I found Harry in the back yard, on his back, stunned. He was obviously very young and had flown, probably in fright, when he really wasn't quite ready, and ran head on into a brick wall, literally. It took 2 weeks before he was fully recovered, but during that time, I left him on my verandah with my own birds, and his parents actually came in daily to visit. Finally, though he still couldn't fly well, I saw he was strong enough to go back into the nesting tree where a sibling was still perching. The reunion was magnificent to see after Harry climbed back up the tree with beak and claw, helped by flutters. Both babies took off eventually and hopefully, both made it.
That brick wall was no match for Harry's fortitude. Sounds like you adopted a very helpful approach to Harry, Karen.
Thank you. Was more luck really. Lucky he wasn't hurt worse. He was such a little sweetie, and I am glad he made it.
This baby was dragged out of her nest by crows and her legs were badly damaged. One foot was smashed, and she had been pecked badly. She survived. It took nearly a year before her foot came good, but she was never able to hold tightly onto a perch. For exercising her feet, we had a game where she sat on a small branch and I would swish it around and up and down as if in a strong wind. This taught her to hang on as best she could, but she always had trouble when flying, grabbing as she landed. So she is still with me, 9 years later, as she wouldn't have survived in the wild.
Karen
Brisbane southside.
Here is a picture of the Rainbow Lorikeet that I am looking after now. We named him stumpy because when we found him he had no tail feathers, and no flight feathers, I have since thought I should have called him Humphrey! "What a funny old fellow is Humphrey...."
Stumpy is a lively member of our household and welcomes the day with ear splitting screeches! We don't mind really, he provides a lot of entertainment.
We are wondering about the possibility of his survival if we release him to the wild as he was so very young, about 2 weeks, when I found him and his parents stopped visiting 2 - 3 weeks ago...
Stumpy is at fledgling stage now.
Regards
Cheryl
Happy Birding!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/138588528@N02/
You can see how his beak has gradually turned from black to orange over time. His eyes too have changed from black to a lovely brown/amber coloour.
Happy Birding!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/138588528@N02/
Hi, well, I personally think you have a little friend for life. Without tail and flight feathers, he can't fly which means he can't escape predators or hunt for food. If those feathers don't grow, he is what they call a "runner". Runners don't last in the wild. I truly think Stumpy should have flight feathers by now as he is old enough. What do you feed him?
Karen
Brisbane southside.
Stumpy's tail feathers are coming in, his flight feathers are growing now, I have had him to the vet for check ups and he is not a runner, he was just way young when I found him.. I started him for the first day on honey and water, then gave him hatchling mix for Lorikeets, along the way introduced a little of lots of different fruits and flowers, we have a lot of natives growing in our yard so he has had the gum flowers and bottle brush and grevillea flowers and and their seed pods to chew on too. He now has a wet mix twice a day, a dry lorikeet mix all day, and a fruit and veg kebab every other day. He thoroughly enjoys a bath in his water dish and wont use anything else to bath in.
My concern is more of a social one as Lorikeets can be rather nasty to other birds, and I am not sure if he will be accepted or attacked by the wild lorikeets.
Any advice?
Happy Birding!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/138588528@N02/
Your concern is a genuine one. I am afraid I cheat. I put out a small quantity of wet mix for the wild birds to lure a few in. Not enough to entice the whole flock. Then when my birds come out of their cage, the wild birds are already familiar with them. There is still the pecking order ordeal for them to learn and things like not trying to make off with someone else's mate. I let my 2 birds out now daily. One takes off and is gone for a few days, then he comes back and wants to get in the cage. I let him stay overnight, then its his choice what to do next morning. The other bird, Mizzy, the female, so far has always returned to the cage when the other birds leave, but she's been with me 9 years, and our bonding is very strong. She won't take a mate so is a social misfit before she even starts. She is the one I originally called "The Boss" because right from a baby she was a real bossy boots.
The other way is the one I mentioned before. Find a carer who has a small number of birds being readied for release as a flock. These are usually youngsters who got into strife early in life but are old enough to fend for themselves if they stay together.
We had some rain overnight, and the first thing Toby did when I released them this morning was to get into the wet leaves and bathe. He had so much fun.
I am no expert, nor am I a qualified carer, but I just watched the wild birds and followed my instincts. And of course got advice from vets and carers.
Good luck with Stumpy. Be aware if you do eventually release him, he will have bonded with you and it depends on how much as to how well he will adapt to freedom.
Karen
Brisbane southside.
Just a PS about my male lori, Toby. He only stayed out half the day today. I had closed the cage with Mizzy inside, and he was back screeching to be let in. Guess it isn't so easy to get them to go when they figure they have a good life with you.
Karen
Brisbane southside.
Hi All,
Stumpy has finally begun to fly, only for short, really short flights, and it took for me to cu his food back to only his wet and dry mix through the day and not all the other foods, like fruit, flowers, etc and he is now a bit more slender, aerodynamic, and can actually get his chubby butt off the ground...
Oh the joys of bird keeping...
Cheryl
Happy Birding!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/138588528@N02/
Glad he's trying to fly, Cheryl. I think you may have a friend for life there, by the sounds of it, as he may not be able to forage in the wild. Toby refuses to leave anymore, so looks like I have another friend for life too. Neither of my birds seem to gain weight. They have the wet and dry lori mixes from the Parrot Society. More expensive, but it has all the vitamins etc added, and they do have beautiful shiny feathers. I still give them fruit and veg and flowers when I can find flowers. They love chewing long pieces of cooch grass too.
Karen
Brisbane southside.
Hi Karen
I had not thought of couch grass but I will add that to Stumpy's diet. He does a get a little lucerne as we buy that for newly acquired rabbit and guinea pig so he likes chewing on that. He loves their cos lettuce too.
Stummpy is full on flying now. Lucky our house is large and there is a lot of room for him to fly, he has now learned that glass maybe see-through but it is not fly-through! I thought of getting a big flight cage built for him and then realised we would miss him annoying us all day long!!.
Morning and night when we give him his wet food he will fly onto our head and stay there until we get his dish and make his wet food up for him.
My daughter Terri who has a severe brain injury has Stumy keeping her company at the table when she is eating! She has swiped him away several times but he thinks it is just a game and comes back for more. She laughs when he perches on her head and when she is rocking at the table he will sit on the table reaching up to her as she rocks forward. They seem to have developed their own games with each other.
Cheryl
Happy Birding!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/138588528@N02/
Cheryl, it sounds like Stumpy is doing really well. I have been warned never to feed just 2 things to the lorikeets. One is avocado - it apparently will kill them, and the second is lettuce, something to do with their digestive system but I don't know what it does to them. I used to have budgies and fed them couch grass, and just fed it to the lories too and they love chewing the green 'leaf'. It may have some medicinal value too. They don't eat much.
So glad your daughter enjoys Stumpy's company. They are delightful little birds and love their human companions, bonding firmly with them. You are now Stumpy's true family in his mind.
Karen
Brisbane southside.
They are so cute
I found a baby Lorikeet today in the middle of the road and covered in ants. I picked him up and took him home. He still has grey feathers and they look like they've been eaten away and are tattered. He also has his eyes closed, he hasn’t opened them at all. I’ve been feeding him warm mashed up peaches and cleaning his eyes with warm water. Are those the right things to do and is there anything else I could do?
Shian, great of you to care for this lorikeet which seems to have been abandoned, given the ants on it.
I'm not a wildlife rescue expert but you might like to contact your nearest wildlife rescue organisation. There might be a phone number in the front of the phone directory. Otherwise a good Google might produce the result you're looking for.
Otherwise, I suggest you wait for one of the expert members of Birds in Backyards to reply to your post.
If you check this post at the top of this section (link below) it will give you the contacts for wildlife organisations in each state. Essentially keep the bird warm and dry, and seek help. It is a good sign if it is eating the food, and offer it water, but really needs to go to a Carer who knows what they are doing (I guess you would not be asking, if you knew what is to be done).
thanks for caring and good luck.
http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/forum/Bird-rescuerehabilitation/What-do-if-you-find-injuredsick-bird-check-here-first
Dale Huonville, Tasmania