Rainbow Lorikeets are Fun

By Murray Leman

Lorikeets have until recent years been classed as difficult parrots to cater for in captivity, but with the help of modern foods catering for their needs has become much easier. 
I have been interested in this family of birds for many years, and find them extremely hardy, and always active, playing and calling out for attention any time someone is around. They will become very tame, and will feed from a spoon, licking the nectar with their brush tongue.  They love to play and roll around on the ground. 
The Rainbows and Scaleys are the most common species available to us in New Zealand, but the Musk is becoming more readily available all the time. 
Currently there are six varieties available in the country, though some can be considered to be rare. 
They are very easy to cater for, but they must have fresh food given to them at least once daily, preferably in the morning. I feed mine twice daily, as they usually clean up the morning feed by mid afternoon, it is not reasonable to expect them to go all night without food available.

Housing

My Rainbows are housed one pair per flight in standard parrot aviaries 16’ long x 3’ wide x 6’ high.  It is possible to house several pairs together, as long as they are mated pairs, and they are all placed in the aviary at the same time.  If you can purchase young birds and put them together in the one flight at the same time this would be even better. 
It is a great sight to see a colony of Rainbows flying around in a large aviary with a few tree trunks stuck in the ground, and some branches for them to climb around on.  You will still need to watch for dominating birds and remove them, with their mates, so the remainder of the colony can live peacefully together. They need more nest boxes available than you have pairs, so they can make a choice in the way they want their nest facing. 
What I find most helpful is a 6” x 6” trapdoor made in the side of the flight with a shelf inside so I can place their food in without having to go into the aviary every time I feed them.  I suggest you buy and fit a small hasp and staple, and padlock it shut to deter small children. The food shelf should be under some cover so that the rain and sun cannot spoil the food. I have found that lorikeets do not need a great amount of shelter as they always sleep in their nest boxes where it’s warm and cozy, thus making elaborate shelter unnecessary.

Breeding.

Rainbow lorikeets are fortunately willing to nest and breed in captivity. With careful handling, and perhaps a little hand rearing, they can be encouraged to produce up to five nests a year, and sometimes even more. The biggest problem with the Rainbow and other Lories is in having a true pair. Unless you purchase a known adult breeding pair the best plan is to go for a pair with one bird much bigger than the other, or obtain a couple of nest pairs which are about three months old. The cock birds are nearly always much bigger than the hens in every respect, and they usually dominate her (in a nice sort of way) most of the time. 
Their nests need only be about 2’ long, with an internal measurement of about 6” x 6”. They need be no bigger than this as they only lay two eggs. For nesting material I place a layer of charcoal in the bottom, and then mixed peat moss and untreated sawdust about 2-3 inches deep, pressing this down firmly with my fist. The inspection flap is a removable lid made from flat metal, and this is bent down around the edges. It makes for easy nest inspection, you can just lift it off, and it keeps out most of the rain if the nest box is not in the shelter area. The entry hole should be about 2 ½” – 3” in diameter, and about 4” down from the top, with a strip of wire mesh nailed down the inside for the birds to scramble up and down. They also need a landing perch just below the entrance so the cock bird can feed the hen. 
Incubation lasts about 26 days, and the chicks leave the nest at eight weeks. The cock may also feed the young, and sleep in the nest box at night. If one wishes to hand rear the young is recommended that they be taken from the box at about 12 – 14 days, just when their eyes have opened. 
If you do not have an incubator which can be regulated to 80 – 85’ degrees, I suggest you put them in a hospital cage, inside a small box, where they can be observed easily, and the temperature controlled as the chicks develop. 
When very young they should be fed four times a day, dropping to three times when they are 5 weeks old. They can be fed the same food as the adults, with a little cuttlefish scraped in. Feed off an old teaspoon, which has been bent up at the sides to give a funnel effect, which the chick will find easy to remove food from when the beak slides over it. 
They will be pretty well weaned at 8 – 9 weeks, especially if food is left in the cage with them and changed at each feed. This food should be left in a very shallow dish. 
When they have grown sufficient body feathers they can be placed in a small wooden cage with a wire front, as they will not need so much warmth by then.

Feeding. 

I have tried all sorts of mixtures and have found they need more protein than carbohydrate, as they don’t have to exert so much energy looking for food in captivity.  The best way to supply protein is to buy pollen from a health food shop or a bee keeper. I just sprinkle a little on their daily ration, and they love it. Too much carbohydrate will cause fatty liver, ensuing in eventual total degeneration of the liver and its function, and the bird will die. This is especially true with chicks being fed excessive carbohydrates by the parents. 
My recipe for feeding Lories is as follows: 1 teaspoon of pollen, 2 teaspoons of complan, 1 teaspoon of glucose, 2 teaspoons of farex, and 1 teaspoon of wheat germ flakes to one liter of water. Take a one liter jug, put in the mixture, and add hot water. Stir in 1 teaspoon of honey, and then wait for the mixture to cool before feeding. Make sure the feeding dishes are very clean, as dirty dishes will only be asking for trouble. They also love apples, pears, ripe banana, corn on the cob, thistles, and other greenstuffs. 
If fed properly, you will have very little sickness in your Lorikeets, it appears they don’t suffer from roundworms.

Last modified: 17 December 2001.