The dangers of feeding lorikeets

Many people have taken to encouraging lorikeets into their gardens by giving them a variety of alluring foods. These foods are usually based on sugar, honey or jam, which will ensure regular visits to the garden by these wonderfully happy, colourful birds. However, it is this very act of ‘kindness’ that can cause the death of lorikeets at an unnaturally early age.

NPWS officers became concerned at outbreaks of lorikeets dying in large numbers for no apparent reason. They decided to investigate. Autopsies were carried out by NSW Agriculture on a number of these birds. Together with other investigations, these autopsies established that the lorikeets were dying from a disease called necrotizing enteritis. A bacteria called clostridia was isolated as the organism responsible.

Necrotizing enteritis is associated with poor hygiene and an inadequate diet, and it was found that the disease is not normally associated with lorikeets living a natural way of life. The scientists were able to directly relate the lorikeets’ deaths to inadequate artificial diets, and to the unsanitary conditions of trays and other containers from which they were being fed.

Another disease is also having a serious impact on lorikeets. Called psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD) or psittacine circovirus disease, it is considered the most important viral disease affecting cockatoos, parrots, lories, lorikeets and macaws around the world. Affecting the immune system of the birds, it often results in an AIDS-like condition. The keretin in the birds’ bodies breaks down, causing deformed beaks and feathers, and feather loss. The disease is usually fatal, but infected birds may not display symptoms for many months or even years.

Infected birds can drop faeces, which contain the potentially infectious circovirus particles, into the environment to infect other birds. Unfortunately, there is a great potential for the virus to spread at places like feed stations. Clustering in large numbers, many birds may come into contact with contaminated perches and food dishes.
Preventing lorikeet deaths

Obviously the best solution to these problems is to stop feeding the birds altogether. The only feeding method recommended by the NPWS is to plant a variety of flowering native shrubs, such as grevilleas, callistemon (bottlebrushes) and banksias, around your garden. These plants not only look good; they also provide safe, healthy food for blossom-feeding birds such as lorikeets and honeyeaters.

But these are wild birds and there’s a lot of native vegetation around here.

We don’t feed them everyday either. We get regular visits from upwards of 30 different lorikeets a couple at a time, several times a day. Occasionally I’ll hand feed them some seed – I doubt this is making much of an impact on their health or their natural feeding habits.

You can get bird bells that have several different types of seed in them including sunflower. The lorikeets don’t like the other seed but have to work to get what they want. We put one of them out from time to time, you could try that.

Are thse foos harmful?