fingernails! help!

[Kacey]

My canary winged parakeet is a very good bird. She is sweet and tame and friendly and she has already learned several tricks. She does, however have one really annoying habit I have been unable to break. She bites my finger nails... And she's not always gentle! I know she is not doing it out of aggression...it's like a preening behavior, but i've tried lemon juice on my fingers, I've tried distracting her and teaching her, no. nothing works. She always comes back to chew my nails. If anyone had experienced this or has some advice I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

[Michael]

How do you hold your bird?

Watch this:

[Kacey]

I appreciate the video. I do hold her on one finger and I try to conceal my other fingers from her, but she can get to my index finger and thumb it seems no matter how I hold her. She seeks my nails out to chew on them. To be clear, she does not nip my finger, only the nail but she does actually break the sides of my nails off and it hurts. I've tried distracting her with toys but chewing on my nails is more entertaining apparently. I'll distract her with tricks and food which works for awhile but it always comes back to my nails. I've tried making her step down off my hand every time she does it but she doesn't seem to make the connection. I should mention that she is young, not quite 5 months old. Maybe she'll grow out of it... I just don't want it to become a habit so i'm trying not to allow it or reinforce it. I'm just not sure what to try from here.

[Michael]

First of all, DON'T REWARD with food/toys for nipping. Don't let it be nip, here's a toy. "Distracting with toys" means giving it to them before they have a chance to nip and as a reward for the act of not nipping when they could have.

As for a direct form of prevention, you can try wiggling or shaking your fingers so it's impossible to get a grip. I do this with mine if they try so they don't. But don't make it into a game where they just want to play by chasing your fingers. Just whenever they try to pinch, move the fingers so it goes out of reach and can't happen. They grow out of it, especially if you prevent it and don't let it become happen. Forget about saying "no" or using any form of punishment though.

[Kacey]

Thank you very much for taking the time to give me advice on this! I will try your suggestions.

[GreenWing]

Great video, Michael. I used these very tips with Tiki!