Feet and nail biting

[sherylb]

Does anyone know anything about why a Quaker is always biting their feet and nails? Last few days my kiwi is doing this a lot and her nails are for sure shorter but she keeps biting them.

 

[cnyguy]

My QP Ralph will sometimes accidentally get food or poop on his feet and will nibble them to clean them. I think most parrots will do that. Otherwise, I haven't had any experience with parrots just biting their feet.

 

[noodles123]

You could try placing a shallow (supervised) dish of water in the cage bottom- remove after your bird is done playing...and then be mindful of the temperature, water cleanliness and drafts etc...sometimes my bird will defile her water and continue splashing in it lol (classy gal)...

 

[Amsterdam]

Isnt this a symptome for scaly feet? Not sure however

 

[sherylb]

Yes, but she is doing it alot!! I have some co**** oil i can put on her feet.

 

[Laurasea]

Yes my Rescue Penny does this in an ritualistic way when she is nervous or angry. She us also a feather picker. I would worry that this might head to feather picking. I would suggest even more time out if the cage abd more activities foraging , new toys. These guys are really smart and extremely active. Penny does enjoy just standing in a casserole dish with water. When I first brought her home she had her feet abraided she did it so much! Her only activities seems to be over preening and feet picking, otherwise she is lump. She has improved greatly with be out on my shoulder for hours, and extra baths, her feet are healed, but she still does this a lot. Not like the normal grooming seen in my other quaker or GCC. I would take it as a sigh that more activities and attention is needed. Not saying you are t giving Kiwi plunty of attention, just that her needs might be higher. Have any changes happened in the household ?

 

[EllenD]

This is a very well-known sign of stress/anxiety in Quaker Parrots, and if you do a Google search you'll see how common it is. My Quaker, Lita, will do this only when she does something she knows she shouldn't, usually it's when I reach into her cage to change her water or food and she nips at my hands (they are extremely territorial birds as well, more so than most other species). As soon as she nips my hand, before I can even say "No Bites!" to her, she immediately lifts her foot to her beak and starts chewing on her toenails. Once the moment has passed and her anxiety has gone, she stops. That's the only time she does it.

Once I noticed that Lita was doing this only during times of anxiousness/stress, I did some research online, and within minutes I discovered that this behavior is extremely common to Quaker Parrots when under stress. Quakers who have been re-homed often spend all day long chewing on their toenails/feet during their first few days/weeks or even months of being in their new home, and as they settle-in and adjust the behavior gradually stops over time. So it's likely that this is the reason that your Quaker is doing this, for some reason they are feeling anxious or stressed about something.

How long have you had your Quaker?