Ballard Parrot Works

Any parrot person who has flipped through the pages of a parrot catalog recently or checked a website online knows that prices for parrot chew toys are insane. And that's just for the small and medium parrots. Imagine if you live with five macaws like we do! Trying to keep the parrots in chew toys chews through a paycheck in no time at all. And this is for toys that are intended to be destroyed!

So we decided to start building our own parrot toys and trade some of our time and elbow grease for money. We made a small investment in some necessary tools, like a Skill saw for $30 and a Hitachi drill for $40 to start. Got some 2 by 2s and 2 by 4s, some stainless steel chains, and set up a work table in the garage. The Ballard Parrot Works was open for business!

With our macaws stainless steel chains are a requirement. At one time we tried using rope, which lasted about ten minutes under a macaw beak. We like to use ring fasteners to secure the chew toys on the chain because they tend to be parrot proof and they easily come on and off when it's time to add new chew toys.

We can also assemble simple toys with a stainless steel chain and some plastic balls and rings which keep our smaller parrots happily entertained for hours at a time. Our Congo African Grey parrot Arua obsesses over this toy. She finally chewed her first one to pieces, so we assembled another one. We believe that she thinks there must be a way to take the rings off of the chain. She's determined to figure it out!

With time and experience we'll figure out what kind of tools and materials work best for our parrots. For now we're having a great time building toys in the garage. And the results speak for themselves.

Our Greenwing macaw Roxanne eyeing her new string of chew toys as she decides how best to destroy it!

Snow White and Her Prince Need a New Seattle Area Home

Snow White and Prince Need a New Seattle Area Home

We'll let you guess which Budgie parrot is which. Free to the Right Home. They are a bonded pair so must be adopted together. Apparently they are not a breeding pair. Snow White is actually a found parrot. She was discovered by Prince's owner while fishing on a Seattle dock. Please give Snow White and Prince the home they deserve.

Kablooie the Quaker Parrot

Kablooie is a presumed male Quaker parrot (Monk parakeet) of unknown age. He has lived in his current home in Renton, Washington, south of Seattle, for sixteen years. Because of changing circumstances his mom needs to find him a new home. According to his parront:

He flew onto our roof on a July 4th and nobody ever claimed him. I don't know the sex, his wings are not clipped and his name is Kablooie -- my son named him for the sounds on the Fourth of July. He prefers women, but is okay with men that speak nicely to him. He does bite. A long time ago he used to sit on my shoulder, but he started taking bites of my skin -- I think preening, so I stopped that. The first couple of years that we had him, he learned about 30 words including barking like a dog and meowing like a cat.  But over time he's lost most of those words, except Good Boy. He usually gets a treat or something that we are eating when he says that.

His cage and bird food go with him. I'm embarrassed to say the cage itself is not very clean. I don't have any place else to put him while I clean it. Kablooie has this one set of plastic chains that he has slept under for years, so he will definitely need to keep those with him.

I think he was abused by a man because of his reaction to males. Kablooie prefers females, or soft talking men. He likes to join in when we laugh. He does squawk a lot to get attention. He learned to bark like a little dog across the street. He likes to meow like our cat, purr, make a sound like a cricket, quack like a duck.

Kablooie sleeps under his plastic chain, has for almost 16 years. It’s important that he keeps this chain. He likes to take a bath in a cereal bowl with a lip. Although he's fully flighted, he's had some bad accidents when he flew, so he doesn't fly much. Kablooie likes bread, carrots, potato chips, popcorn, and nuts as treats.

Kablooie is a good bird. Just loud.

If you are interested in adopting Kablooie please contact Northwest Parrots Fund.

Out of Africa

Coming Soon

Featuring Our Congo African Grey Parrot Arua

We are followers of the Prophet Kaldi, the goat herder who lived in the ancient Kingdom of Kaffa, now Ethiopia. Kaldi discovered the Tree of Life, the Coffea arabica or coffee tree. Legend holds that Kaldi noticed that his goats became energized after eating a certain berry. Kaldi sampled the berries with the same effect. In his excitement he sought to have his discovery blessed by a Muslim holy man. Instead, the holy man tossed the beans into a fire in disgust. The subsequent enticing aroma caused Kaldi to create the world's first cup of coffee after recovering the burned beans and dropping them into hot water. To pay homage to Kaldi we've been searching for the perfect Ethiopian coffee. Not finding anything on the market we like we created our own brand! We have a distinct preference for Latin American coffees, but this Ethiopian coffee is the exception.

Coming Soon

RED TAIL BRAND

ETHIOPIAN COFFEE

So when you have your first cup of coffee of the day, bow to the East and praise the Prophet Kaldi, the discoverer of the Tree of Life! And while you're drinking your Ethiopian coffee, be sure to Wear Your Yellow!

Ethiopian Coffee FC Sports Club Jersey 2-Sided Tees by TheParrotCafe