i've noticed that ivy likes to sit around and chew on her toe nails. she doesn't bite anything off, just chews. sometimes, she even puts her whole foot in her mouth. do any of your macaws do this? is it just a habit? is it a BAD habit?

My suns do that, it looks like they cleaning teeth. They also pick nares. I feel sorry for them when they have got a nail stuck in the nose. The babies do it more, I have never seen the adults doing it maybe it is just a baby thing.

One of our Hys does that on occasion, but doesn't appear to be what I would call a habit. I would think that a scratch if her nails are sharp would be a concern, but otherwise can't imagine it being a problem.

Ruby does that! I assumed she was just playing with her "toys" that seem to be attached in some way. ha! When she was younger sometimes she would just look at her foot and seemed to be thinking "well, would you look at that!" She has quit that though.

Kita does this and for her it's a nervous or agitated habit. She will do when someone approaches her that she doesn't like.

I've never seen my Macaws chew their nails but my Cockatoo's will do that. I dont see where it would be a problem. Last week my Scarlet was bleeding from the nose. We took him to the vet and couldnt find why it was bleeding. We're thinking he must've scratched the inside of the nose with his nail . They flushed it, no obstruction, and the vet said to keep a close eye on him. He's been fine since, no more bleeding. He does bite his own leg once in awhile out of frustration, he's done this since we brought him home and is getting better about it, but never noticed him chewing nails.

Both of mine do it all the time Emily...I've often wondered too...but they never seem to chew them off or anything so I try not to worry about it.

Ruby our 5 month old Red Front Macaw has a habit of chewing on my toenails, one I am trying to change.

Yup, I think I'd be trying to change that one too!

Ollie and Dakota both chew on their nails.