Interview with Eb Cravens

by Anne Eilers
Autumn 2003

After reading several of EB Cravens' articles, I approached him about doing an interview with me for the Holistic Bird Newsletter. EB kindly agreed, and I conducted the following interview based on an article EB wrote for “Parrots” magazine. I found EB to be most gracious and helpful. Part way through the interview EB commented that “Frankie is one confused burd”, I couldn’t agree more! The poor little girl is rather confused after living with mixed signals and caregivers who did not understand what being a parrot is about for the first ten and a half years of her life.

Anne E. I read with great interest your article titled “What sort of Pet Parrot did you just purchase…?” published in the July 2003 issue of “Parrots”. And as you have kindly agreed to answer some questions about your theory that “approximately 90% of all psittacine dysfunctional behavior problems have their earliest origins in the way the birds were birthed, fed and brought up in captivity”, I have chosen as our “test subject”, a Congo African Grey parrot called Frankie. I will attempt to put as much information in my questions as possible in order to give you a clear picture.

To give you some additional information about Frankie, she was adopted by us in November 2002. She had been in her original owner’s home for over 10 years, and was loved, although her caregivers were not well schooled in aviculture and did not provide vet care or an adequate diet. Frankie was re-homed because her owners were no longer able to provide the attention she needed. Frankie had been displaying feather abusive behavior, accompanied by occasional mutilation, for over six years before we adopted her. She was pretty much cage bound. Since we adopted her she has been to our Avian Vet several times, has been tested for every possible physical affliction, and has been treated twice for Giardia. Her last two Giardia re-tests were Negative. She eats extremely well, and has gained approximately 50 grams. Frankie is a DNA sexed female, and she is 11 years old. She is housed in her own huge (Macaw/cockatoo sized) cage in the main area of our house, our family room. Next to her cage is an identical cage inhabited by Chico, another Congo African Grey. Chico is ten years old, also DNA sexed female. Chico is very confident, outgoing, is likely wild caught as per word of mouth, and we are her third home. Both will be with us as long as we are all alive.

I would like to describe some of Frankie’s behaviors to you as they seem contradictory to me. Would you, using your theory, give us a possible scenario for these behaviors?

Frankie has always flapped confidently on the top or door of her cage, she will often let go with one foot. Her previous owners thought this was because she was scared and would rush over to stop her.

However, in spite of her flapping ability, her entire right side, leg, wing was very weak. She still has weakness in her right side, although her strength is returning since we encourage her flapping. Why would she be confident enough to actively flap?

EB Craven. Frankie would of course flap if she needed to exercise her wings. Does she also stretch out each wing regularly in the normal leg/wing extension pose in preparation for flapping?

AE Frankie often stretches her wings and legs and wags her tail; she also does the “big eagle”, not always before flapping though, the flapping just happens. I have been working with her and her weakness is getting better, we do birdie physiotherapy.

EB Her weak side could have been a nutritional lack—trace elements or amino acids, etc. She also may have suffered a slight stroke at some point. Or it could have been a weakness she has had since birth if she was injured or sat on in the nest to cause nerve/motor damage. Also arthritis? The fact that she flaps shows she either has no pain or can surmount it to exercise.

AE I would suspect that it has a lot to do with nutrition or lack thereof in her former home, plus she limited herself to a 1 square foot area in her old cage and constantly did a “loop”, from high perch, to roof of cage, to side, back to perch. She has not done this since she came here, as she now has a great many other things to do that are way more interesting.

Frankie often does the “baby bird begging” posture. Why is this? How can I help her?

EB. Baby bird begging in a hen can be normal if they are feeling sexual and wish to be fed or caressed by a male(in this case a surrogate mate of human species).Other begging can be begging to be picked up and moved, in birds who were never taught to fly well or lost the ability through years of being clipped.

AE I believe it has to do with wanting me and wanting out. Basically wanting.

Frankie loves to “be a bat” and hang upside down from the roof of her cage, she will traverse the cage top back and forth laughing. Why does she do this?

EB. Being a bat is typical behavior for many birds, they like to hang inverted and it takes little strength to do it from a cage top, just one nail hooked is all. 'Tis a very safe position as one can see all around for dangers. To hang upside down from a bouncy twig or thick branch or swinging rope is another matter and takes strength in the feet, legs-- and courage. Flapping in this position and righting oneself up onto the perch by wing and feet muscles is advanced athleticism and can be slowly trained into birds who are lacking.

AE Frankie is very careful with her feet, she places them carefully on the perch and actually looks unsure of herself when walking on perches, cage bars are easy for her. She is getting better, but will not use a boing or any other moving perch. Chico on the other hand will hang from a single strand of leather, flap her wings and “kill” the attached toy, and I don’t need to tell you the sound she makes while doing this!!? Chico traverses a hanging rope like a pro.

Frankie has decided that I am her favored person, she will make herself big and run at my husband, and if he doesn’t move she will sink her beak into his arm. She will also run at me if I get too close to a toy she is playing with. Why does she do this? What is the solution?

EB. Attacking and biting in parrots has to do with perceived status in the group. Those birds with little social flock norms and little experience getting along with three or more bird individuals at one time will often become one person birds or at best one-family birds. This is not true in all the gregarious species like caiques and lorikeets, etc. But it does indicate that the bird is more needy than confident when in a two-person situation. You are her security and protection, she has little self sufficiency to be secure in herself. Hence will look to another. Biting the one you choose as favorite is dysfunctional social behavior usually. Most savvy flock birds will use a beak butt or a peck and not necessarily draw blood or pinch. Much of this relates back to the fledging/socialization phase when siblings are supposed to spend weeks together getting the hang of what games are allowed, which ones are crossing the line too far. Most hand fed parrots in the U.S. are so starved for significant others in their life—remember they were raised as orphans and have little self esteem in the birdlike sense, so they bluster and bite and react to internal emotional weaknesses in the best ways they can devise.

Another thing is being used to strangers and new situations at a time in your young life when you can see that other birds and people are no threat to your happiness or to the affections you receive from humans or other bird friends.

AE Ok, now this is definitely where Frankie is challenged. Frankie was purchased from a pet store, as (get this) an unweaned, unfledged, six week old baby who barely had feathers, as a pet for a 12 year old boy. Ok the kid was responsible, but no one can tell me a 12 y/o has the ability to bring up any parrot, much less an African Grey. She was never fledged. I believe that Frankie was taught to bite, it would have been her only means of communication with the 12 y/o and his younger sisters. The good news though is that when she strikes at me she is bluffing the majority of the time, and the bluffing is centered around her toys. I am pretty good at reading her body language, and we are developing a good working relationship, plus at first she would “protect” her new toys, now she has learnt that toys are a part of living with us and she is far more understanding when I want to pick one up. She did not have toys in her former home.

Frankie has never been a loud bird, when she first came here, we were concerned because she was so quiet compared to Chico, our other Grey. Frankie does talk, but usually whispers. We have been teaching her to “be a bird” by having “yell along to the music” sessions (Chico is very good at this and dances too). Why would Frankie be so quiet? Is our method of “helping” helpful?

EB. Some birds are quiet, some are loud, just like children. Too many owners try to make their birds grow up to be adults, when in fact we know they are more like perpetual four-year olds.

AE Exactly, that is my reason for allowing her to be a bird and to make noise if she wants. She was covered if she made noise in her former home.

Frankie’s former caregivers felt that she was mean. Only the son would pick her up occasionally, and sometimes allowed her on his shoulder, the rest of the family used gloves, or didn’t touch her. Frankie still has a fear of hands, and doesn’t step-up well, but about two weeks after the quarantine period was over and she had been moved into the family room near Chico she suddenly decided she needed cuddles from me in the worst way. She will cuddle in my arms and have full body scratches, and will beg to be on my shoulder. Why would there be such a difference from home to home?

EB. Frankie was running things in her former home if she bluffed all the people save one into thinking she was mean. And if there was no one to give her all the tenderness she sought, then it would only be a matter of time before she tried trusting someone in a new home to give it to her. Whether full body scratches are healthy for her, remains to be seen.

AE She definitely was running things!! She does crave the physical contact of the full body scratches and I use them to inspect her wings and preen gland etc. It is getting her used to being touched. She wants the full body scratches about once a week, the rest of the time she wants head scratches, she is so full of pin feathers the scratches and gentle help with the sheaths feel good to her.

Frankie is a rather nervous parrot, she stands tall on one foot with wings slightly elevated, shaking, and biting her toe nails. Why does she do this? How can we help her be calmer?

EB. One way of taking away her nervousness would be to re-fledge her and give her full flights. She may have the “fright” part of the equation down, but can not react to what she perceives as danger or unwanted situation.

AE Surprising enough although Frankie was never fledged, she is a good little flyer!! I deliberately let her flights grow in. Even the times she has taken off because of a fright, she has where she is going planned and she can turn. Her landings are a little off but she will land happily on my arm if I tell her “land on Mom”. She has actually decided to go back to her cage from the counter to eat the papaya that was on the cage, she said “bye, bye” took off flew to her cage, I was surprised!

Frankie seems to have no jealousy problems where Chico is concerned, although I don’t intend to allow them physical interaction at this time. She does not get upset if Chico is on me or if I am feeding Chico. Why no problem with Chico when my husband invokes jealousy?

EB. Hard to say about Chico. May be that another female gray is no threat or competition. Why would physical interaction be denied the two if they both sought it and it made them more at ease at times. No danger of tight cross gender bonding. Being preened by another parrot can be one of the joys of life.

AE Physical contact may come in time. At this point I have confidence in Chico since she was housed in the same cage as another Grey in her former home, but Frankie has never been with another bird, and I am not confident in her reaction. Frankie is about 70g heavier than Chico, and she looks physically quite a bit bigger, I don’t want either hurt. My plan is to move to a home where I can have a designated “flying room” for the girls. This is currently in process.

Given the answers to the above, can you put together the likely scenario that describes Frankie as a baby bird, and the things that were or were not done right to give her the best start in life?

EB. Almost impossible to do as a ten year adult. So many situations in the former home were obviously uneducated and lacking. No doubt Frankie is sensually needy, full of hormones and unable to satisfy so much of her "birdness" in a home caged environment without other grays to interact with. She has little going on in her life when compared to birds that fly, live with the winds and weathers and sun and moon and seasonal changes
in greenery and foodstuffs. Basically you are looking at one of the premier intelligence species of psittacine which is living a sheltered, finite, routine life. It works fine until the bird comes to a point where it no longer has anything to expand its learning or mental prowess. Then there is a crash and plucking or lethargy or sameness in behavior set in.

AE True, I have a real problem rationalizing keeping companion parrots, on the other hand I am fully confident in the fact that both my Grey Girls are in a far superior situation with us than they were in at their previous homes. I very carefully create a new challenge for them every few days, ranging from smaller challenges to larger challenges to help them keep using their minds and gain confidence. Of course the challenges are geared to each individual, as Chi co is far more confident than Frankie, and she requires greater challenges, Chico is also a help in providing challenges for Frankie. My hope is to continue to create a challenging environment for them.

Thank you very much EB, I am sure that your comments here will help many caregivers.