New baby Lori's

[arleychaise]

HI there to who ever, I have just become the very proud ownder of two Baby Lori's they are aged 7 weeks old, they stil have some of their grey feathers under theyre wings!!!!
I was just hoping that someone may share some hints and tips with me as i am very keen to ensure that i take the very best care of these babies, Our house is made up of my two young boys aged 6 and 8 myself and my partner and we are hoping that these babies will grow up to be much loved family members... my main concerns are making sure theyre diet is good, training tips and generally everything a good responsible owner should know. at the moment i am feeding them around 7-8 ml per feed wit hbaout 4 feeds a day through a suringe but to be honest they seem to be losing interest, i am wanting to know if i can introduce other things aswell as keeping up with the hand rearing wet mix!!! they also get a littl emessy with feeding so i am wanting to know about bathing them on a warm sunny day..... I think one of them is responding better than the other as one seems to cry sometimes, any ideas as to why?? i feed them a mix from my local pet store and its warm when they get it and i can see when theyre crop is looking hungry and when it also looks to be satisfied so i am trying to figure out if there is something up if if i just have a sook on my hands!!! My other things is they are starting to want to fly and this is a bit scary as they just take off and generally crash into things... im unsure what to do here!! and claws they are really sharp they rip my kids hands can i just clip these with nail clippers or do they have to be specially done if so who do i contact to look at my birdies???
cheers
lorna

[Jen]

Hi there, Welcome to the forum! Great crew here who are always keen to answer your questions.
What sort of Lori's are they? I havent had raised Loris get although I have raised plenty of other birds and I would probably cut down on the hand feeding to three meals a day for starters. They really shouldn't need 4 at their age. I find bathing them just with a spray bottle of warmish water is a good way to start them getting used to a bath.
Also start offering some fresh fruit like apple for them to try and put some dry mix in their cage so they can pick at it. If you are worried about clipping their claws yourself an easy way to take off the sharp point is with one of those sponge sanding blocks you get at a hardware store and just sand the point down while holding each claw.
Where do you live? I am sure there will be someone around who can give you some pointers or even better the person you got them from.
Good Luck and don't forget we love to see photos !!!

[Helen]

Hi and welcome. I am afraid that I don't know much about birds. Although I did hand raise a lori, it was a long time ago and there are members of this forum who can give much better advice.

I hope you enjoy the forum and learn lots along the way.

[Jen]

Further to the nail thing...yes you can just take the very end off with nail clippers if you want but be careful you dont go too far

And if they are really messy and covered in food you can pop them in an inch of warm water and give them a bath by trickling the water over them to soften the food and then put them in a warm spot with no cold draughts to dry

[Peter]

G'day and welcome!

I would be weaning your babies NOW~! Thye should only be on 2 feeds a day at most, and you should try getting them to eat from a bowl now too. Lorris are very easy to wean. As lorris like a wet lorri nector mix, simply mix a bowl of this mixed with some of the hand raising mix and at the next feed, instead of actually squirting the food into their mouth, get them to follow the syringe to the bowl and try getting them to start eating there. Start by mking it warm but eventually when they are eating by themselves make it cold. I would offer fruit at all times, as well as a bowl of wet mix (even if it goes cool, but change it every day) and a bowl of dry lorri mix. To wean them you must make them hungry for the food. So limmit them to a max of 2 feeds a day (where u actually sit their encouraging them to eat, but go down to one feed if they start eating on their own.

Lorris love apple and pear and many other fruits. Avoid seed all together and provide wet & or dry lorri mix.

The more you handle them the tamer they will become! Cuddle them, scratch them, let them sit on your hand and shoulder. Teach them to "step up" by placing them on one hand/finger and gently pushing the other hand/finger into their legs/body so they are forse to step up onto it. repeat this over and over anf they will eventually just hope onto your finger when you place it out for them to do so.

Hope this has helped and all the best with them! Keep us posted on how they go!