What to Feed Your Lory

There are many species of Lories and Lorikeets. There is the Duyvenbode's Lory, Black Lory, Yellow-streaked Lory, Cardinal Lory, Johnstone's Lorikeet, Scaly-breasted Lorikeet, and the Purple-bellied Lory to just name a few. Lories are larger, heavier-bodied birds with squared-off tails. Lorikeets are more slender, with longer, tapering tails. All lories and lorikeets are beautiful; most species have brightly colored, glossy feathers in rainbow hues, with coral-red beaks. For a list of Lori and Lorikeet species and information about each of them, visit Lexicon of Parrots.

The majority of the Lories and Lorikeets have a natural diet of flowers, nectar, pollen, and soft fruit. Lories are usually more expensive than some other parrots because of their need for a nectar diet. The nectar diet will result in loose droppings. Lories should never be fed just a birdseed diet. Lories and Lorikeets that raised only on seeds may eventually die from perforation of the crop or malnutrition. To stay healty, Lories need to be fed a good nectar diet twice a day with a variety of fruits and vegetables.

ZuPreem recently introduced two new products, Lory Nuggets and Lory Nectar. Both are formulated specially for nectar-eating pet birds. When fed together, these two complementary diets take the guesswork out of feeding. Colorful, flower-shaped nuggets, and powdered nectar to sprinkle over fresh fruit or dissolve in water add variety to your bird’s diet. Here’s what you and your bird will like about ZuPreem Lory Diets:

Consistent, balanced nutrition formulated specifically to meet the nutritional needs of adult nectar-eating, pet birds

When fed together, these two complementary diets make up the ZuPreem Exclusive Lory Feeding Plan to take the guesswork out of feeding and provide variety for your bird

Enticing tropical fruit flavor and aroma your bird will love

ZuPreem® Lory Diet Nuggets are small, flower-shaped, extruded nuggets in purple, green, yellow and orange colors. Nuggets contain bananas, apples and grapes ground from fresh fruit for a tropical fruit flavor and aroma. ZuPreem® Lory Diet Nectar is powdered nectar with a tropical fruit flavor and aroma, and is easily dissolved in water to mimic the nectar these birds eat in the wild.

Roudybush Lory Powered Nectar diet is lower in sugar than other brands of nectars, so switching a bird from another brand of nectar sometimes requires adding a small amount of powdered sugar to the diet and slowly eliminating it to convert the birds. Less sugar is helpful to reduce incidence of yeast infections that lories are prone to due to the high sugar diets they are commonly fed. Some people grind up the maintenance pellets into a powder or convert their birds to maintenance crumbles. Lories do very well on the maintenance diet. Feeding pellets, crumbles, or dry powdered Lory Nectar will result in drier, easier to clean up droppings, making lories that much more pleasant to live with. Although some people use the Lory Nectar to handfeed lory chicks, we recommend using Formula 3, which provides a little higher protein needed for growth in the chicks and eliminates the sugar that could lead to yeast infections.

Brisky Lory Luv Nectar powder will keep your lory healthy and happy while providing the essential nutrients and carbohydrates required to support their high metabolism.

Visit Bird Buffet N Things for these great products and for other products for your Lori and Lorikeets nutritional needs.

Use this to train your parrot to talk

Do you know the best way to get your parrot to talk?

I'll give you a hint...

A guy by the name of Chet Womach, over at http://www.birdtricks.com/bird-buffet has discovered some powerful strategies for getting parrots to talk.

He calls it the 'instincts factor' and is getting amazing results with it. You can see exactly how it works at his website below.

http://www.birdtricks.com/bird-buffet

It will only take you a few minutes to hash over the information and see eactly what you have been missing when it comes to teaching your parrot how to talk.

And just in case you were wondering, the training method talked about at the above website works for all parrots. If your parrot has a hooked shaped bill, no matter how small or big he is, these methods will work for you.

I've personally seen these strategies in action and a lot of people have used them to train their birds to not just talk, but talk on cue... Saying whatever their owners want, Whenever their owners want.

Here's the webpage that shows you what I'm talking about again: http://www.birdtricks.com/bird-buffet

Enjoy,

Michael Camire
Bird Buffet N Things
www.birdbuffetnthings.com

Reduce Your Bird Feed Bill

The Bird-Zerk Acrylic Recycling Bird Feeder is now available at Bird Buffet N Things.

Veterinarian approved and recommended by Dr. Carol Richardson, D.V.M. Phoenix, Arizona, and several other veterinarians in the U.S.

We have the solution for you! The new amazing patented BIRD-ZERK FEEDER. It will change your life forever! No more sweeping food off the floor and throwing dollar$ into the trash. The BIRD-ZERK FEEDER is great for pet birds or breeding birds. It will increase your profit$ with your breeding birds because of the seed or pellet you will $ave with a BIRD-ZERK FEEDER. The BIRD-ZERK FEEDER will pay for itself in no time, because the wasted food is saved and recycled. The feeder will cut your food bill by at least 50%, and keep 80% to 90% of the mess and wasted food off the floor or bottom of the cage. So after a short time, the BIRD-ZERK FEEDER will pay for itself in the savings of the food, then the feeder is free. And it will continue to save you money year after year. Even with our revolutionary design in the BIRD-ZERK FEEDER, some of our parrot friends are smart enough to get a few of their seeds or pellet out of the feeder while eating, so we cannot guarantee 100% of the mess will stop, but just think of the money you will $ave!

This Avian Veterinarian approved feeder is constructed of high strength clear acrylic and is designed to withstand bird abuse. The BIRD-ZERK FEEDER is low maintenance and easily cleaned. It instantly shows you how much food your bird has consumed and it will fit any cage because it comes apart into two pieces. Best of all there is no need to cut your cage bars or wire, unlike some feeders on the market, where you have to cut a very large hole for the feeder to fit. The BIRD-ZERK FEEDER comes apart into two pieces. Half of the feeder, the part the bird eats out of attaches to the inside of the cage, the recapturing part of the feeder attaches on the outside of the cage. The two halves bolt back together through the cage wire or bars and you do not have to damage your expensive cages. When you bolt the two halves of the feeder together, it becomes part of your cage, and the birds cannot unhook it, letting the feeder fall to the floor and break. The BIRD-ZERK FEEDER has an attached top lid and bottom sliding door at no extra charge. The door and lid are built into the feeder when we assemble it.

Also the BIRD-ZERK FEEDER does not fit where your food bowls are located. The BIRD-ZERK FEEDER goes on the sides, back or front door of your cage, so that the bowls normally used for food can now be used for water, or fresh fruits, and veggies.

We have seven sizes to fit all exotic birds, which includes a colony feeder for those breeders that raise dozens of birds together. THE SIZE OF BIRD-ZERK FEEDER THAT YOU ARE BUYING MUST BE FOR THE RIGHT SIZE BIRD OR BIRDS. For instance, you would not buy a large feeder for colonies of finches. The large feeder is made for COCKATOOS, AMAZONS AND SMALL MACAWS, NOT FINCHES CANARIES, OR ANY OTHER SMALL BIRDS. Please refer to the Feeder Guide for the size you need for your bird or birds.

Each BIRD-ZERK FEEDER is professionally custom made and has been tested on several large aviaries since 1993. The BIRD-ZERK FEEDER has been used successfully on over 100,000 birds from the smallest finches to the largest of birds, the Hyacinth Macaw.

This food saving device has been awarded

Design Patent and Utility Patent

# D373,226 # 5,771,838

How To Make Food Treat Toys for Your Parrot

by Nora Caterino

Parrots love to play and love to eat. You can provide a combination of these two activities for your parrot's enjoyment by creating food treat toys easily and quickly. Your parrot will love them and have a good time eating, or in some cases, tearing up the treats. This is also a great way to get a parrot that isn't eating any people food to begin trying new foods.

Treat Idea #1: Popcorn Toy
Cooked, unsalted popcorn makes a great food treat toy for a small to medium sized parrot. Simple remove some popcorn from what you cook for the family before adding additional salt. If you use microwave popcorn, choose the type that doesn't have extra butter flavor or, even better, choose the low-fat selection. Using a needle and thread, knot the end of the thread and begin threading popcorn, just as if you were going to use it to place on a Christmas tree. Make the treat about 6 to 8 inches in length. Most parrots will thoroughly enjoy this food-based toy, eating pieces and simply removing other pieces.

Treat Idea #2: Cereal Toy
Another easy to make food treat toy can be made from low-sugar breakfast cereal that has a hole in the middle or somewhere in each piece. Honeycombs, Cheerios and Fruit Loops are not low-sugar, but you can include a few in the toy. Using a needle and thread, knot a plastic or metal button onto the end of the thread. Then begin stringing cereal until you reach the length you desire. Because this toy is made from cereal that already has holes in it, you can supply a blunt needle and let the children make this treat for your parrot. Simply hang the food toy where your parrot can reach it easily. Your bird will enjoy removing the cereal as well as eating some of it.

Treat Idea #3: Veggies, Fruits and Nuts
As you prepare a fruit salad for the family's meal, reserve some pieces of fruit for your parrot (remember that parrots can't have avocado or fresh fruit seeds). As you prepare fresh vegetables for the meal, reserve some pieces for your parrot. Also have on hand some of the nuts your parrot prefers. Again, using needle and thread, create a string of food, alternating fruits, vegetables and nut halves. Hang the food toy inside the cage or on your parrot's playground. If you have a large parrot, you can use this idea without the nuts by saving larger pieces of fruits and vegetables and thread them onto a metal rod. A piece of unpainted metal coat hanger, for example, with one end curved to form a hook and both ends sanded smooth so that rough ends can not cut the parrot.

Treat Idea #4: Find the Treat
The "find the treat" toy requires a bit of creativity in deciding exactly what to use for this toy. You'll want to locate two matching objects that can be punctured and placed on a string or rope. The creativity is required because different size parrots need different objects.

For a macaw or cockatoo, coconut shells work great. For a budgie or cockatiel, the little cups that restaurants use for condiments, either plastic or paper, work just fine. For parrots in between, you will probably be able to find what you need in the kitchen or another part of the house. Be creative. The toy is created by drilling or stabbing a hole in the bottom of each container. If the container is plastic, often a heated piece of metal such as a coat hanger, can be used to create the hole. Locate a thread (and needle), string, or piece of rope (depending on the size of the container and your parrot's size) of the length you desire and make a strong knot in the end. Thread the first container onto the string so that the bottom is next to the knot. Then thread the other container onto the string so that the bottom is up. Be sure the hole is large enough to allow the top container to move easily on the string. Prepare the string so that it will hang in the cage or on the parrot's playground. Then fill the container with any foods that your parrot considers to be treats. If you limit sunflower seeds, you can place some of those inside.

Pecans, walnuts, peanuts, fruits, vegetables, even a small piece of cookie, whatever your parrot loves, can go inside. Let the parrot see that the top container can be lifted and that there are treats inside. Then sit back and watch your parrot figure out how to get to the treat! It can be great fun and your parrot will be amused for minutes - or hours in some cases - finding out how to get to the treat. This food treat toy can be reused over and over again. You should wash (or replace if you used a paper container) the containers after each use, however, to prevent bacteria from growing inside. Fill the toy with different foods so the parrot doesn't get bored.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: The "Parrots Secrets" newsletter regularly helps hundreds of parrot owners in solving bird taming problems like: parrot biting, parrot screaming, parrot feather plucking, and much more! Visit the web site below to get more details on how you can claim your 30 day free parrot training course: http://www.Parrots-Secrets.com

For more treats, visit Bird Buffet N Things.

Prime Avian Supplement

CONCENTRATED FULL SPECTRUM VITAMIN, MINERAL AND LIMITING AMINO ACID SUPPLEMENT.

• Ultra fine highly palatable powder does not cake over time
• Penetrates soft foods for accurate dosage administration
• Contains 14 vitamins and 9 minerals missing in most seed/vegetable/fruit diets
• Extra vitamin C and E for increased breeding and as antioxidants
• Calcium gluconate carrier adds required calcium which is deficient in most other supplements
• Exotic fruit flavoring without added sugar which can promote pathogenic organisms
• Lysine and Methionine amino acids improve diet protein quality
• Unique combination of enzymes and acidifiers to improve digestion
• Micro-encapsulated Beneficial Bacteria (Probiotics) keep birds in top condition

Year of formulating and field testing have resulted in the most advanced avian supplement. Prime has excelled above all other supplements in providing all species of companion birds with their required nutrients. Prime, however is not a dumping ground for every nutrient known to man - ingredients were selected strictly on the basis of need. This results in higher leverls of those nutrients truly needed by birds. For most accurate dosage administration, Hagen recommends Prime be sprinkled over your bird's favorite fruits and vegetables.

Available Sizes:











Hagen 82102 - 20g Hagen 82105 - 70g Hagen 82106 - 1 Lb Hagen 82110 - 5Lb

To ensure total nutritional care for your birds, visit Bird Buffet N Things. To view our complete line of nutritional products click here.

Bird Buffet N Things providing for your bird's nutritional needs with a variety of feed, supplements, and treats.

Bird Toys

Birds are playful and fun loving by nature. Even birds kept in cages like moving around and exercising their natural instinct to play. In addition, birds can strengthen their bills and test their agility on our numerous rope-basted products.

Toys like our Junglewood rope of blocks and beads will give any bird hours of enjoyment. Made of durable nylon or cotton rope as well as wooden or hard plastic beads, our toys are safe and won't injure your bird in any way. Birds don't generally swallow toys or bite off pieces of them. If they do manage to accidentally ingest a small piece of a toy, it won't normally harm them. It takes 400 degrees of heat to melt plastic, so any pieces ingested would simply pass through the bird as waste.

Some owners are concerned about using plastic toys, since some plastic food bowls in the past have been suspected of being harmful to birds. Our products, however, are made with plastics approved for use with birds and are guaranteed to be completely harmless.

Our bird rope ladders are excellent examples of other durable and fun toys for birds of all shapes and sizes. They are attached with a hanging clip (small, medium and large sizes) to the top of your bird's cage. Depending on the size of the cage, your bird can swing around on the ladder, perch on the wooden rod, or test beak skills by pulling the rope in different directions. Any way your bird finds to have fun with the toy, it is certain to become a favorite way to pass the time.

Please visit Bird Buffet N Things' website for your bird toy needs at reasonable prices.