Foot Chewing

[Tara]

I have a male budgie who has decided to start to chew his foot. What would cause this, and how to I treat it.

[Dave]

How often is he doing this? Also, do you think he's chewing it or just scratching it? My budgies scratch their feet (with their beaks) as part of their grooming.

[Tara]

He is definately not scratching. He bites at it until he has it bleeding. Also there is now no movement in the claws. Good news is that he is moving around the cage and eating and drinking.

Someone suggested polysporin eye drops as an antibiotic for it.

[Dave]

I'd consult a vet or bird store before giving medication. But if it'll stop the biting, I'd give it a try.

[h-lovesbudgies]

Some animals chew limbs when they have an allergic reaction to their food. I'm not sure if budgies are the same but if he has eaten anything weird lately then that would be a possibility. As a side note a change in water can also cause weird behavior, tap water is different city to city because there are variations within the standard. I give my budgies bottled water because I find tap water has too much chlorine for them.

Another thing is that it could be similar to is when birds pull out their feathers because they are bored or stressed. maybe try giving him some toys to shred or look up other ways of relieving stress.

Good luck.

[Robin's Nest]

I would also be in favor of seeing a vet. In this instance, especially since he is making his foot bleed, I really think it is necessary. There are a number of things that could have caused it. Perhaps an irritation, a sliver, an infection, mites, the list goes on. As already mentioned, it can be one aspect of feather plucking that can affect any bird (but some bird species seem to be more prone to it than others). Adding a topical of any sort has a very harmful risk especially since your budgie will probably further mess with it, it could sting, and he could end up ingesting the medicine. And eye drops and other human topical preparations are not meant to be ingested. Since you mention that his foot/claw movement seems to be impaired, I would want him to get checked out by a vet asap to determine the cause and then find the solution! Then he can be back on the road to his usual chirpy self! :) Please let us know how he is coming along.