Ask Lafeber

Abused Lori abandoned

We inherited a banded Lori that must have been abused as a young bird. He has two half torn off talons on one claw.
We checked with County Animal control and they ran his band in their computer no owner listed also put pix on Facebook. He is very aggressive and won’t let yo pick him up or go near him with your hand in the cage without seriously going after you. My wife has had blood drawn a few times. On the other hand he like to get close with his face and my face/mouth while I communicate with him with a a mouth sound that he sound responds to with different affectionate tweets some like a song. He also b;inks his blue eyelids and likes my doing the same. That way his is sweet and likes that love. We have a heck of a time getting him back in the cage. Twice I used Lori taking sounds from a video on my smart phone and fresh food in his cage.
2 Questions: #1 Mostly at night he gives a series of short chirps as if he’s trying to clear his throat after chewing on toys or pulling his cardboard paper liner. This sound is different then his big squawks when he wants something.
Do you know why he does this? #2 We would like to find a good home for him because our living room dinning room isn’t watery poop proof and we feed him wet and dry Roudybush powder and diced papaya. Initially he like red seedless grapes but since he has been on Roudybush formula he pays only slight attention to fresh organic fruit. We love him and would like to pet him, but thus far we can’t. We live in Bergen County NJ. Please advise. Thanks. PR

Hi PR,

I’m glad you have been able to give this Lory a home at least for now. Does he have an open band or a closed band? An open band would be silver and rounded with an opening and a closed band is solid all the way around. An open band would indicate a wild caught bird, although he would be very old if he had been imported. More likely it is closed and he was domestically bred. I would not assume abuse because Lories are very active and he could have caught his claws or toes in a cage at some point and caused the injury. Or he could have been bitten by another bird. Not knowing his history, he may not have been handraised or he may have been a breeding bird. Even if hand raised, some species of Lories do become aggressive and don’t make the best pets.

I would suggest being patient with him and understanding that he may not have ever been a pet or maybe just does not want to be a pet. Lories do best with other Lories from my experience. If you do want to rehome him, try to find a reputable parrot rescue in your area. This would be the best way because they will check out any potential owners. If you can find a sanctuary that has other lories, that would also be a good option. Possibly he prefers being around other birds.

As far as his night sounds go, this is normal. Lories are rarely quiet. Mine used to chatter off and on in their sleep all night long. Since he does the sounds at night, it is likely his night time habit, possibly a way to settle for the night.

I hope you are able to find the best solution for him.

Thank you for asking Lafeber,

Brenda