|
Lories are among the most specialized of all the parrots in their feeding habits. In the wild, they have adapted to feeding on nectar and pollen from flowers. They have a cluster of bristle or brush-like papillae on the end of their tongues that extend from a protective cover to collect the nectar and pollen during feeding. Additionally, most species of lories also feed on fruits, blossoms, buds, berries and some seeds and insects.
In captivity, there are probably as many lory diets as there are people who keep lories. But while most of these diets are probably adequate, some can be detrimental to the birds. For this reason, we prefer feeding a high quality, proven commercial lory nectar as the base of the diet.
Nekton Lori and
Avico Lory Life Nectar are the only two nectars we recommend. In addition to nectar, fruits and vegetables are an essential part of the lory diet.
Our lories are fed twice daily. It is our experience that multiple feedings in a day replicate the natural foraging behavior that birds would exhibit in the wild. The morning feeding consists of a fruit and vegetable puree. We feed the produce as a puree for two reasons. First, this eliminates the possibility of discarded chunks of fruit lying underneath the cage, which could attract pests or grow mold. Second, the pureed diet allows us to add certain fruits or vegetables to the diet that the lories may not necessarily like, but are nutritionally superior to the more favored food.
Additional ingredients can be added to the fruit/vegetable puree. Occasionally, we alternately sprinkle human grade wheat germ, Avico Lory Life powder, live mealworms, and Avico Bugs n' Berries (an insectivore diet) to the puree and mix thoroughly. For variety, once or twice a week we replace the fruit/vegetable puree with cooked brown rice, lentils and split peas mixed with chopped fruits and vegetables and softened
Mazuri
or ZuPreem parrot pellets.
The afternoon feeding consists of a commercial lory nectar, such as those suggested above. We feed 1/3 to 2/3 cup (100-200ml) of nectar per pair. Additionally, large chunks of favored produce are occasionally placed in the flights for the birds to eat and play with (see the
Enrichment Page).
|
|
Fruit & Vegetable Puree
variation #1
4 cups peeled and chopped apple (~2 large)
4 cups peeled and chopped papaya and seeds (1 large)
3 cups peeled and chopped seasonal fruit
(e.g. 1 peach, 2 pears and 4 kiwi)
3 cups grapes
2 cups peeled and chopped squash
2 cups cooked carrots (save water)
1 cup thawed frozen or fresh green peas
4-6 leaves of romaine lettuce
(collard or mustard greens work well too)
Blend all to the consistency of thick apple sauce.
Add the carrot water to help with blending if needed. Mixture can be frozen in ice cube trays or small canning jars (fills 8 ice cube trays).
To serve, simply defrost and add a little warm water to make the mixture the consistency of thin apple sauce. Fruit & Vegetable Puree
variation #2
1/2 cup ZuPreem
AvianMaintenceTM
Fruit
BlendTM
or
any other quality extruded pellet
1 banana
1 cup grapes
1 cup chopped apple (~1/2 large)
1 cup chopped papaya and seeds (~1/4 large)
1 cup steamed yams (~ 1 small)
Add enough water to
cover the pellets and most of the fruit. Allow the
pellets to soften. Blend all to the consistency of thick apple sauce.
Add water to help with blending if needed.
To serve, add enough
water to make the mixture the consistency of thin apple sauce. |
Related Links:
Cuttlebone Plus
Mazuri
Nekton Products
ZuPreem
|
loriinae.com
