Luke Holley
Qld
l_holley@hotmail.com
Introduction
I have now been keeping Australian lorikeets since 1992 and have found them enjoyable to keep. They have great personalities and once they are ease with your presence, which doesnĄ¯t take long they are quiet and friendly towards you.
Housing
All of my lorikeets aviaries are suspended which is a lot cleaner for this type of bird with their liquid droppings. All up I have 20 suspended aviaries, ten of which are 2/3 covered and the rest are fully covered.
The first five that are fully covered are the first ones I built. They have tin divisions that run for approximately 1/3 of the length, on the end that is covered. The dimensions of these cages are 900x 660x 1580 mm. They have two doors one at either end. Along the back of the cages where the feed stations are situated runs an enclosed, covered walkway.
On the other side of the walkway are another five aviaries these are smaller and are fully covered with tin divisions. There dimensions are 900x 700x 860 mm they have one door that opens to the walkway.
The newest cages are in two banks of five cages that back onto each other with a walkway between. The front cages are 1800x 900x 600 mm and the back cages are 1600x 900x 600 mm. They all have tin divsions for 1/3 of the cage.
These twenty aviaries are all connected to a watering system, which fills the water troughs. They are also connected to misters, which are throughout our whole aviary complex.
All the nest boxes are hung on the outside of the aviaries in the walkways for easy access to check the young and clean the wood shavings when necessary. Each cage also has a water dish for drinking and bathing in.
Nest Boxes
All the nest boxes are made of plywood or particle board. I have nest boxes that are all the same size 17.5 X 17.5 x 30 mm for the small lorikeets (Purple-Crowned, Little and Varied) and they are hung at an angle of about 30 deg. For the larger lorikeets (Scaly, Rainbow, Musk and Red-collared) I use a larger box its measurements are 21.5 x 21.5 x 27 mm and these are hang vertically. All the entrances to the boxes are the same size 50 mm in diameter as I have found that the larger lorikeets like a little squeeze to get in. All boxes have an inspection hole to check the box for eggs, watch to the young and change the saw dust. The smaller boxes also have removable lids.
Food
The diet I use is as follows:
Wet mix
I mix at the rate of one heaped tablespoon of powder to 175 ml water, and would feed approximately 200 ml per pair per day when not breeding. When they have chicks we give them as much as they desire. I use stainless steel coop cups for the wet and dry foods, as they are easy to keep clean. I have two sets of coop cups for wet food so when one is being used; the other is being cleaned for the next day
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Dry mix
The birds have dry food available to them at all times. They receive fresh fruit, vegetables and greens daily. The fruits and vegetables used are as follows depending on the seasons: apples, pears, paw paw, rockmelon, honey dew melon, mango, grapes, custard apple, kiwi fruit, cucumber, sultanas, carrot, sweet corn, spinach, celery, endive, broccoli, lettuce, dandelion, dock, cauliflower and any other green stuff around the house (they seem to relish most fruit and veg that you have in the refrigerator).
I also make a mixture of 1-part corn kernels, 1-part peas, 1-part carrot and 1-part beans, I put this mixture through a food processor to mix and reduce the size (half pea size). I then place it into ice cub trays and freeze. It is fed out in the morning with all other food. A pair gets half an ice cube if not breeding and a full one if they are breeding.
Remember not to feed avocado, as this will kill lories and lorikeets.
When native plants are flowering I feed from Grevillea, Bottlebrush and Gum trees.
To have a look at the Lorikeets I breed click on the link below.
Mix all ingredients well and place in an airtight storage container. Each morning mix the required amount of powder with boiled water (stir to dissolve sugar) and top up with cold water (should turn out like runny porridge).
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