Articles

A Mixed Lorikeet Collection

By Luke Sullivan.

In 1992 my dad built me a large conventional aviary. At the time I just loved Rainbow Lorikeets and for that matter all birds. I couldn’t wait to get my first pair. I acquired my first pair of Rainbows from a commercial dealer in Melbourne and tried to be patient waiting for them to breed. The aviary I house them in is about 6 metres long, 1.5 metres wide and about 2.5 metres high. It is arched down the sides and down the front. I was feeding the pair a commercial dry food, commercial wet nectar supplemented by apples, oranges and fresh flowering eucalypt branches. After about 12 months the pair bred and reared their first young. The two babies were reared in good health and were kept in the aviary with their parents. The same pair are still breeding. In 1996 my father and I were after a bit more variety and decided to buy a pair of Red-Collared Lorikeets to go in the same aviary. The birds were released in with four other Rainbows and all was fine. In mid 1997 the Red-Collareds laid for the first time, this was exciting for me because it was a year and a half since we acquired the pair. At this time we were already thinking about Scaly-Breasted Lorikeets. I decided to get a pair to add to my collection. The pair was introduced into the aviary and the Red-Collareds continued to sit on their eggs. The Red-Collareds reared their young and peace was held with all birds in the aviary. The Red-Collareds and Rainbows continued to breed and the Scaly-Breasteds were quick to settle in. Because of the Scaly-Breasted Lorikeets being a bit smaller than the Rainbows and Red-Collareds they took a while to start breeding as well although the pair we acquired were a young pair. They laid for the first time 12 months after they were first released into the aviary. Only one egg hatched and the single chick fledged successfully. 

To stop any squabbling between individuals there should be at least two hollow logs or nest boxes for each pair to choose from. I find it alright to have just one feeding station for the feed that is available at all times but one feeding station to each pair is necessary for foods that are enjoyed a lot more such as apples, oranges and corn to name a few. Most of these foods may be eaten by just one pair before any of the others if every pair is not allowed to eat them on its own.

The advantages of colony breeding is in my case I think the courtship display. When one male starts displaying his courtship another one starts and it catches on to every male in the aviary trying to get his mates attention. This will make more mating occur and hopefully more clutches of eggs which of coarse results in more babies. Maybe the best aspect of colony breeding lorikeets is the visual effect an aviary has that is housing a whole different variety of birds. As the birds fly from one end of the flight to the other you can see the diverse array of colours moving through the air, and with these lorikeets the colours are amazing. The disadvantages of colony breeding lorikeets is the chance of hybridising. I believe that this probably will not happen if each bird in the aviary is matched up with another bird. The Rainbows and Scaly-Breasteds have hybridised in the wild but it is encouraged that it doesn’t happen in captivity or else the pure species may be lost.