[Schooner]

Hi All!
I bought a Lorikeet three days ago! I walked into a pet shop, saw a rainbow, and just had to have one!
I checked out other pet shops around town before buying, wanted to see more and to get a clearer understanding of pricing. also the initial bird looked a little scruffy.
Nobody els was selling hand reared lorikeets, apparently it's not the right time of the year, only the avery variety were available, considerably cheaper of course but I really wanted a hand raised tame bird.

So I bought the bird for $395AU. hastily took him home and into a decent sized cage that I had prepared earlier.
I fed and left him alone for the rest of the day/night to adjust a little and recover from the stress of moving.
The following day (yesterday) during morning feeding I immediately noticed that he starts hissing every time I moved my hand close to him, he would back off, react nervously and fearful.
This behavior did not change throughout the day. If anything it became worse towards late afternoon, leaping to the back wall of his cage, sometimes hissing and lunging, if I so much as place my hand in the cage he would hisses, and leap to the far side.

The only time he accepted my hand was when I offered him food, he has no problem licking my fingers after having dipped them in honey (moderately pasteurized ), when I try without honey he would quickly sample my fingers and get away.

Several times he's swaying from side to side, bopping his head and hissing continuously, at absolutely nothing, I was some distance from the cage at the time.

Today is day 3, he has become more confident in his new environment, I have given him the freedom to leave his cage whenever he wants.
He's still untouchable, will retreat to his cage when I move my hands too close to him, except when offering food. He is hissing frequently.

now, what I would like to know... is this normal behavior for a new hand reared bird?? am I rushing or forcing a little too much too soon? The pet shop said I could 'play' with him immediately, which I did not do, now on day 3 he is no different, practicing the'step-up' technique is out of the question

Another point of concern, he seems to be pecking at his feathers frequently, maybe in response to itchiness Scratching every part of his body, claw or rubbing his head up against objects. The undersides of his wings do not look that good, there appear to be many feathers missing.
He sneezes Occasionally.

The pet shop (located in the CBD, Hobart, Tasmania) kept this Lorikeet in a cage with numerous other birds, including a rosella and an eccelectus parrot, in a not so large cage. I once read you should never keep birds of different species in the same cage, is this true? A relative that came with me later commented that two of the birds in the cage where actually fighting.

Is it possible that this environment has un-tamed him and instilled fear?

I am not sure how old he is, his age depends upon which pet shop attendant you ask, one said he is 3 and a half, another stated 6 months -maybe I should take the average.

They refused to give me the details of the breeder, I complained and said that with any product, especially a $400 bird, you would want to know where it came etc. Eventually they agreed to reveal the breeders contact info. but only after purchase is completed.

I would very much like to hear from others in regards to what one should expect from a new hand reared Lorikeet.

He is a cute bird, probably less perfect colour wise than other lorikeets out there, and definitely scruffier, that doesn’t bother me at all. I just don't want to own a bird that has issues caused by traumatic experiences or is untamed and may not become tame and playful again, I paid too much for that.