My bird is biting its feet. Is this normal, and how can I help?

Birds can chew on their feet if they're bored or itchy. Checking over your bird's foot and looking for any visible wounds, redness, irritation or open scaling (some scaling is normal in all bird feet, but you shouldn't see sores, open wounds or dirt/debris stuck to it) can help you determine if there may be an injury that needs to be treated. If the foot looks OK, just keeping an eye on it for now is best. If it changes or a problem is visible, taking her to a vet is best. If she seems bored or stressed (especially because she isn't with her usual people), offering some extra treats, toys and interaction together may help reduce her stress and any boredom and keep her from picking at her feet more.

Poor bird! If the foot is at all infected, trying to find a vet that can help in person is best. However, until you can find one, it is a good idea to separate the bird from any cage mates to keep from being picked on, and move him to a warm hospital cage with larger, flat perches that will make perching easier on his feet. Keeping the foot clean and dry and using an ointment such as Blu-kote (most feed and pet stores carry this for use in poultry and other birds) can help prevent infection. You can also Google how to make a bird-sized Elizabethan (cone) collar to put on the bird so that he can't get to his foot and bite it while it heals.

Follow directions for application on the container. Some sprays can be used directly on the bird (avoiding the eyes, nose and mouth), others cannot. Clean and sanitize her cage, bowls, perches and toys. Discard anything that cannot be sanitized. Change the cage paper or substrate daily. Provide a mineral block, pumice stone or cuttlebone to maintain beak length. Your avian veterinarian can trim the beak if necessary. Concrete or textured perches can also be used as they promote healthy feet as well as provide natural beak trimming opportunity.

Your bird may have a skin infection, like from a bacteria or fungus, or he may have skin mites causing him to be so itchy. I would recommend taking him to the vet to be checked out so that the underlying problem can be treated and he will stop being so itchy. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Keep an eye on her. If she will allow, you can clean it daily with a mild antiseptic cleanser. Provide perches of different shapes, textures and thicknesses to condition her feet. Having only round perches of one size can lead to sores on the feet and overgrown nails.

It would be best to remove your male budgie and thoroughly clean the wound/stop the bleeding with pressure. You can then place him into a hospital cage to allow the wound to heal/keep an eye on it without your female picking at it further. Once healed, you can then start to reintroduce both birds back into the same cage. Adding in extra food, water, perches, toys, etc can help decrease competition over resources which may help decrease fighting as well. If the foot is at all bothersome, Tweety can't place weight on it, or the wound appears infected, having a vet take a look in person to treat, clean and prescribe any medications is best.

It's possible Green Bean may have some irritation going on from a skin issue such as external parasites, infection, etc. Checking for signs of infection such as redness, open wounds or sores, or visible flecks of "stuff" on the skin near the feather base can alert you to this- and if you see it, trying to get in sooner may be best. Dry skin can also sometimes be a cause of irritation. Providing a bird bath or gently misting Green Bean with warm water from a spray bottle may provide him some relief until the underlying problem can be found by your vet. Boredom or stress can also sometimes cause excessive grooming and feather plucking. Adding in some toys that can be chewed on, making sure the cage is in a quieter area away from other pets and people that may cause stress, and spending some more time together may also help reduce the behavior.