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

Drama, Romance, and High Seas Adventure: Introducing the Second Season of Parrot Soup

Revenge is a dish served cold. And Captain Kid Kadra intends to make cold parrot soup out of that pirate parrot Aboo. That pirate parrot commandered his ship The Alligator in the first season of Parrot Soup. Now Captain Kadra is out for revenge in this first episode of the second season of Parrot Soup. Drama, adventure, romance, and battles at sea await the cast and crew of The Alligator!

Introducing the Stars of Parrot Soup:

Kid Kadra, as the Captain of The Alligator

First Mate, Roxanne

The Pirate Parrot Aboo

In case you missed any episodes from the first season, we include the complete first season of Parrot Soup to view at your convenience:

We'd love to know what you think of the series. If you have any suggestions for plot lines pass them along as well. These animated cartoons may look simple, but writing good dialogue is hard work! If you don't think so, just try it some time.

We're Having an End of Year Contest!

What better way to end 2012 than have a contest? What's the point of the contest? You ask. Well, we'll tell you:

Did you know that President Barack Obama has been to Mars? Well, you do now. And not just once. But twice! As a young man back in the 1980s Barry, as he called himself then, participated in a secret (of course) CIA program to teleport people from Earth to Mars. And obviously back again.

Two self-proclaimed time-traveling, universe-exploring government agents, Andrew D. Basiago and William Stillings, insist that they once served as “chrononauts,” traversing the boundaries of time and space. They swear a youthful Barack Obama was one of them. The White House denies this. Of course, if the White House denies something, it must be true!

This is the wingnutiest conspiracy theory we've heard this year. In fact, in our opinion, this takes the cake of tin foil cap wingnut certified lunatic conspiracy theories. In other words, just your usual Republican Teabagger talking points.

If you've encountered a conspiracy theory this past year of 2012 that is even crazier than Barack Obama on Mars, we decidedly want to hear about it. This can not be a conspiracy theory you simply dreamed up. It has to be linked to an actual news story from the past year, from any source. That's the great thing about the Internets. If there's a story out there, there's a link!

Here's the prize: The person who, in our opinion (because it's our contest), comes up with the best conspiracy theory of 2012, better than Barack Obama on Mars, wins one of the spiffiest coffee mugs in existence from TheParrotCafe.com as well as a bag of The Parrot Cafe's very own coffee beans.

The Parrot Cafe Blue Tara Mug by TheParrotCafe.com

There's no official deadline for this contest. It's one of these we'll know it when we find it deals.

Best of Luck! And Happy New Year.

Blue Tara: Or, How is a Hyacinth Macaw Like a Tibetan Goddess?

In Tibetan Buddhism, Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha is an ancient mantra that is related to Tara, the Mother of all Buddhas, and especially to her manifestation as Green Tara. Tibetans consider Tara a Buddha of compassion and action, a protector who comes to our aid to relieve us of physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering.

Tara has twenty-one major forms, each depicted with a different color and spiritual attribute. Although the mantra Om Tare Tuttare Ture Soha is a mantra most closely associated with Green Tara, it is also used as a mantra for all the Taras.

His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama Reciting the Green Tara Mantra

Green Tara Mantra

Blue Tara

Blue Tara or Ekajati is known as one of the twenty-one taras and one of the fiercest and most powerful of all goddesses of Indo-Tibetan mythology. Her powers include removing fear of enemies, spreading joy, and removing personal obstacles on the path to enlightenment. A goddess of one eye, her right eye was pierced so she could more effectively subjugate Tibetan demons. Blue Tara has been depicted with up to twelve heads and twenty-four arms. Blue Tara has one eye, one breast, and a single fang. She appears naked except for a garment of white clouds and tiger skin around her waist. Often, like a parrot at rest, she appears standing on a single leg. Blue Tara typically holds an axe, tantric staff, and a skull cup in her hands.

Blue Tara is the protector of secret mantras, and as such her own mantra is secret. Visions of Blue Tara are considered highly auspicious and treasured, yet not for the faint of heart. Realizations of Blue Tara can be particularly wrathful. Her speech is sharp, piercing shrieks, her eye boils, and she gnashes her fang. In some visions, Blue Tara has revealed herself twice human size, brandishing weapons, and served by witches drenched in blood.

So how is a Hyacinth macaw like a Tibetan goddess? Anyone who has lived with a Hyacinth macaw would find this description of Blue Tara strangely familiar! Blue Tara speaks in sharp, piercing shrieks. Check. Blue Tara has revealed herself twice human size. Sometimes seems like it. A goddess of one eye. Check. Blue Tara stands on one leg. Check. Blue Tara is served by witches drenched in blood. Well, okay. In Tibetan Buddhism Blue Tara has been depicted with peacock feathers. We have no doubt that if parrots inhabited Tibet she would instead appear with parrot feathers. If visions of Blue Tara are auspicious, then we are truly blessed!