting into a hormonal phase and can get nippy, but he's very easy to read. A little bit of cage time and beating up on toys usually mellows him out again. He's quite a bold little bugger, very opinionated about the people he likes or dislikes, not typically scared by much of anything I present him. If he is kind of wary of something new, I turn it into a toy and play with it, bouncing it away from him, and he immediately takes to it.
 
M

M.C Bird Rescue

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Thank you Cydney and Jamie for answering my questions. Since they are raising in popularity as pets, I wanted to ask a few questions just in case one ever ended up in my care. I like to be as prepared as possible. LOL
 
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