Beaker’s Origin Story

Beaker was a cherryhead conure, and Mike’s main velcro bird… Spending all his time on his knee, shoulder, or in his hand. Beaker told terrible lies, blamed everything on the dog, and was suspected of being involved with various revolutionary movements.

Beaker was placed with us in spring of 1999 as a screamer and biter. He had never been handled before and was Iowa Parrot Rescue’s very first parrot (before it was even Iowa Parrot Rescue).

He suffered an unidentified illness or injury in the early 00’s that left his legs paralyzed, but recovered almost completely through a lot of hours of physical manipulation and he did quite nicely after that. Aside from his daily physical therapy, he had a nice handicapped accessible cage.

A colorful parrot with a red head, white eye patch, and green body perched on a branch indoors.

A green parrot wearing a red band on its head, perched on a wooden branch next to a plush red and gray toy bird, inside a room with books and other items in the background.

A birdcage with colorful toys inside, placed in front of a striped fabric background, with wooden and metal elements around.

Colorful bird with red head and green body held in hand above a desk with a white keyboard and a mug in the background.

A green parrot wearing a red hat inside a cage.

Beaker passed away in his sleep on April 4th, 2006 and left a large hole in Mike and Abi’s hearts. Because of him, the rescue will go on for many years to come. Fly Free, Beaker. You are so loved.

A bird with green and red feathers resting inside a cage with a green toy hanging.

A man with glasses and a beard, wearing a blue jacket and purple shirt, has a green bird with a red beak on his chest in one photo, and the bird's image is obscured in the other photo.