Goldie's Lorikeets????

[safarichick101]

I'm considering getting a goldies lorikeet, can you please describe the mess/noise they make. And their behavior? Do they make good first birds?

[Ashling]

I don't know about Goldies, I have only had rainbows. Have you ever had a lorikeet before, or would this be your first? I'll try and gather some info on Goldies later on today if you want.

[safarichick101]

Nope, never owned a lory, and i've never owned a bird either. But I know lories/lorikeets require special nectar type foods (i can read up), and I heard Goldie's lorikeets were supposed to be a good first lory.

[Ashling]

Personally, I can't really tell you much about Goldie's. I can answer any questions about lories in general though. The only info I got from my lory book was fairly technical and focused on breeding and aviary keeping. It said that in the wild they call to each other while feeding (like most lorikeets) so I guess you can expect a noisy bird. They are quite small so I suppose they would make less mess than a larger lorry, but I'm pretty sure their poop comes out runny like other lorries! As I read about them, it became was apparent the cocks are much bolder than the hens, so a hand reared male would be best if you went for a Goldie's.

I don't know how easily you will find a hand raised baby Goldie's. But I wish you luck on your research (here is a good start- http://www.loriinae.com/spgoldies.html) and finding one if you decide it's what you want! They are very beautiful birds and sounds like great pets. I read that they are calmer than the usual hyper lorries :)

Hopefully someone with first-hand experience will come along!

[Rahni]

I'm only guessing here, but I would imagine that they would be similar to a varied lorikeet, being in the same genus. Having said that, I haven't heard of anyone who has a Varied lorikeet as a pet either.
My guess is that they would be reasonably similar to a Musk Lorikeet, of whom I've met a few.
Musks are very sweet, very very cute, bossy of course (being a lorikeet!) and very playful. They are a bit like a more toned-down version of rainbow lorikeet.
As for noise, once again I don't know for sure but I would say that volume-wise, they wouldn't be particularly loud, but would likely have a very shrill, high pitched voice, which for some people is worse than having a loud parrot.
I personally don't think that the messy poo is as bad as it is often made out to be, so long as I have some baby wipes handy I find it very manageable. And all parrots are capable of flicking food and poo distances that you wouldn't think possible, it's just part and parcel of keeping these delightful birds!

[Ashling]

Apparently they are shyer than most lorikeets and are curious but go slowly rather than barreling head-first into new situations like other lorikeets lol.

[Newticus]

I am also keeping my eye out for a goldies lorikeet. They are deffinately not common here in Canada. I have only seen one once in person and it was still just a small baby, behind glass so I don't know much about their sounds. My black lori is a very big lori and holy cow she is one messy thing. She can get poo about 2-3 feet out of her cage, quite consistantly and she has got one heck of a voice. I personally find her calls funny as they are like an exagerated, louder rainbow lori kind of sound. (I also like that she is now making noise cause it means she is getting more comfortable)
There doesn't seem to be a lot of info out there that is easily accessable.

Lories are amazing birds, they can be on the beaky side though. I have found with the few lories I have worked with, jingling a set of keys makes them crazy with excitement - which is a riot to watch

Melanie

[FloorCandy]

Originally Posted by safarichick101

Nope, never owned a lory, and i've never owned a bird either. But I know lories/lorikeets require special nectar type foods (i can read up), and I heard Goldie's lorikeets were supposed to be a good first lory.

Sorry for the hijack, but what happens if they don't have special food? There is a rainbow lory at the Petco by my house, and I only ever see it have seeds and pellets. SHould I say something to them about it? They are very nice, and I think if they know what to give him they will.

[Ashling]

Please do say something about it- eating these foods ruins the palate on the roof oof their mouths so that they can't eat nectar properly and can starve if they're ever put on this diet (which is what any responsible new owner would do). It is also hard for them to pass this diet through their guts since most of their natural diet is very soft foods. He needs to be on a wet and dry nectar mix along with lots of fruit and also veggies. IMO it's just cruel to feed seeds and pellets to a lorikeet.

[Rahni]

I agree, you should say something. I'm sure if they are a good store they will want to do what's best for the animals. It really shouldn't be any more difficult for them to feed the right food.