New Aussie member with 3 Rainbow Lorikeets

[Eucalyptus]

...well, 2 Rainbow Lorikeets & a foster Lorikeet!

A quick bit about me: I grew up in Queensland Australia with parents who really loved birds! They were licensed wildlife carers & would often be raising a magpie, kookaburra, lorikeet, gallah, cockatoo or other native bird. To be honest, I was never really that into the birds, I did my chores with them as I had to, but as I always knew 99% were destined to go back into the wild, I never allowed myself to become very attached....despite living with a lot of them, I never considered myself a bird person!

Fast forward a few years & I started dating a guy with a pet Rainbow Lorikeet. We're now engaged & I recently got my own rainbow, a gorgeous young female (Layla) & then a few weeks ago we took in a foster. When I met my fiance's lori (Kevin) it completely changed how I felt about birds. He had such personality & sass, I quickly fell in love with him!!

Kevin was found on the ground, starving, covered in ants with a mangled wing, estimated at about 5 months old. He is now roughly 4 years old & is our "Out-&-about-bird". He never regained the ability to fly but will ride around on our shoulders & is well known around town when we go to animal friendly cafe's & shops. He is completely smitten with my fiance but is temperamental with me I can handle him & do his cage maintenance but when a famous lorikeet mood swing comes round, I know to pass him back to his beloved daddy.

Layla came from a local breeder. I opted for a parent raised bird who had been handled a lot as a youngster. She is a total sweetheart!! Learnt "step up" (both finger & a perch) very quickly, has yet to bite, LOVES playing with her foot toys & is a constant source of laughter for me. At the moment her wings are clipped but I hope to one day have her flighted (getting an Aviator harness for Christmas too!). She is now around 6 months old & going really well with her touch training. Currently my only problem with her is a bit of jealousy from her directed at my poor 9 month old poodle puppy, Hugo...but that is getting better by the day

Anyway, thank you for creating such an awesome forum! I have been lurking for a while & it seems like an extremely helpful, informative & friendly community! I wish I could share photos of our birds, but my Photobucket is currently at full capacity & it's taking me forever to delete them...I promise photos for you all soon!

 

[TessieB]

What a wonderful story. Welcome!

 

[Mike17]

G'day, Eucalyptus!
Rainbows are wonderful characters, aren't they We have one, assumed to be a boy but not sure. He's a bit of a bully with other species (we have a large(ish) mixed flock) but a lovable character when he's one-on-one. Loves cuddles and a play. He even talks although not very clear (hello, tickle-tickle) plus his own unique set of whistles, copied bird calls and chuckles (plus a maniacal laugh).

We're moving to Tasmania in a few years (retirement) and Coco can't go with us, unfortunately. They're a prohibited import. So I'm going to enjoy him as much as possible and hope he finds a good home when I finish work. It's actually heartbreaking thinking about it, and he's "my" bird too in the sense he interacts with me more often than with my wife.

Interesting that you have "animal friendly" eating places in Qld... thought animals were banned in all places apart from guide dogs. You'd need to be careful where fiance's rainbow was pointed... in a cafe

 

[Kimma]

It's at the discretion of restaurant owners to allow dogs into outdoor eating areas. Except I'm not sure if the law specifies dogs or if it's any animal - I heard about the law change through a dog group. I know my little town is very dog friendly... I'm hoping it's bird friendly too once I start taking my bird out an about with me.

Are you still in Qld Eucalyptus?

 

[Eucalyptus]

Thanks for the responses

Mike17 - So sorry to hear that you will have to leave your lori behind when you move! Actually, just yesterday I was reading an article about the effects of the loris who have been introduced to Tassy - devastating to the farmers apparently. Very sad that it means you cant bring your own boy to the island! I hope he goes to the very next best home possible

Kimma, yes I am still in QLD Moved to NSW (Byron Bay) for a little over a year but returned to the motherland (lol) this past January. Usually when we're out with Kevin, if we go to an unfamiliar place, my partner stays outside with the bird while I duck inside to ask if he is allowed. We only take him to cafe's with outdoor dining & he is reasonably reliably potty trained so that helps. If we cant bring him in with us, no worries, we just carry on. We dont take him out with us if we NEED to go somewhere that we're unsure will be Kevin friendly. We've both been in hospitality for many years so we have a great respect for different regulations. But most places we frequent, like pet stores (not those who sell birds though, disease risk!) & locally owned businesses love when we bring him in! Im training my poodle as a Therapy Dog (those allowed to visit hospitals, nursing homes etc) & even though he has no legal right for entry, a lot of places in my town are happy for him to come in too so that my puppy can be further socialized & exposed to different situations. We're very lucky where we live!

 

[tab_xo]

I have taken Fargo into Targets before HAHAHA Looking for clothes, with him on my shoulder... All the people in there were like oh my god! Is he real

Then i received a message later saying that when he is in town again, to come into Targets again so the other staff can see him


Never taken him into a cafe or restaurant though! Would be interesting to see if any would allow a bird!



Welcome to the forum! Another queenslander!

Can't wait to see pictures!



And Mike are macaws allowed into Tasmania? If i ever move, i would go to Tasmania, considering i can't really leave Australia with my pack of animals

 

[Eucalyptus]

tab_xo - I think I would flip out with excitement if I saw a macaw walking around Target too!! (you know...in a calm, respectful way haha) I have never met anyone with a pet one before! I got to hold one recently at Australia Zoo & that was amazing for me When we lived in Byron Bay, a lot of the area was really chilled with animals & when we would go shopping a few towns over Kevin would come into Kmart & such. Everyone was always so amazed to see us with a lorikeet & come on...there are thousands of the noisy buggers flying around, far from exotic...but a macaw in Target...I can just imagine people's reactions!

I got my Photobucket working soooo...

Kevin

And my Layla

 

[PetoftheDay]

What gorgeous birds, thanks for sharing the pictures! I have fed Rainbow Lorikeets at the zoo, they are such cuties!

 

[Eucalyptus]

Thank you greatly!
Also, I have read your PM & will reply once I reach my 20 post minimum

 

[tab_xo]

Hahaha i swear people do a double take when they see a bird on your shoulder hey? Its just so uncommon

In our town there is a massive lorikeet flock, they are very cool to watch! Very noisy though

I am so scared of people touching him, germs and such, so whenever people ask if they can hold him i just say that he bites

 

[Eucalyptus]

OMG, yeah...the noise! Huge flocks in my town too & at dusk...wow! I am pretty good at "tuning out" our 3 here, but gaaahh, some days I just want to plug my ears & sings loudly lol! When Layla, Kevin & the foster (who I will get photos of soon!) hear the flocks go over there is no stopping the screaming (& lorkieets scream like no other haha). When we have friends over, the look on their faces when the noise starts in priceless. Between the birds & my puppy with his damn squeaky duck toy! haha

 

[tab_xo]

Hahahaha yes, i dont live in town, but when i just happen to be there in the evenings i would like to wear ear muffs when they are all flying around calling to each other


We have galahs around here, they are fairly quiet, but places around us has cockatoos, and oh my god, they just scream It would drive me crazy living around them!


Hahahahaha squeeky toys are the worst!

 

[Eucalyptus]

My parents have a rescued Cockatoo...devoted to my mum, acts like she hates everyone else, came to them with a dirty mouth (swears like a drunk lol) & the most blood curling SCREECH I have ever heard haha!
Oh & her name is creatively "Cocky" lol.

 

[Mike17]

I have taken Fargo into Targets before HAHAHA Looking for clothes, with him on my shoulder... All the people in there were like oh my god! Is he real

Then i received a message later saying that when he is in town again, to come into Targets again so the other staff can see him


Never taken him into a cafe or restaurant though! Would be interesting to see if any would allow a bird!



Welcome to the forum! Another queenslander!

Can't wait to see pictures!



And Mike are macaws allowed into Tasmania? If i ever move, i would go to Tasmania, considering i can't really leave Australia with my pack of animals

Tab, macaws aren't on the list of prohibited imports, so you'd be fine. You do need to obtain a permit for ANY bird entering Tassie though. Our Little Corella is on the prohibited list but DIPWE person told me he can come in as a Companion Bird and has to be microchipped. Galahs the same- I dearly want a corella/galah hybrid so better get it before we move. Actually a hybrid should be OK anyway as they're usually infertile. With low numbers in Tassie they will be very expensive- saw a corella on Gumtree recently, not even hand-raised, they wanted $450. Actually I think the rule's a bit stupid, if the birds are already there, and we'll be a good distance from the main fruit-growing areas anyway. Loris perform a service, too, they pollinate flowers... but they can be very destructive of ripe fruit as well.

I'll put a plug in for George Town... nice coastal town only 50km from all the services in Launceston, much nicer climate than Hobart (or Launy for that matter) and for a place with great water views, very good real estate prices. That's where we are retiring to.

 

[Mike17]

Thanks for the responses

Mike17 - So sorry to hear that you will have to leave your lori behind when you move! Actually, just yesterday I was reading an article about the effects of the loris who have been introduced to Tassy - devastating to the farmers apparently. Very sad that it means you cant bring your own boy to the island! I hope he goes to the very next best home possible

Yeah, I've read up a bit on the subject too. I can understand Tassie's viewpoint, but there would be ways around it- microchipped and frequently/ permanently clipped and inspected, for instance. We won't be living in a fruit-growing area anyway. The problem's in the south, around Hobart. We'll be way up north. Coco doesn't fly very well in any case- he was savagely slipped on one wing by the petshop, 3 years ago.

We're in WA now and had to get a permit for him to come here, even though we're living outside the problem area around Perth (the feral population there came from escapees from a university!) and he's supposed to be in a bird-locked cage.

I hope he goes to a good home to- I asked the big bird place in Perth and they offered $70- and sell them for $250. I'd rather give him to a good owner/companion for free.

 

[GaryBV]

OMG you Aussies are just SHOWING OFF now LMAO - what GREAT pictures and amazing birds. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Betrisher]

G'day, Eucalyptus! Welcome to our forum! Where do you live? I'm in Newcastle, NSW. It's so nice to see another Aussie - hope you enjoy the conversation and info to be found here.

 

[strudel]

Welcome to the forum. Your birds are gorgeous. A rainbow lorikeet was recommended to me when I was looking at getting another/more birds (before I adopted my weiros and my galah), but I was put off by what I read about their messy poos. How bad is it, really?

 

[Eucalyptus]

G'day, Eucalyptus! Welcome to our forum! Where do you live? I'm in Newcastle, NSW. It's so nice to see another Aussie - hope you enjoy the conversation and info to be found here.

Thank you for the warm welcome! I was really happy to see how many other Aussie's are on here! I am in rural South East QLD, about an hr from Brisbane City.

Welcome to the forum. Your birds are gorgeous. A rainbow lorikeet was recommended to me when I was looking at getting another/more birds (before I adopted my weiros and my galah), but I was put off by what I read about their messy poos. How bad is it, really?

Yeaahhhh, they poo A LOT but you do become used to it. Ours all get a lot of fruit & veg, so it can be particularly bad haha. Its the unpredictable trajectory that is the hardest to deal with...finding poo a few feet from where any bird has been that day But Kevin is mostly toilet trained & with Layla I will often wait for her to go (dont need to wait long haha) just before I take her out of the cage, I am hoping she will eventually learn - & with lots of praise of course. But yeahhhhh, its very runny, very sticky (could build ships with the stuff) & very....wet haha, honestly, that is the best way to describe it!

Also, I love love love Galahs! My parents have 2 at the moment. I hope to one day have one too

 

[MikeyTN]

Welcome to the forum!!!!!! After owning Malachai, gotta love Lories, they wonderful birds to have around but very temperamental.