Finger/toe biting behaviour?

[ems2801]

Hi everyone,
I'm new to the forum, having had a blue Indian Ringneck for 2 weeks today . He was surrendered to the bird rescue centre where I volunteer. According to the old owners, he is 6 months old hand-reared male (they did not give any information as to how they knew he was male, whether he was DNA-sexed or not. In any case as he is so young he doesn't have his ring yet). The reason they gave for surrender was that he was being aggressive and biting their children and attacking their cockatiels, however was fine with adults.
He is now home with me and he seems to be getting used to the surroundings. He does bite a bit, but I think it has been getting a bit better as I am trying to just ignore it (I am wondering if he is going through the IRN bluffing stage??). He will step up for me, and also (yesterday the first time!) my father. And loves to ride around on someones shoulder around the house.

The thing I am worried about mostly (apart from curbing the biting) is that he has developed the habit of biting/chewing on his toes/nails (which I first noticed after about 4 days of him being with us- they aren't damaged by his chewing though). I took him for a check up with the vet, but there is apparently no physical basis for the behaviour (I initially thought he may have got something irritating inside his beak), but she suggested it was a nervous sort of behaviour. He seems to do it all the time, and I can't see any difference from whether I am approaching him (as in fear of people) or whether I walk away (nervous of being alone). I can't seem to find information about this behaviour in parrots anywhere online, and wondered if any of you had had any experience with this??

I am starting to wonder if he is not happy with his new living circumstances and so any suggestions would be much appreciated .

 

[weco]

Welcome to the forum.....my patty is often preoccupied with her nails, but many parrots groom their nails...similar to we humans cleaning from under ours, then there are those who chew their nails because they might be uncomfortable/nervous about something, but unlike their human slaves, very few parrots actually chew/damage their nails.....give him a bit more time to get used to everything & he'll come around.....

Since he's only been with you two weeks, he is still getting used to his new surroundings and you.....

 

[HalfInsane]

I chew my nails when I'm nervous so me and your bird have something I common

If he's not causing any damage and there's medical reason for him to want to chew at his feet I wouldn't immediately worry. Make sure he has lots of toys to chew on so he has other ways to keep his beak busy. Certain foods like corn on the cob are also great for giving birds a (tasty) chewing outlet. Also, when he does start chewing at his toes don't react in any way. A lot of birds develop bad habit because their owners immediately run over to make them stop/comfort them so they learn very quickly that the behaviour is a great way to get attention!

 

[ems2801]

Thanks weco and HalfInsane. Thats good to hear you think its just a matter of him still settling in. I'm hoping he will get over it, but in the meantime I will definitely ignore it like you suggest and try not to make it into a big thing. I just keep thinking maybe he's not happy where he is and wondering if he might be happier somewhere with other birds etc (I don't have any other birds), but hopefully he will get used to things.
Also I don't know what his life was like for him before this, could it be that this was a behaviour he developed at his old home, and he's just starting to show his "normal" behaviours with me- rather than it being that this nail biting is caused by him living with me?

Is there any way of telling what could be triggering the behaviour??

HalfInsane- I'm a nailbiter too, hopefully he hasn't picked it up from me already!

thanks so much for your help!!
emma

 

[SandyBee]

Both of our parrots groom there feet and nails, If there is no damage its probably nothing to worry about.

 

[ems2801]

here is a picture of him doing it: