Abstract
Every month or so I'm asked to speak at local (sometimes not so local) bird clubs. I either speak on lories or softbills, whichever the program officer wishes. These being my favorite groups of birds, I would hate to have to choose between keeping only one or the other.
After a lory program, one of the questions I'm most frequently asked is, "What are the best lories for a first time lory breeder to start with?" They have all seen the slides of the more exotic members of the Loriidae family, i.e. Stellas, Fairy, Red-flanked, etc. and, of course, want to start right out with these. This is fine, since the basic husbandry of lories is the same regardless of the species. It's just that it is a lot easier to breed some species than it is others, and I don't like to see someone lose their enthusiasm with breeding birds because of early failures.
It would certainly be best to start with one of the most common varieties, as these are not only easy to find, they would be the least expensive to purchase, and the easiest to sell the offspring of. Some suggestions would be Red or Moluccan Lory (Bos bornea bornea), Blue-streaked Lory (Bos reticulata), Green-naped or "Rainbow'' Lory (Trichoglossus haematodus haematodus), or the Chattering Lory (Lorius garrulus and ssp.).
Now, after giving you several choices of species with which to begin your lory breeding venture, I'll tell you what you really want to start with. The little Goldie's Lorikeet (Glossopsitta goldiei). (You taxonomists can argue with Rosemary Low or Joseph Forshaw re: the genus). This little 7-inch native of New Guinea is perfect for beginners as well as the experienced lory breeder looking for something new.
While they may not be the most colorful member of the family (they aren't red!), the various shades of green, along with the scarlet, purple, and blue on the head certainly make them attractive. There are several reasons for choosing Goldie's to begin with. They are most quiet of all lories, and they are usually quite prolific. Three clutches a year are common. (That's six babies, as lories lay only two eggs with each clutch). Nothing could be easier to hand feed, if you choose to do so, than a Goldie. If you have ever waited too long to pull a conure chick for hand rearing, you know what a struggle this can be. Not so with these little guys, they will eat at any age. They will even start eating nectar from a dish while still in pinfeathers if they are kept with older chicks.
Being one of the smaller lories, they will breed in smaller accommodations. Ours do quite well in cages 18" deep x 24" high x 30" long. Nearly any size of nest box will do (this is true for most lories). A budgie box with pine shavings or eucalyptus chips is fine. As with all lories (there are a few exceptions), two eggs will be laid and incubated for 23 days. When they hatch, the Goldie's chicks are covered in long, white down, looking very much like two golf balls. Goldie parents are among the best, in fact, we use them for fostering some of the more difficult species. The chicks can be pulled for hand rearing if they are intended as pets, or left with the parents to be reared for future breeding stock.
The diet for our Goldie's is the same as all the rest of our lories and lorikeets. (The difference between a lory and a lorikeet is the same as between a parrot and a parakeet). All of our breeder pairs receive nectar every day, as well as apple and grapes. Many of our pairs also have dry lory diet as well. We use Avico's Lory Life and Lory Life Nectar. There are other prepared diets available as well as millions of home brew recipes. It used to be that every lory keeper had his own "secret" recipe, but the availability of commercially prepared ''complete'' diets has made keeping these beautiful birds much easier.
It has been said that lories are "too messy'' to fool with. I find just the opposite to be true. Granted, here in coastal southern California, we can keep our birds outside all year long, which makes keeping any birds easier. We also have a number of other hookbills which, of course, eat seed. The seed eaters are far more work to clean up after than the lories. With lories there are no seed hulls to rake up, their liquid droppings disappear into the shrubbery or ground cover. When the water dishes are refilled each day, the cage is squirted out and the clean up is done.