Feeding, Training & Housing your Lories & Lorikeets
- Lories as Pets or Aviary Birds
- Lories & Lorikeets in Aviculture
- Lory Photo Gallery
- Listing of Species
- Lory / Lorikeet Books
- Lory Food
- Diseases of Lories / Lorikeets & Health Care Program
Housing:
Lories are very active birds and playful by nature and appreciate a variety of bird toys, including ropes, bells, balls, and swings.
The minimum cage size for a single lory should be 36" H x 48" L x 24" W or to accommodate a pair the cage dimensions needs to be, at a minimum, 36" H x 60" L x 36" W. You have to remember that you need room for the many toys that lories so cherish, perches, food / water dishes, maybe a "birdy tent" -- as well as providing sufficient space for them to move around, exercise their wings. etc.
Care should be taken in cage design and placement since the birds have a tendency to squirt their waste matter, which is fairly liquid, behind them with some force. It is not recommended to place the cage behind a delicately decorated wall and on unprotected carpet. Easy-care flooring is recommended, as well as a washable wall. An acrylic panel custom-cut and placed over the wall would be a great way to protect it. The acrylic panel can easily be taken outside and hosed down. There are acrylic cages available, but lories love to climb and scramble about, so a standard, high quality powder coated cage is a better choice - as large as the space you have will allow.
In an outdoor aviary they are the easiest birds to maintain, as all of their waste can simply be hosed away, no seed hulls to sweep up or sticky, green and white droppings running down the side of the cage to scrub off. Lory droppings are mostly clear or beige.
A word of caution about placing lories in mixed-species aviaries. Some lories can be very aggressive toward other birds, while others get along with other birds, as long as their territory is respected. Mated pairs defend their territories vigorously. The worst "offenders" is probably the Chattering Lory. They seem to take great pleasure in doing in other birds in their territory.
For additional information, please refer to the following web resources:
- Important information on lories and their specific needs
- The 3 Key Elements to Keep Your Pet Happy & Healthy
- Guidelines, Tips & Tricks: Housing your bird
- Caring for your companion bird (great information on care & training birds)
Training and Behavioral Guidance:
Pet parrots generally present challenges, such as excessive chewing - especially at certain stages in their life. They do discover their beaks as method of "disciplining us" once they are out of the "baby stage" and they can generally be somewhat naughty, and it really is important to learn to understand them and to guide their behavior before an undesirable behavior has been established. Undisciplined parrots will chew on electric wiring potentially causing house fires. They regard anything in your home as a "toy" that can be explored and chewed on; destroying items that you may hold dear or are simply valuable. Even a young bird that has not been neglected and abused requires proper guidance; this becomes even more challenging when it involves a rescued bird that may require rehabilitation.
- Web Resources: I put together web resources for you to help you understand your pet bird and properly direct him. Please visit this website for valuable tips on parrot behavior and training.
- If you are, as I am, a visual learner and prefer step-by-step instructions to train your pet, I recommend:
- the Parrot Training Course to teach your parrot to:
- Stop Biting
- Perform Tricks &
- Tame ANY SIZE bird you could possibly own
- and/or try the "Teach Your Parrot to Talk" Training Course.
Diet:
Years ago, anyone keeping lories had his/her own diet that had to be made from scratch every few days at least. Very few breeders fully understood the nutritional needs of these birds. Popular commercial feeds have been developed, which greatly facilitating the process of feeding these parrots. They are easy to use -- as most of them just require you to add water (for the nectars) or are fed dry. These diets were developed by professional nutritionists to meet dietary requirements. An all "dry" diet is not recommended. If this is the predominate factor in the diet, fruits and plenty of fresh water should be provided.
Lories will not do well on a diet too high in protein. 15% should be the maximum. They are highly susceptible to gout and suffer kidney and liver problems. They should not be fed an amazon type of diet, as they are full of legumes and contain too much protein.
Their recommended diet consists of commercial or home-made nectar. Liquid nectar will need to be replaced several times daily. In warm weather every four hours. Spoiled nectar will cause your lory to become ill and possibly die. Excellent commercial formulas are available on this website
Lories also love fruits, such as apples, papaya, grapes, cantaloupe, pineapple, figs, kiwi, and some vegetables, including corn-on-the-cob. Most any fruit is fine, but I would avoid avocado and pomegranates, as in some cases, lories have become impacted on pomegranates. Lories have also been found to be susceptible to hemochromatosis (iron storage disease) and for that reason I would not offer raisins or other high iron content fruits.(*AvianWeb Note: Raisins have the potential of toxicity in pets if fed in too high a quantity. Caution is advised. Avocado should never be fed to birds as it is highly toxic to them.)
Another healthful addition to their diet are flowers, including pansies, nasturtiums, roses, hibiscus, marigolds, and dandelions. All fruits, veggies and flowers should be pesticide free. Organic is always best. (For non-toxic ways to control pests in the house or garden, please visit this webpage.)
For additional information, please refer to the following web resources:
- Optimal nutrition to keep your bird healthy
If you would like to add to or correct any of the above information, or would like to share with the AvianWeb visitors your own experiences, please e-mail the AvianWeb Webmaster.
Photo contributions and articles are welcome!
