How can I stop the toe biting?

[ConureLady]

One of my conures has started biting the toes of other conures. All three are in one huge cage. Am I going to have to permanently separate the biter? My poor 7 month old keeps getting bit hard, this is the second time and one day this will end in a loss of toe or nail

I can only think of a few ideas, one being permanent separation which is sad because all three love each other, or I rehome the biter into a different home which will obviously be even sadder and I might never forgive myself for, or I just ignore it and let the little guy learn not to be near the biter when he's outside of the cage, or I could figure out a way to completely cover the inside of the cage with wooden sticks so toes aren't so tempting...

I appreciate any ideas! I don't want to upset my flock but the cut toe nails and blood blisters are so sad.

 

[ConureLady]

Maybe I can save up and buy one of those expensive indestructible all wood with a plexiglass door cages? So they can chew toes through the bars... It only happens through the bars.. Never on perches etc

 

[ConureLady]

One more idea... Plexiglass on the outside of the cage? Maybe I could drill holes and use cable ties to attach wood on the outside so it's still climb-friendly? But then there's the ventilation issue... I could just drill a whole bunch of holes? I don't know..

 

[ConureCrazy]

I would seperate them. Once, unfortunately, 1 of my GCCs got out and my other fid got to her, biting and causing a missing toenail and a bit of skin. It caused her some pain, and I can never forgive myself, even of it wasnt entirely my fault. I would rather seperate them rather than risking injury and pain to one of your dear conures. =)

 

[MonicaMc]

Is it one conure biting the other two conures' toes? Or is it one conure biting only the toes of the 7 month old?

You mention it only occurs through the bars of the cage... What about letting them all out together and not having one inside the cage? Or putting a temporarily cover on the cage so that the biter can't visually see the toes on the other side?

 

[ConureLady]

My biter is an 8 year old rescue with some behavioral problems. He only bites the male 7 month old and not my 2 year old female. I'm going to stop leaving the door open, either everybody is out or nobody is out! At least until I figure out how to safely block toes from poking through the bars. I was rough drafting ideas and came up with 1. Plexiglass screwed onto the back of the cage, preventing them from throwing wet foods on the wall, preventing the difficulty of getting them off of the back of the cage when it's bed time or when a little fight breaks out. 2. Wood on sides of the outside of the cage in vertical fashion, wood on the sides of the inside of the cage in a horizontal fashion so everything can still be climbed, toes can't poke through, and everything is still breathable 3. The front of the cage will be just the bars, allowing airflow and interaction with my fids.
It's going to be a lot of work and a lot of wood, luckily I live in Alaska and almost all of the trees are bird friendly!

 

[MonicaMc]

You can either remove the 8 year old or the 7 month from the equation, and put in a separate cage - then not allow the birds onto the others cages unless all are out?