# Would a Lorikeet bully Cockatiels?



## Flick (Apr 19, 2011)

Hello everyone,

I was in a petstore yesterday looking at handreared cockatiels and their other birds. 
I would like to add that this pet store is one of the good ones. When they say their birds are handreared, I believe them. And their animals always look very healthy and happy. They tend to be knowledgable about their animals as well.

They had four baby handreared cockatiels. I'm not very good with mutations but one was normal pied with orange cheeks, two were a white-silver-gray-pied colour with no orange cheeks and one was solid grey with no orange cheeks. I put my hand to their cage bars and they backed away. They didn't run away or flip out, they're were just wary of a stranger coming to their cage so I understand that completely.

However, they had three lorikeets in the store as well. The lorikeets were wrestling with each other to get the closest to my hand through their cage. All three of the birds licked my hand through the cage wires as well. So I was impressed.

I talked to the pet store employee and I was told that lorikeets are more demanding for attention and require more attention than a cockatiel. I am home alone a fair bit because my boyfriend is a shift worker, so I want the company and I wouldn't mind giving extra attention.

But, Fossil and Butternut are starting to wander outside their cage. Even fraidy-feathers Butternut wandered the whole living room! I do not want to put a stop to Fossil and Butternut being able to wander around the house. 
Would I be able to have a lorikeet and cockatiels outside of their cage at the same time?

I'm worried about fights but I am mostly worried about them being chased as well. They are very fearful birds so I think they would just run away from a lorikeet. Would a lorikeet keep chasing them though?

I'm not so sure how they would react to another cockatiel. The pet store cockatiels are smaller because of the age difference so I would assume that would make them less threatening? And being the same species as well, I think they could even possibly adopt a new tiel into their flock?

Also, if I bought a male cockatiel would it cause any behaviour-related hormonal problems when the maybe-male matured? The cockatiels aren't sexed in the store and they're all very young so I don't think it's possible to visually sex them?

I'm not going to lie, I think I want a lorikeet but I would not buy a lorikeet at the expense of my untamed cockatiels happiness.


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## Flick (Apr 19, 2011)

I didn't know if this was suppose to go in Cockatiel Talk or Chit Chat so sorry if it's in the wrong spot!


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## Thebirdnerd (Dec 8, 2010)

I would be very careful about adding a lory..They are fun birds and make good pets, but could be aggressive towards other birds. I personally witnessed a rainbow lory kill a sun conure. If you are set on getting a lory just keep the birds separate when they are out of their cages.


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## Duckybird (Sep 13, 2010)

As far as I understand, their diet can be challenging too. Just a word to the wise.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

theyre VERY messy. liquid droppings which they squirt out of the cage. also, i heard theyre aggressive as well. and also, they need a very very special diet--which is expensive


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## Flick (Apr 19, 2011)

A lorikeet killed another bird!? Wow, I don't want to risk my tiels getting hurt or worse!
I keep Fossil's and Butternut's cage open all day and right next to me so that they can get use to me so it would be a huge inconvenience to separate them all the time. 

Thank you everyone for the quick replies. I have decided that a lorikeet is out of the question. I don't mind spending more on diet, extra work to make the diet or extra work to clean up poo but I will not risk my tiels. They're too important to me!


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

Their diet actually is easy. A wet Lori mix, and a dry Lori mix, as well as a lot of fruits, and veggies. 

I know someone with a Lori that also owns a Cockatiel (as well as a few other birds), and her Lori gets along quite well with the Cockatiel and other birds. It does depend on the Lori though, just because one gets along with other birds, doesn't mean any other Lori will.

They are _very _energetic and playful and make wonderful pets. I was considering one awhile ago, but have interacted with one at a pet store and he loved laying on his back while playing with a cat ball. They are funny little birds and love people.


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## bear2491 (Feb 26, 2011)

Haha Flick I'm wondering if you were in at my work  (I would like to think that we are one of the good ones) I'm in Coffs Harbour, so not tooooo far from Casino...haha and we have 3 lories (2 rainbows and a scaley breast) and 5 tiels but not those colours :blink: (so I know that is wasn't -but we do get customers come from Grafton and other far away places)

Personally I would also be cautious with a lorie near a tiel, they do have bigger beaks and seem a lot more energetic! Their diet is fairly straight forward as long as you don't mind mixing up lori-wet and cutting up fruit.
Their poop is....ugh....and the cages get quite messy from them grabbing the bars with their sticky lori-wet beaks! They are beautiful and playful though and if poop wasn't an issue I would get one =]


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