Feeding Your Lories & Lorikeets
If you are new to lories & lorikeets, you've probably heard more than one person tell you that seeds & pellets are ok for lories. With all the seemingly expert advice out there, you may be finding yourself having difficulty in deciding who to believe!!
There is an unfortunate trend, which has grown popular by many lory-sellers over the years. Whether by lack of knowledge, or choice, many lory sellers have taken calculated measures to manipulate a lory's diet (in order to inhibit the proper evacuation process). This is achieved by knowing that seeds & pellets can bind the digestive tract. Thus, these breeders/sellers achieve the desired result of having a bird with substantially firmer & fewer droppings. (What a disservice to both the consumer, and the bird, whose health has been greatly compromised.) Either they were too busy to properly educate themselves, or they have the knowledge, and despite this knowledge, they continue this unethical practice.
Many large-corporation parrot-food companies have jumped on the band-wagon as well, because they recognized that there was a demand for such an (unneeded) product, and they could profit from it. (Do not believe the hype... No matter how prestigious, or seemingly well-intending or properly educated a pet-food corporation might seem.) The almighty-buck is the bottom line there, and profit can be made from an unsuspecting public.
The dietary facts are out there, and they have been substantiated by years of dedicated study by lory-experts worldwide, and there is no evidence to support the theory that lories eat the same sort of solid foods as regular members of the psittacine family. Certain studies, as well as scientific-data is available to an educationally-consciencous lory owner, of the need to abide by a dietary regimen, which more suitably matches that of the lory in the wild. Some of this data shows that lories & lorikeets are born with a very different digestive-system than their seed-eating cousins. While they 'do' have a gizzard, it is simply not strong enough to grind hard foods like seeds & pellets. A lory or lorikeet given a steady diet of seeds or pellets will suffer greatly. First by malnutrition from the innability to properly absorb nutrients from seeds and pellets. Secondly, from possible crop impaction, which could result in serious infections or death. (Not to mention over-absorption of iron*) A lory fed on this kind of diet will be lucky to reach it's 5th birthday.
How can you protect yourself, and protect the health of your lory? A properly educated lory buyer is one who can recognize a healthy lory, by observing (among other traits**) the frequent squirt-like evacuation methods, which are characteristic of a properly fed lory.
**A healthy lory or lorikeet will have glossy plumage, and bright, deep colors. Feathers should lay flat against the body, and should be free of breakage or atrophy (though a juevenile lory may sometimes have a ratty-tail, or no tail, as rough play can break-off or damage the feathers.) Healthy lories sometimes emit a scent similar to fresh melons or cantaloupe.
As a long-standing member of the "lory-list", the general consensus is that while a seed or pellet diet is not good for a lory, certain semi-solid fresh foods may be fed in moderation. While the greater dietary-emphasis should be placed on nectar and pollen, I offer a list of other soft foods below.
The result of feeding these foods will hopefully bring you a healthy, happy lory, who will bring you many years of enjoyment. *Chow!*
*Over-absorption of iron in lories & lorikeets is referred to as "Hemachromatosis", or "Iron-Storage Disease". (More information will be made available in the near future.)
NECTAR
NECTAR
Avico Lory-Life
Lory-life is formulated to be a nutritionally complete nectar-diet for lories. Most lories love Lory-Life. Avico also offers a "powder" form of nectar, which can be fed dry*, & left in the cage for a longer period of time than wet nectar. (A life saver if you have to work long hours!) My lories go crazy for the powder.
*Lory-life powder should always be accompanied with a dish of water.
You can find out more about them by visiting them on the web. Simply click the name above.
Nekton-Lori
A very good & popular European nectar. This is another nutritionally complete diet for lories, and is another favorite with the birds as well.
You can visit the Nekton-Lori website by clicking on their name above.
CeDe
Nectar feeding containers
It's up to you which type of feeding container that you prefer feeding nectar with. I personally like "nectar-tubes". Click here for a picture/description of nectar-tubes.
Another popular method is by feeding nectar in rabbit-water bottles. The best tried & true brand for this is Lixit. I believe they make a water bottle especially for birds. (Be sure to watch that birds do not shove food up the metal tube of the water bottle, where it can get stuck and prevent fluid from coming out of the tube. -the bird could go hungry. This can go unnoticed by the owner, so just be careful.) The lory may also like to stick his tongue up the tube and 'hold' the ball, & make the water or nectar run out in a stream. This is funny, but not so funny to clean up.
Standard seed-dishes are another option, but since most standard parrot dishes are located near the bottom/front of the cage, this is bad because lories are known to squirt their poop, and it can and will land in bottom-dishes. Serious infections can result from lories eating nectar that they have contaminated, so it's worth it to find an alternate feeding method.
Screw-on bird dishes are great for lories! They can't get them off! The only problem might be a possessive lory, who might get attached and protective about the food-dish, so you may get bitten trying to take it in and out of the cage. (just a warning, as I've had this happen.)
FRUIT
Be careful about feeding raisins. This has been a topic of some controversy with lory keepers and experts, as it's been suspected that raisins may be too high in iron for lory consumption.
FLOWERS
NOTE: Only home-grown, pesticide/herbicide-free flowers should be fed to your birds; NOT flowers which have been recently purchased from stores.
Would you like to learn more about edible flowers for your parrot? Click here to go to a really cool website by Land Of Vos. This site is definitely worth the visit!
Dangerous plant links available on the main page.
VEGETABLES
LIVE FOOD
-These are sometimes readily accepted by parent birds.
LEAFY GREENS
COOKED PLUSES -Beans & Grains
SPROUTED SEEDS & BEANS
You can grow your own sprouts. Sprouting kits are available from China Prairie Company. Two types of kits are available: AFD-psittacine & AFD-Micrograin, which contains triticale, rice, millet, alfalfa, fenugreek, buckwheat, fennel, flax seed, dill seed, sesame seed, amaranth, quinoa, mung bean, radish seed, and red clover seed.
*Special Concerns In Feeding Lories & Lorikeets*
Happy Eating!
