Lorikeet diet

[Ashling]

One perceived negative aspect of owning lorikeets is that they have a specialized diet. This often puts off potential owners who otherwise might consider a lorikeet as a pet. While their diet is specialized, it is not more complicated than any other parrot diet, once you know what you're doing. A basic diet for a lorikeet is no harder to prepare than for most other parrots.




(of course Ash gets into the seed any given chance...)

My birds' typical feeding:

Large bowl:
Cockatiel: seed
Lorikeet: dry nectar,

Small bowl:
Cockatiel: weetbix
Lorikeet: wet nectar,

Fresh foods:
Cockatiel: more veg than fruit
Lorikeet: more fruit than veg,

Both get loads of native flowers/ fresh grass seed every day...I won't go into treats and such, just basic diet!

Or you could think of it like this for perhaps a conure vs lorikeet:
Pellets= dry nectar,
Seed= wet nectar,
More veg than fruit = more fruit than veg,
Nuts and sprouts= native flowers and sprouts.
Birdy bread= fruit smoothies

So as you can see there is little difference except perhaps the fact that the wet mix has to be mixed with liquids (I use apple sauce/ fruit juice).




And a question is weetbix ok? From what I know it is low in fat and sugar. Not sure about the salt... is there too much? Any Aussies know? This is just temporary before I switch my tiel to pellets.

[diljaa]

I read the title of your post "Lorikeet died". I was like "oh, no. what's going on over there?!?"
I saw a lorikeet poop the other day and man, are those messy!!
I don't even know what nectar is.

[angelicarboreals]

And that, my friend, explains why your birds are extremely healthy and glow in their pictures. :) :) :)

[Abby]

Great work Mel.

Once you get used to it, the diet isn't too bad. It's just about being organised and clean.

[maggy]

I can't recall about the salt in the weetbix I'll check tomorrow for you -can't stand the stuff myself but one of my old lady clients has them for brecky so as I see her at 0730 tomorrow I'll check on her packet. The rest of the birds food looks yummy good enough to eat.

[Ashling]

Originally Posted by diljaa

I read the title of your post "Lorikeet died". I was like "oh, no. what's going on over there?!?"
I saw a lorikeet poop the other day and man, are those messy!!
I don't even know what nectar is.

lol sorry diljaa! Nectar is the juice from flowers- wild lorikeets this is a predominant part of their diet (as well as pollen, fruit, berries etc). This diet was reproduced into a nutritionally balanced commercial 'nectar' that looks a bit like fine sand when dry and like porridge when wet. It tastes very sweet (yes I have tasted it!)
The mess is because the diet includes so much liquids- causes the poop to be runny or soft- it varies depending on what they've been eating. Their gizzards aren't as muscular as most other parrots so hard food can be difficult to digest, and their intestines are shorter than most parrots so they poop more frequently. Easier to clean than cockatiel poop IMO since it doesn't smear or stick to surfaces.

Originally Posted by angelicarboreals

And that, my friend, explains why your birds are extremely healthy and glow in their pictures. :) :) :)

Thanks Angela ^_^ I need to get Peanut onto pellets, I am constantly guilty that he's been on seed his whole life.

Originally Posted by Abby

It's just about being organised and clean.

Daily cage cleans are necessary otherwise they roll around on the floor and get themselves all dirty!

Originally Posted by maggy

I can't recall about the salt in the weetbix I'll check tomorrow for you -can't stand the stuff myself but one of my old lady clients has them for brecky so as I see her at 0730 tomorrow I'll check on her packet. The rest of the birds food looks yummy good enough to eat.

I found a site with the nutritional info, there was an awful lot of sodium in there I only feed a little bit, as you can see; about a teaspoon. Thanks anyway! I eat them for breakfast some mornings with jam (everyone thinks this is weird!)

[maggy]

Well glad you found the info, for anyone else wanting to know sodium in weetbix is 290mg per 100gms, heart foundation says low salt is 120mg per 100gm.

[Rahni]

Good on you Mel, you're out there trying to dispel some myths and exaggerationss about our favourite feathered friends!
I haven't had a pet parrot that wasn't a lorikeet so I've never been able to compare, but I've never really found their diet or their poo to be a challenge.
Having said that though, I've never had to clean up after something the size of a chattering lory before, and for all I know that could be a whole new kettle of fish!

[christopher robin]

thanks for posting all this , hearing ur confidence in owning a lori was very reassuring! im getting a rainbow soon and am up for the challenge of messiness. but i figure any bird will be messy to an extent.

ps i love weetbix.

oh and one of the ingredients i saw in the lori mix i bought today was weetbix :)

[Ashling]

Oh how exciting... What lori mix did you get, christopher robin?