Iowa Parrot Rescue

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Iowa Parrot Rescue

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Founded in 1996, we are Iowa’s only state-inspected, 501(c)3 parrot rescue, providing shelter, rehab, and forever homes.
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Dedicated to rescue, adoption, and education, we put birds first. Founded in 1997, Iowa Parrot Rescue is a 501(c)3 certified and the only health-inspected rescue in Iowa. We are committed to placing our birds in the right homes for their needs. The Iowa Parrot Rescue philosophy is pretty simple… The birds come first, second, and last. We are dedicated to providing the best care possible, with the greatest amount of freedom.

10/29/2026

Welcome, Marigold 🏵️

A huge thank you to those who donated to our fundraiser and played the game! While Casey and I didn't get to fight over anything, it proved the power of teamwork could help out with raising some money for this little boy AND give him a name, which he's been waiting for for 2 whole weeks. Stay tuned to see how his vet visit goes and let's give another HUGE thank you and support to Tracy Belle at Wildthunder Animal Rescue and Sanctuary in Independence IA, who is in major need of help right now with a lot of domestic intakes. Thank you for getting Marigold to safety.

(and yes, he has plenty of really nice, clean, brand new toys to play with. He prefers the pooped on egg carton)

10/26/2026

We have a LANDSLIDE majority vote on naming 1052 right now... If you want to make a difference for this orange chicken (heh), cast in your vote before WEDNESDAY. It's fall right now, but it's feeling awfully... Spring-like in his quarantine room 👀 hint hint.

A reminder of the rules...

🍊 This is a brand new contest to vote an intake that arrived without a name! We are raising funds for his care and to offset initial intake medical costs.
🍊 Voting is on Venmo.
🍊 One Dollar equals One Vote for your choice of name. ($1= 1 vote, $5=5 votes, $10=10 votes, $1,000= 1,000 votes 😆)
🍊 You must type your choice of THREE NAMES in the memo box on Venmo before sending your donation. Your name choices are:
🪽 Maevis
🪽 Fiametto (Fio)
🪽 Marigold

🍊 if you fail to do so, Casey and I will fight over who gets to place the donation into a name category. Rock, paper, scissors, lizard, spock, winner takes all.
🍊 Have fun. Yes, that's a rule. :D

🍊 The Venmo link is HERE:
https://www.venmo.com/u/Iowaparrot
Type in your donation amount, the name you're voting for, and hit "SEND" to make a difference. Thank you!

10/23/2026

We're pleased and proud to announce that Iowa Parrot Rescue has again been honoured with a grant from the Doris Day Animal Foundation (DDAF). The $25,000 grant will fund veterinary care as well as helping with our food bills. We're deeply appreciative of the longtime support we've received over the years from Doris Day Animal Foundation (DDAF). It allows us to provide the best available medical care to every bird without having to worry about cost...a huge luxury for any rescue.

It also means that YOUR donations can go to all of our other needs, all of which have rocketed in cost over the past couple of years. As we close in on the end of the year, please consider helping...the birds really don't care what the price of heating fuel and fruit have done....they still need to be warm and fed.

10/22/2026

The People have spoken! It was a close call between Dolly and Marigold, but ultimately... Marigold was the third option that can be VOTED FOR in our fundraiser! Thank you everybody for your fabulous suggestions! Paloma and Willa were special mentions. Fantastic news in the inbox this morning, all of 1052's disease testing has come back NEGATIVE. She will still be quarantined for things that can't be readily tested for (HPAI etc) but it's a huge relief to see a bunch of green 'negative's across the screen. (also there was a small hiccup and 1052 is male 💀 oops. Wrench= thrown).

Now, we are going to run the fundraiser and need your help to share it and CHOOSE THIS BIRD'S NAME! She can't be 1052 forever 🥲
Here's the rules...

🍊 Voting is on Venmo.
🍊 One Dollar equals One Vote for your choice of name. ($1= 1 vote, $5=5 votes, $10=10 votes, $1,000= 1,000 votes 😆)
🍊 You must type your choice of THREE NAMES in the memo box on Venmo before sending your donation. Your name choices are:
🪽 Maevis
🪽 Fiametto (FIO)
🪽 Marigold

🍊 if you fail to do so, Casey and I will fight over who gets to place the donation into a name category. Rock, paper, scissors, lizard, spock, winner takes all.
🍊 Have fun. Yes, that's a rule. :D

🍊 The Venmo link is HERE:
https://www.venmo.com/u/Iowaparrot
Type in your donation amount, the name you're voting for, and hit "SEND" to make a difference. Thank you!

10/21/2026

We'd like to introduce the newest bird to IPR- a cutie female Citron Crested Cockatoo that was transferred by Wildthunder Animal Rescue and Sanctuary- Tracy Belle.
I picked her up on Thursday and Tracy was kind enough to take time to show me around Wildthunder, show off everything she does for the wildlife of Eastern Iowa (way beyond that, truthfully) and we talked about the difficulties of rescue.
For those who aren't familiar, Wildthunder is one of the largest wildlife rescue and sanctuaries in Iowa. They accept and rehabilitate all types of wildlife, from opossums to birds of prey, turtles, squirrels, foxes, bobcats, etc. and release them when they're ready. They also have some space for animals that CAN'T be released. They are such an incredible resource to the state of Iowa and often fill in the gaps that our agencies don't have the resources to provide, so supporting them is critical.

Thankfully, Tracy called us to help out with this girl. :) because the cockatoo came from a wildlife rescue that handles wild birds and not just captive/exotics, she IS in a hard quarantine which means only Casey and I are allowed to interact/feed her/clean that room currently. We also don't have *any* history on her at all, including a name. :( Currently, she's 1052 (her database file).
Here is where we need YOUR HELP! We have two names picked out... One by me, one by Casey. We are looking for a third option and we are going to run a fundraiser to name her and raise some money for her upcoming intake! Here's how it will work:

🍊 In the COMMENTS of THIS POST, we need name suggestions for her. The comment with the *MOST LIKES* will be entered as our third name suggestion for the fundraiser.
🍊 The voting will be on Venmo
🍊 the name you want to vote for must be typed in when you donate. If you fail to type it in, Casey and I will fight over who gets to put it in their category. :D
🍊 every dollar will be a vote, so you can vote as little as one vote, or as much as you want! ($10=10 votes for your name choice)
🍊 At the end of the fundraiser, the name that has raised the most money will be the WINNING NAME! We will run it for one week.

this girl will be for adoption eventually, but she will need to undergo a 30+ day quarantine as well as standard vet check- that means exam, Bloodwork, and we already ran a complete disease panel the day I picked her up.. just waiting for results. Thanks for playing, now go put your name suggestion in the comments and "like" other people's comments to vote on your people's choice! PS, she's a bit of a firecracker, likes music, likes to chat, and is a true toddler with wings.

10/19/2026

¡!!!!!!!ADOPTED!!!!!!

*This is a courtesy post. NOTE-this bird is NOT in our building. If you are interested, contact information for the owner is at the bottom. Do not contact us in regards to this bird please. As always, there is no charge for adopting them or anything they come with.*

Coco is a female Congo African Grey who will be 14 in December.

Coco's likes: females-she's a girl’s bird and has had some "tolerating" of males, but it took a LOT of coaxing. She dances to music, turns on my Alexa. As far as food goes, her main daily diet is Roudybush pellets and a mix of nuts/almonds. She loves grapes, broccoli, pasta, eggs, steak, chicken, probably more.
Dislikes: cardboard boxes and black trash bags.
Other things to know about her: She's not necessarily nippy unless someone she doesn't know goes for her quickly. Children are ok, but then again, strange people take her a while to get used to. She bonded with me, so I can pet/scratch her head, and cuddle but no one else can. She has recently in the last 2 years bonded with my 22 yr old daughter. She lets her pick her up, kinda pet her belly and hangs out on her hand (she's not a shoulder bird). She doesn't pluck, but doesn't go out of the living room. She escapes her cage daily, so she's not locked at all, but I do close off that room. Coco isn't super loud, she says all kinds of sweet things...BUT...my last live-in boyfriend thought it was funny to teach her a bad word. So, she does say the F(er) word. Hopefully, she stops saying that. She tends to grow bored after a few months of not hearing it, or a change in houses.

The vet I use is Cedar Rapids Animal Hospital in Cedar Rapids. I also plan to take her 1 last time for a check up and trimming. She has a cage similar to the one pictured. We are in Cedar Rapids, IA.

You can contact Ann via phone number at *POST CLOSED*

10/16/2026

ADOPTED!!!!!!

*This is a courtesy post. NOTE-this bird is NOT in our building. If you are interested, contact information for the owner is at the bottom. Do not contact us in regards to this bird please. As always, there is no charge for adopting them or anything they come with.*

We have two parakeets, Bumble (male) and Bea (female) around a year old from what we were told. Bumble is yellow/green and Bea is blue. They are bonded and NEED to stay together. We will not split them up.
They aren’t used to being handled, especially Bumble. Bea will sit on your finger, but only in the cage once she trusts you. Bumble is a little more wild.
Bea loves music, especially instrumental type. She will close her eyes if it’s soft enough and almost fall asleep.
They need to go to a good home. Large cage, toys, food dishes included. We are located in Huxley, IA but can meet in West Des Moines as well. Text would be the best way to get in touch. My number is POST CLOSED. I work during the week, therefore more than likely won’t respond to messages until the evenings.

10/14/2026

*This is a courtesy post. NOTE-this bird is NOT in our building. If you are interested, contact information for the owner is at the bottom. Do not contact us in regards to this bird please. As always, there is no charge for adopting them or anything they come with.*

Buddy and Tafiti:
Buddy and Tafiti are currently part of a flock with a complex history, a simple but high quality diet, and a pretty free range living setup. We are looking to rehome them due to complicated flock dynamics and a stressful situation involving one of the other cockatiels, who is blind, special needs, and experiencing a lot of pressure from the males to be bred. We believe removing Buddy and Tafiti from the environment will allow the others to live more comfortably.

A bit of background: Tafiti came into her current home with her brother shortly after her parents died in an effort to keep them together. They were adopted directly from the breeder in an effort to prevent further breeding and to give them a good home. At the time, they were living in a cage together with the current owners' two parakeets. Unfortunately, Tiki, Tafiti’s brother and ‘mate’ passed away suddenly and she became a bit withdrawn. This was also very, very hard on the owners. Tafiti is a nice bird, but flighty.

Buddy: A couple months passed and a close friend reached out - somebody who had bought birds from her mom was trying to rehome Buddy due to being unable to care for him. The timing was perfect. Tafiti was ready for another friend! Buddy took a while to adjust, but eventually came to find immense comfort with the flock. He now screams without at least one of the others by his side. Buddy steps up, but may bite to express his disinterest or frustration. He likely isn’t going to be a good bird around kids due to this.

The ideal home would be able to provide a MINIMUM of the following:
•a minimum if 1 1/2 hours of face to face or hands on interaction with both birds daily
•a diet of Zupreem pellets (or better) supplemented with treats - no fat based seeds! Goal of chop implementation. (They are picky.. this is a work in progress.. But important, and not for someone who will give up on them.)
•12/12 sleep schedule (full light/full dark) for hormone regulation
•parrot lighting (ideally with sunrise/sunset attachment)
•These birds currently live in a converted free flight area - not a cage. An appropriate sized flight cage would not be a deal breaker depending on the owner, but it must be adequately large.
•no cats/dogs unless the new owner has a dedicated bird room. The current owner lost a budgie to heart attack from prowling and cage smacking in the past, and made changes necessary for the safety of the birds and expects a future owner to adhere to the same standards. This is a firm boundary.

We are located in Des Moines IA. If you think you can provide a loving and dedicated home to Buddy and Tafiti, please reach out. We are not in a big hurry to rehome them, and at the same time want to ensure the comfort of the other birds in the house. You can reach out to Cory at [email protected]. Please include training experience, what kind of work you’ve done with your birds in the past, the kind of space you have to offer, the time commitment you intend to offer, ideally an avian vet reference, and anything else you might want to share about your life and birds. Please remember cockatiels are dusty birds and not great for people with asthma or other breathing issues. These birds are very dear to our hearts and rehoming them is not easy. We want them to go to a really special home.

10/13/2026

Well, we had an eventful day at the vet yesterday with Suavidad YNA, Captain BG, and Riley Hybrid Mac. This past week we took in 2 returns and 1 new kid from one of the same homes. 2026 is a big year for intakes and it keeps going. Your assistance with financial and in kind donations have been so crucial to supplying these birds with the support they need. Thank you!

Many remember Captain from just earlier this year. We placed him in June and unfortunately he became extremely unhappy despite the owner's best efforts. She tried absolutely everything from moving him to adjusting food, changing sleep hours, covering vs not covering the cage, more attention, less attention, more noise, less noise, etc... It just goes on. Ultimately he was always happiest in the dark, with little noise, and nobody bothering him. Which is exactly how he was when we picked them up from their home in 2024- a dark basement, alone, 9 birds getting fed and watered weekly while their owner was in the hospital and her friends tried desperately to help. Given Captain's very long, somewhat sordid history as well as medical complexities (also how content he seems to be at the rescue, as all of the behaviors and anxiety he exhibited in the home seem to have melted away), he is going to be one of our Permanent Residents, bringing our total permanent birds up to only 6.

Our other two kids came from another home, one is a return from early 2023 and the other was adopted via a courtesy post from us in 2021. Diega is a younger female BG adopted in 2023. She's a sweetie for some women though she has had a history of generally being a little picky. She usually just shows disinterest if she's not a fan. She really doesn't like men much. She's a typical macaw- noisy, destructive if you let her, a toe biter, opinionated to the max. But oh so lovely if she allows you to be a part of her life.
Bogart came from the same home and is an assumed female Double Yellow Head Amazon hatched in 1987. She's definitely got some "crunchy old bird" stuff going on, like a significant limp, arrived with an overgrown beak, a loud heart rate, and poor posture. I feel a little bad for roasting her but she has good qualities too! She's a good toy chewer, LOVES men (women will have to really win her over, but she'd rather not), cosplays as a bat in her free time, and loves to copy you. She's not a talker but she makes sweet noises. Also, one of the cutest faces ever.

As usual, these guys are NOT going to be ready for adoption for a while. We run full bloodwork, exams, and disease testing on each bird before they become available, assuming everything checks out, and Bogart will likely require some scans also. Each bird costs ~$300 to intake and we do NOT charge adoption fees, so your donations all go immediately into feeding, housing, and vetting these birds. If you're interested in learning more about supporting us and about adoption, PLEASE visit our website at iowaparrotrescue.org. The Get Involved tab has information on Donating and the Adopt tab has all kinds of resources and information on the process.

10/04/2026

This is a gratitude post! Zazu hasn't been himself lately. We've been toting him around to the vet, the poor chap, tomorrow will be his third vet visit in the past few weeks. The good news is that everything so far is checking out well and he puts on quite a show every time! He's chatty and adorable with just the right amount of spice. It's not too stressful an experience overall. The bad news, we still don't know why he's slowly losing weight, sleeping far more often in weird positions, shifting his weight more- aside from just being old. His bloodwork checks out well and everybody says he's in great physical shape, so no cause for his behavior changes.
That said, we don't know HOW old Zazu is, as like many Amazons here he is a wildcaught bird, one of 6 in the rescue right now (4 Amazons). We estimate he's likely in his 50's. So, hopefully we begin to get some answers soon and this nagging feeling that something more is going on will have a clearer meaning. One thing is for sure, we WILL find out!

I want to give a big thank you to Dr Jen at Quad City Pet Care for her endless dedication to our birds- she's our first contact whenever something goes wrong and often responds to me on weekends and off hours. In addition, Dr Wood at Whitehaven saw Zazu this week when Dr Jen was recovering from an illness and put up with a grumpy beak flying all over.. :-) I am repeatedly impressed with their level of care, explanation, and time taken to ensure the birds are comfortable.
And finally, for Jane... Zaz's greatest admirer, who generously donated to his vet care and donates so much time to the rescue. We love you.

Address

2479 Golden Avenue
Letts, IA
52754

Telephone

+13193441700

Website

http://www.iowaparrotrescue.org/

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