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Post by jayne on Aug 8, 2014 9:09:24 GMT 10
Hi I just bought home a baby lorikeet last night has been out of the nest for a week and he was separated from his parents yesterday afternoon. The breeder told me he was eating wet mix, dry mix and some fruit by himself but as yet he has not eaten anything since he has been home is this normal? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I intend to hand tame him but am waiting till he settles in and starts eating and drinking before I start handling him.
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Post by avinet on Aug 8, 2014 21:43:49 GMT 10
Hi I just bought home a baby lorikeet last night has been out of the nest for a week and he was separated from his parents yesterday afternoon. The breeder told me he was eating wet mix, dry mix and some fruit by himself but as yet he has not eaten anything since he has been home is this normal? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I intend to hand tame him but am waiting till he settles in and starts eating and drinking before I start handling him. A week out of the nest is too soon to have been separated - I would want at least 3 weeks myself. Anyway now you have him you need to feed him wet mix Lorikeet food mixed to a rather runny custard consistency - and warm, around 40°C is good - using a spoon - he should start licking it off the spoon if you offer it to the beak - once he gets the idea he should eat OK. When he has eaten some from the spoon offer the dish you mixed it up in to him to try to get him to eat it from the dish. Then the dish can go into the cage with him, along with dry food, water and some fruit - Granny Smith apples are best initially. He should quickly settle in and start eating by himself - it is all a big change for him and it takes a while to readjust when so young - baby birds will often regress a bit when removed from their parents are forced weaned instead of being allowed to wean at their own pace. cheers, Mike |
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Post by jayne on Aug 9, 2014 9:01:53 GMT 10
Thanks mike,
The good news is he started eating last night (wet mix) and has settled right down he is know starting to whistle and chirp when he wants someone to talk to. He is very happy this morning chirping and eating his breakfast as soon as I put it in his cage. I will offer him some apple today and see what interest he shows.
When do you think it would be appropriate to begin handling him? I don't want to push him too quickly.
Thanks Jayne
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Post by jayne on Aug 9, 2014 12:57:23 GMT 10
His latest thing for today is trying to escape his cage we have now gutter guarded all the larger gaps that he may be able to get out of but now he is trying to dig through the paper on the floor? Any suggestions as to why he is doing this? His cage is very large and should be ample room for him.
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Post by avinet on Aug 9, 2014 19:55:27 GMT 10
His latest thing for today is trying to escape his cage we have now gutter guarded all the larger gaps that he may be able to get out of but now he is trying to dig through the paper on the floor? Any suggestions as to why he is doing this? His cage is very large and should be ample room for him. You know the saying "the grass is greener on the other side of the fence". There is so much to do and explore outside of the cage compared to inside, and Rainbows are inquisitive and playful birds. By the sounds of it you can start interacting with him now, see how he takes to being handled. Is he flighted or clipped? If flighted, Rainbows are a bit carefree when learning to fly and tend to just fly in straight lines until they hit something when they will pick themselves up and fly in a straight line in the opposite direction. Make sure windows and mirrors are covered while he is getting the hang of turning and landing. Fortunately they seem pretty tough and I have never had a baby actually hurt themselves during this stage. Enjoy his company cheers, Mike |
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Post by jayne on Aug 11, 2014 8:01:00 GMT 10
He has now been out of his cage two afternoons in a row and is doing great with being handled and exploring the house, his wings are clipped so he doesn't fly very much but likes to run around the floor and follow wherever I go and run around the kitchen bench while I am cooking and the coffee table while we are watching tv. As we have 3 little dogs inside and I can only fully trust one of them with him he has to wait until the other two go to bed to come out and play of an afternoon which was why I made sure we had a nice big cage for him with lots of interactive toys he has stopped trying to escape his cage since he has been coming out of an afternoon so I think he just needed the interaction and freedom. He is no eating fully by himself wet mix, dry mix, apple, banana and peach I am very surprised by how quickly he has settled in and he is just beautiful. Thanks for all the advice so far it has been very helpful.
Jayne
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