How to Feed Lories
Lories and lorikeets are small- to medium-sized psittacine birds, closely related to parrots. Unlike parrots, they eat mostly nectar and pollen in the wild, along with some fruit and other foods. Lories have a brush-like tongue that is covered in long papillae, which are used to remove pollen from flowers. In captivity, lories are generally fed a commercial nectar product along with supplemental fruit. They are prone to gout, kidney and liver problems, and should therefore not be fed a high-protein diet. Some species also experience iron storage disease, so it is important to avoid foods that are high in iron.
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Things You'll Need
- Lory nectar powder
- Fresh fruits and vegetables
- Cuttlebone
- Sprouted seeds
- Fruit juice
Instructions
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Offer your lory a nectar product that is formulated specifically for lories. Do not use hummingbird nectar or a homemade mixture. This nectar should make up approximately 80 to 90 percent of your lory's diet. Nectar mixtures can be fed wet or dry, but lories usually prefer wet. Dry nectar powder will make your lory's droppings firmer.
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Offer a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables to your lory twice daily. Unlike most other birds, lories will usually crush fruit in their beak and drink the juice, rather than actually swallowing it. This can be quite messy, so be prepared to clean up the fruit and vegetable scraps from the cage and surrounding area.
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Hang a cuttlebone in your lory's cage to provide additional minerals. Although lories consume less cuttlebone than other pet birds, they do benefit from the additional calcium.
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Offer your lory a variety of healthy treats, such as sprouted seeds and fruit juice. Avoid dry seed, raisins, prunes, avocado and rhubarb, as these may cause health problems in lories and lorikeets.
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Make a source of fresh, clean water available to your lory at all times. Because lories have a primarily liquid diet that adheres to their beak, their water becomes contaminated very easily. Consider offering a water bottle instead of a bowl to drink from, and place a separate container in the cage for bathing.
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Tips & Warnings
Do plenty of research before making the decision to purchase a pet lory. Although many species make excellent pets, lories are extremely messy and cleaning up after them takes a lot of effort, due to their liquid diet and liquid droppings.
Replace lory nectar at least twice a day, and thoroughly clean the dish with soap and water between feedings to prevent bacterial and fungal growth.
Most lories relish flowers, which are the mainstay of their natural diet. A list of edible flowers is included in the Resources section.
Never feed a lory a diet made up of dry seeds and pellets, as they are unable to properly digest these foods and will quickly become very ill.
