Feeding Parrots: Organic Corn and Pasta

Parrots love corn. Domestic or wild, parrots love corn. In South American, macaw parrots will raid corn fields to feast on the ears of corn. Our parrots love pasta. We don't know how universal the parrot love of pasta is, but it's pretty universal with our flock. So our practice is to make a parrot casserole every weekend to feed the parrots for the following week.


We use organic or all natural ingredients as much as possible. The internal system of a parrot or bird is so much more sensitive to toxins than the human system. That's why canaries were used in coal mines! So rather than repeat organic this or organic that, whenever we list an ingredient, just assume the ingredient is organic or all natural.

One of our favorite dishes, which is a big hit with the parrots, is a Southwestern casserole, with corn, corn pasta, black beans, apple, and carrot. We're as lazy as the next person, and we'd rather not spend any more time cooking than we have to. So our dishes tend to require minimal preparation and cooking time. Even if it costs a little more, we tend to buy precooked products. With our dishes for example, cooking usually involves no more effort than boiling the pasta!

Our Timneh African grey parrot Tillie enjoying corn stuffed pasta!

Another corn and pasta dish popular with our flock is corn stuffed pasta shells. This takes a little bit more work stuffing the pasta shells, but the results are artistic as well as tasty!

The beauty of these dishes is their versatility. Whatever ingredients are handy can be added, or whatever ingredients your parrots favor. With the corn stuffed pasta shells we added Great Northern beans which we just happened to have on hand, as well as rainbow pasta for color, apple, and carrot. As Tillie shows above, the pasta shells are perfectly parrot size, and easy for the parrots to hold in their feet. Wondering if the parrots like this dish?

Here's the carnage from Tillie's dish. Note the skins of the Great Northern beans strewn over the counter. No skins for this parrot! And no need to worry about leftovers. These dishes are tasty enough for us humans to eat. Yummy!

Church of Kaffa

Apparently the ancient Mayans were right all along! Katrina. BP Gulf oil spill disaster. Earthquakes. Nuclear plants melting down. Newt Gingrich running for president. Birds falling out of the sky. Nuclear plants blowing up. If these aren't signs of the End Times, we sure don't know what is! So, before it's too late, we decided we'd better launch the last one true religion, the Church of Kaffa.

The Church of Kaffa follows the Prophet Kaldi, the Ethiopian goat herder, who in about the 9th Century in the ancient Kingdom of Kaffa, discovered the Tree of Life, the Coffea arabica or Coffee tree. Kaldi noticed that his goats became unusually energized after eating a certain local berry. He sampled the berry with the same effect. Excited about this miracle, he rushed to share the berries with his local Muslim holy man. The holy man was so disgusted with the berries he tossed them in a fire and stormed away.

Kaldi noticed an entrancing aroma coming from the berries in the fire, so he recovered the burnt berries and tossed them in some water, thus creating the world's first cup of coffee. True story.

While there's still time, this is your chance to get in on the ground floor of a truly significant movement. You'll have a chance to become a disciple of Kaldi. Stay tuned for details. In the meantime, every morning when you savor that first cup of Joe, bow towards the East in praise of Kaldi, the discoverer of the Tree of Life!


Of course every church needs a god, and the one we chose is Garuda, King of the Birds, and Messenger of the Gods.

Garuda is depicted as having the golden body of a strong man with a white face, red wings, and an eagle's beak and with a crown on his head. This ancient deity was said to be massive, large enough to block out the sun. Garuda is invoked as a symbol of impetuous violent force, of speed, and of martial prowess. Krishna even carries the image of Garuda on his banner. Needless to say, our god can kick your god's butt!

Update on Our Foster Ruby Macaw Mr. Cracker

Our foster Ruby macaw (Greenwing/Scarlet mix) Mr. Cracker is still looking for a good Seattle area home. A presumed male, Mr. Cracker's age is unknown but he is thought to be in his thirties or forties. He has had six homes in his lifetime, his last for twenty-five years. Unfortunately his latest owner was rushed to the hospital for a medical emergency and can no longer care for the parrot. Mr. Cracker does not wear a band, so he may very well be a wild caught parrot. Mr. Cracker clearly favors men over women.

Mr. Cracker enjoying his corn bread:

For more information about Mr. Cracker, and other parrots needing good new homes, please visit Northwest Parrots Fund.

Parrot Feathers Are Endlessly Fascinating! Macaw Tail Feathers

We could never be a parrot. How'd you like to have these sticking out of your butt?

Our Male Blue and Gold Macaw Aboo

Ouch!

Parrot Cafe: Purveyor of Organic Coffee, Tea, and Rare Books

The Parrot Cafe is located in the Coffee Capital of the World, Seattle, Washington. We are proud to live in a city which not only is the center of coffee culture but also boasts the largest number of independent bookstores per capita, as well as the highest book readership per capita of any city in the United States! Here at the Parrot Cafe, we combine our love of exquisite organic coffee and tea with rare books and collectibles. To this endeavor we bring a background including two graduate degrees in history and archaeology and a career in academia and publishing, as well as retail experience in the Seattle coffee business. We first worked for Starbucks Coffee, and later operated the Parrot Cafe in North Seattle from 2003 to 2006. We have resurrected the Parrot Cafe here on the Internet!

Our Hyacinth Macaw Princess Tara at the Original Parrot Cafe

Our goal is to provide the finest organic coffee and tea available on the marketplace, as well as an eclectic selection of rare books, documents, and collectibles.

Our Greenwing Macaw & Diva Parrot Roxanne

Additionally, our spokesparrot Roxanne can probably find you any particular coffee, tea, or books you might be interested in. Or answer any questions you might have about coffee, books, or parrots. Just ask her. You can contact Roxanne by email at:

Roxanne@theparrotcafe.com

And the name Parrot Cafe? We live with a flock currently numbering eight parrots, including several rescued parrots. We also operate a nonprofit charity, Northwest Parrots Fund, that rescues and finds new homes for parrots whose owners can no longer care for them. You can see our parrots on YouTube by searching for The Zen Parrot.

Proceeds from the Parrot Cafe support Northwest Parrots Fund.

Plucking Parrots and Red Palm Oil

Note new feather growth across Cracker's chest

We rescued a Ruby macaw (Greenwing/Scarlet mix), named Cracker, with a serious plucking problem last Labor Day Weekend. Having read about the benefits of red palm oil, we decided to start him on a daily regimen. And while we were at it, we decided to give it to our female Greenwing macaw, Roxanne, as well. She doesn't pluck, but she has been barbering her feathers for years, and won't let her flights or tail feathers grow out. You can read our earlier blog posts about both Cracker and Roxanne for more details.

Well, the results have been dramatic. Cracker came to us completely plucked on his legs, chest, back, and shoulders. Partly visible in the photo above, Cracker shows significant new feather growth on his legs, back, and shoulders, and well as encouraging growth on his chest. Of course his diet was problematic before we rescued him, so we can't attribute the change simply to red palm oil. He was subsisting on sunflower seeds and peanuts for probably too long. He was literally starving to death!

However, with Roxanne, the only change to her environment and diet has been the red palm oil. She has stopped barbering her feathers, her tail feathers are growing back fully, and her feathers show a luster that she hasn't exhibited in years. We don't attribute the change to Cracker's presence in the household. Roxanne was our first parrot, and she doesn't think she's a parrot. She has nothing to do with Cracker or any of the other parrots in the household.

Needless to say, we are sold on red palm oil. And for what it's worth: We do use the organic variety.

The available literature on red palm oil is very sparse, and all the evidence we've seen so far mostly anecdotal. Trying to find useful information is frustrating. If anyone has experience with red palm oil as a remedy for plucking parrots, especially macaws, we would love to hear about it. Please send us your stories, positive or negative.

Northwest Parrots Fund

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Many worthwhile organizations such as The World Parrot Trust are working to save entire species of parrots, as well as the ecosystems those wild parrots depend upon. In our small corner of the world here in Seattle, Washington, we focus instead on saving parrots, one parrot at a time! To this end we have created a nonprofit charity registered by the State of Washington and recognized as a 501(c)3 nonprofit charity under the regulations of the Internal Revenue Service, Northwest Parrots Fund. Simply put, our goal is to keep pet parrots in their homes if possible. If not possible, then we will work to find good new homes for parrots needing to be rehomed. In case of emergency, we are establishing a foster home network so parrots that are lost, abandoned, or surrendered have at least a temporary home until a permanent home is available.

Our mission will also include raising funds to assist parrot rescues and sanctuaries throughout the Pacific Northwest. Parrot rescues and sanctuaries across the country are in dire financial straits just as most every other nonprofit and charity.