Let's talk Lory diets...

[ihavespirit]

So what do y'all feed your Lory? There seem to be many different theories on what to feed and why....

I feed Lory Powder dry next to the water dish. I make a fruit/veggie mush that I mix in commercial nectar. I offer fresh fruits/veggies daily as well and Tikki prefers his fruit over ripe. In my fruit/veggie mush I add in a bit of spirulina and some organic edible dried flowers.

I give him meal worms, Berries 'n Bugs (by Goldenfeast) and BeneBac, though not every day. I also offer fresh edible flowers.

I only offer organic fruit/veggies/flowers.

I am rotating through the different brands of Lory powder and nectar as they all claim that their formula is the best.

So what do you feed and why?

[Abby]

I alternate between 2 dry mixes (both Australian brands) that I know my guys will eat, yes mine can be fussy little munchkins. One I have to order online, the other I can get at local bird/fodder stores. Handy if I haven't got around to putting an order into the company online. The powder mix is right next to their water so they can make up their own slurry.

They get a premade nectar mix every second day and fruit and veg with a greater component of berries and soft foods then the other birds. I've just started adding parrot pesto a couple of times a week which seems to be going down well. The lorikeets get sprouted mix but not soaked. I've noticed mine don't eat the soaked mix so not too fussed with it.

When I can I put in branches with native blossoms. Part of our landscaping plans is to make up a bird garden with high flowering Aussie natives so we have them on hand for the lorikeets, possum and the other Aussie native birds that we have.

I haven't tried any kinda bug stuff but have thought about adding the odd meal worm or some insectivore powder (we always have it on hand due to the possums needs) to see whether they'd eat it.

I feed this because it works, birds look healthy (weight is good, colour is good) and it's relatively simple.

[Tx mommy]

I use the powder nectar & some of the Pretty bird Species Specific Food for Lories that gets combined in dry form for her to have access to all day as she needs it with a bowl of water accross the cage. She loves to take baths in her water dish and it gets everywhere. In the morning she gets a little of the the nector mixed up really thick with diced up fruit usually a variety of berries from the frozen food section and then again when I get home from work. She gets dried papaya as treats her absolute favorite. I also give her randon slices of fresh fruit as I have them in the home. She also loves sprouts so I give them to her when I have some. I too am planning a garden just for her. Currently I have several seedlings of a variety of flowering annuals and I'm on the look out for a bottle brush bush: yum. I heard thats a fav of lories. She is healthy, hyper, and fun. And does anyone else notice a really sweat smell from there Lories or is that just Red specific?

[angelicarboreals]

My rainbow lorikeet gets Roudybush dry nectar, and a dish of water so he can mix it himself. He also gets veggies and fruits like the other parrots, a teeny tiny sliver of birdie bread, and as a treat I will give him some juice (orange and apple are his favorite) and agave nectar. I have stuck with the Roudybush nectar as that is what his old mom fed him, and she had told me that he was rather picky when it came to nectar brands, lol.

[Ashling]

Yeah I love the smell of lorikeets- a musky, fruity smell. Ashling gets dry lorikeet mix and wet mixed with apple puree, water and a little apricot nectar as well as cut/ diced/ mashed egg, juice, grapes, fruit and veg (whatever we have handy) and native flowers (mostly pink and orange grevillea).

[WhiteRaven]

If anyone happens to know a bit about lorikeet diets, that would be fantastic if they shared. :)

When mine was alive, I fed him a mix of dry Passwell Complete Lorikeet and Dr Mac's Lorikeet (which contains spirulina). It was of course right near his water dish. I could never get him to eat wet mix, he wasn't interested (yet he was very, very open to trying most foods).

On top of that I fed him fruit such as apple, pear, apricot, grapes, banana, orange, etc. Veges were silverbeet, broccoli (he loved this), carrot, buk choy, peas, beans, corn, etc. He also got treats and bottlebrush flowers whenever they were around. I tried to keep low on foods with high phosphorus and iron.

If anyone has any advice on how I can improve this, let me know because I'm getting another lorikeet in a couple of months. How often can they be given treats?

[Tx mommy]

I spoil Cherry she gets treats for everything - her fav is dried papaya. She gets it in the morning from my husband he's 1st one up. Pretty much anytime she does something I like. Course she's still "new" and we are working with her because she was VERY nippy when I first adopted her. She tried to peirce everything!!!

[Abby]

Originally Posted by WhiteRaven

If anyone happens to know a bit about lorikeet diets, that would be fantastic if they shared. :)

When mine was alive, I fed him a mix of dry Passwell Complete Lorikeet and Dr Mac's Lorikeet (which contains spirulina). It was of course right near his water dish. I could never get him to eat wet mix, he wasn't interested (yet he was very, very open to trying most foods).

On top of that I fed him fruit such as apple, pear, apricot, grapes, banana, orange, etc. Veges were silverbeet, broccoli (he loved this), carrot, buk choy, peas, beans, corn, etc. He also got treats and bottlebrush flowers whenever they were around. I tried to keep low on foods with high phosphorus and iron.

If anyone has any advice on how I can improve this, let me know because I'm getting another lorikeet in a couple of months. How often can they be given treats?

My guys turned their beaks up at the Dr Macs.

Are you in Australia White Raven? The reason I ask is because I'm a big fan of the vetafarm products. The lorikeet nectar pellets didn't work for mine, they decided to starve rather then eat those but they do like the dry powder mix. Vetafam also put out a premade blossom liquid. I pour some over the fruit and veg mix every few days. I've also tried the loritreat nectars as a wet and my guys also seem to like those. Let me know of you want a link for any of these products.

Your fruit and veg mix all sounds good. You can add some frozen berries in there too (mine love blueberries just be prepared for the purple poop), papaya/pawpaw, really any fruit that you can get your hands on. Look at what's in season to save a bit of cash too. In the wild they would only eat what's in season. Oh I've tried mine with fresh lychees. They pinch them from the orchards in Queensland. I just cut a small bit out the casing/skin to make it easier and they suck and chew right into it. Gives them a bit of a foraging experience working out how to get it all out.

Can't think of much else to add.

[WhiteRaven]

Originally Posted by Abby

My guys turned their beaks up at the Dr Macs.

Are you in Australia White Raven? The reason I ask is because I'm a big fan of the vetafarm products. The lorikeet nectar pellets didn't work for mine, they decided to starve rather then eat those but they do like the dry powder mix. Vetafam also put out a premade blossom liquid. I pour some over the fruit and veg mix every few days. I've also tried the loritreat nectars as a wet and my guys also seem to like those. Let me know of you want a link for any of these products.

Your fruit and veg mix all sounds good. You can add some frozen berries in there too (mine love blueberries just be prepared for the purple poop), papaya/pawpaw, really any fruit that you can get your hands on. Look at what's in season to save a bit of cash too. In the wild they would only eat what's in season. Oh I've tried mine with fresh lychees. They pinch them from the orchards in Queensland. I just cut a small bit out the casing/skin to make it easier and they suck and chew right into it. Gives them a bit of a foraging experience working out how to get it all out.

Can't think of much else to add.

Yes, I am in Australia, you may remember me from another forum, my username is ChocoboDragon there.

Thanks for the suggestions. :D I occasionally gave him berries, yes, colourful, staining poop. XD Remind me not to take them out of their cage right after feeding berries, lol. I'll look into it and see if I can add it into their usual diet when I get my new lorikeet. I'll have to try lychees as well, especially if it requires them to forage a little.

I'll look into the Vetafarm products too as a wet diet, I think we may sell some of them where I work. Thanks! My new guy when I get him may be more accepting of wet mix anyway compared to my other one.

[Abby]

Clara? Yep, yep I know who you are.

Vetafarm is doing this annoying little thing atm where what they have they don't always sell to their distributors. Might be worth checking out their site. Due to the rest of the flock I ended up getting a membership because I do use their pellets, lorikeet stuff, supplements blah blah. Saves a bit of cash for me.