show us your exotic birds

[Albino93]

Its not as hard as it sounds lol it really depends on how long u would be going away for. As long as the bird has a variety of chewing toys and foraging toys it will keep it from becoming bored plus keep his/hers mind stimulated it will be fine. Just get ur grandma to let him/her out for a few hours each day, give some cuddles/love then just let it explore the house and play with the toys. As for the poop, i wouldnt say its as bad as its made out to be, yes its watery and they seem to poop non stop lol but its imo easier to clean because normal bird poop goes rock hard and can be difficult to clean. This is just coming from the experience ive had with them, some can be worse some can be good.

 

[SteveNT]

These are all exotic to me. I live in Darwin.

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It's good to get down to Mexico every now and then. The last photo , King Parrot- we have a Red wing parrot, just a perfect opposite up here. Still glad to be back in Darwin though, never knowing what will show up next

 

[imported_Varanus]

Why does that New Holland Honeyeater look a bit blurry?

 

[notechistiger]

Not really sure I understand why links that have nothing to do with reptiles nor affect the livelihood of the APS sponsors need to be removed, but whatever, lol.

I agree. Not like it's taking reptile business elsewhere....

Stevo2, your birds are so beautiful =D

what happens if you go away? Because I can hardly dump such a huge responsibility on my Grandma :lol:. And they're a lot of work. soo what do you guys do? Loris in particular as they require a lot of time to stimulate their brains and play, others do too of course.

If I went with an indoor cage, is the whole 'projectile pooping' really bad? Or is the mess not quite as bad as it's made out to be?

This is the same with any pet I guess. I had a relative look after my lorikeet when we went away for a week. He wasn't happy with the lack of attention, but he got over it. They won't suddenly die from lack of attention for a little while while you're not there =)

All three of my birds are inside (in my room to be exact ), and no, the projectile poop isn't all that bad. However, would definitely recommend putting plastic or towels on the floor to protect it and an old sheet around the back of the cage to protect the floors

 

[SteveNT]

Why does that New Holland Honeyeater look a bit blurry?

Must've been my eyes at the time

 

[Bananapeel]

Thanks so much albino! Really appreciate all the help. As far as feeding goes, (while away) what and how often would my Grandma need to feed it? Just the wet/dry stuff still and bits of fruit and veggies?
Sorry for the questions but better to know than not I suppose

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Now where are some more pics people?

 

[cathy1986]

Thanks so much albino! Really appreciate all the help. As far as feeding goes, (while away) what and how often would my Grandma need to feed it? Just the wet/dry stuff still and bits of fruit and veggies?
Sorry for the questions but better to know than not I suppose

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Now where are some more pics people?

as i said somewhere else they are a pain and messy like really messy squirty poop everywhere foods expensive and NEVER feed SEEDS!!! they will DIE a lady in the pet shop was telling my friend its ok to feed them seeds and he bird died within a week seriously look at getting a diff type of bird indian ring necks are great lost of colours and morphs coming out i have a stunning violet one pic is in my fb somewhere i can pm u an awesome breeder if u want she freights too

 

[notechistiger]

My lorikeet gets fruit and veggies in the morning, sometimes a treat of some sort during the day when I make lunch (ie, rice or spaghetti, or eggs, etc- all bird friendly recipes), and usually a little bit of fruit at night. If he doesn't get lunch with me, he'll get a wet porridge ("Lori-Wet"). He always has lori-dry available. Likewise my other birds get similar attention to food (pellets/seeds available all day, with fruit/veggies in the morning, sometimes lunch, fruit/nuts/etc at night).

 

[J-A-X]

I can't believe I've only just seen this thread - it looks like there is a couple of Eckie owners here, here's my two . Bonnie & Clyde - Red Sided Eclectus (PNG species)

 

[notechistiger]

cathy, there is absolutely no reason to recommend a different kind of bird. Their diet is really a very small consideration when looking at these birds. I suspect something else was wrong with the bird if it died in a week of being fed seed; because a week of seed won't kill one.

 

[cathy1986]

Ummm she was fine and going straight from one feed to a totally different one will put the birds digestive system in shock and could quite easily kill it plus seeds are bad for most birds all mine have pellets and lorris get fruit and wet and dry lori mix from bird vet as the stuff most petshops sell are way too high in sugars and over time will kill your bird too

Ps the poo is more of a put off for lorris then their diet requirements also they have a bad bite on them too lol

Cathy

 

[notechistiger]

and a few photos:

The size comparison for the cage we have now (this is our first lorikeet though):

Sunny's Cage by Ashlee Yarnold, on Flickr

Please ignore my disgusting keyboard. Day before cleaning day D:

Trying to Sleep by Ashlee Yarnold, on Flickr

Sleeping on my leg during the day this summer. Notice the prime position in front of the fan?

Sleeping Vodka by Ashlee Yarnold, on Flickr


Cathy, you posted while I did.

I'm not going to argue with you about the death of the bird. Sounds like poor knowledge from pet store crew is to blame (yet again). I'm more scared of a ring neck bite than a lorikeet bite tbh. Gimme lorikeet bites any day

Lorikeet dying from sugar :lol: I think their blood is 90% sugar, 10% normal blood stuff

I agree with you re their poo being a put off, but honestly I rather it over normal bird poop. Easy to clean. The only thing that's annoying about it is they do it so often haha

 

[Bananapeel]

cathy, there is absolutely no reason to recommend a different kind of bird. Their diet is really a very small consideration when looking at these birds. I suspect something else was wrong with the bird if it died in a week of being fed seed; because a week of seed won't kill one.

Hmm I'm a bit unsure still. Almost every site I've looked at says they are full of character but they are not a simple bird to look after, they are messy and need hours out of their cages daily. Being in yr 9 means I am at school for 7+hours incl getting there and home, after school activities and homework. I don't know whether I can provide the bird with 2 or more hours out everyday. Unless this is a slight exaggeration, providing there is a number of toys and things to keep the bird entertained during the school day) As much as I would LOVE to own one and spoil it rotten, if I cannot tend to it's needs adequately I would prefer to do what's best for the bird.

As for going away, well it's not going to happen all that often due to my brother going into yr 11 and me yr 9, but we still will have little holidays here and there so I've got no idea what would happen then.
Thanks for your answers guys. They are very much appreciated.

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Is it possible you could estimate a rough cost of one per week. How much upkeep I'd be looking at for say an indoor enclosure?
Cheers

 

[notechistiger]

They're not very expensive to care for. I pay 10 bucks for one bag each of Lori-wet and dry ($20 total). The dry will last 2-3 weeks, and the wet will last for much longer. The fruit and veggies could just be added into grocery shopping I guess. Corn, apples, mangos, pineapple, stuff like that. I don't know how much your local shops charge for fruit, but I'd say I pay around $20 per week on fruit/veggies for the birds, and I have three of them. As for cleaning, I change the paper in the bottom around once a week, and the entire cage gets hosed out once every month or so. Mine get let out from between 7-9pm to around 9pm each day, unless I need to go out, or they're being annoying, or they're being fed. So around ~10 hours average per day.

If you can't currently give large amounts of time to one (which is understandable!), and you still really want a bird, you could consider a cockatiel maybe. Very loving and very forgiving. They're also a lot less attention orientated and would be happy to sit quietly on their cage or on your shoulder all day.

 

[cathy1986]

My violet irn

Cathy

 

[Lulham]

Any Macaws

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[Stevo2]

Any Macaws

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Did you see my photos of Elmo??


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[Lachie3112]

NEVER feed SEEDS!!! they will DIE a lady in the pet shop was telling my friend its ok to feed them seeds and he bird died within a week

Ok that bird couldn't have died just from seeds.
I'm not going to create an argument but to put some truth out there about this instead.

Rainbow lorikeets can and will eat seed, that doesn't mean you should feed them seed however. I've never heard of a Lorikeet dying from eating seed, but I have heard them get fat and loose the papillate from their tongue, which prevents them from eating nectar so they become dependent on seed.

plus seeds are bad for most birds

I don't know where you got that info but explain then what grass parrots and most parrots in general (apart from lorikeets) eat in the wild.
Here's a pic of the papillate:

As for choosing a parrot, I'm probably going to go with a Princess Parrot, because at first I thought I would love a lorikeet but I get them at my house and after a bit of research I decided that maybe I shouldn't get one. Personally I still haven't made up my mind but it won't be a rosella or a lorikeet or any of the larger parrot species. (I don't have the room for one of them.)

 

[vampstorso]

Grass parrots are their own little group, even they should get fresh food.
In general you shouldn't give your bird much seed as it's too fatty with comparatively low nutrients. Also, wild birds get a lot more excercise than captive birds, and don't just dine out at a bowl of seed.
My Red Tail gets hardly any seed.
Fresh veges and sprouts are his staple.

I also wouldn't buy a bird due too a recommendation. I'd suggest you go visit species in person, they're a long commitment, they will be noisey, and they will make mess. It's what birds do.
As Stevo said, I find the call of things like lorikeets unbearable and annoying....yet the horrendously loud call of my cockatoo doesn't worry me as much.

Also Stevo, good too see ya! Been wondering where you and Bea have been on AA!

 

[Bananapeel]

I'll definitely go have a look at the different species available. Maybe something like a Quaker or Indian ring neck might be better?
Also, both the species I mentioned I can't find on the dose licence lit of species. Does that mean they don't require a licence because they are exotic?
Final question, what kind of price would I be expecting to pay for the above?
Cheers guys. The help's much appreciated. As are the pics