I've noticed that Lucy tends to chew on her foot a lot, as if it's really bugging her. She does it a whole lot while outside of her cage, so I'm thinking that her feet could be really dry.

So what can I do to moisten them? I'm afraid lotion could be toxic. My mom does have coconut oil though, so I'm wondering if I could use that? I know it helps human skin, though I'm not so sure about birdie feet skin.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

People use coconut oil on birds beaks you could try it on the feet maybe wet them with water and then put it on.

It's a normal part of grooming for birds to chew on their feet but I'm not sure onto what point is normal and not. If it's excessive, it's time to see a vet. There are a few of conditions that cause feet chewing, including boredom.

Bathing can help alleviate skin dryness in birds so give her a bowl of water to splash around in or you can opt for spraying her with a mist bottle instead.

Birds can suffer from viral, fungal or bacterial infections of their feet, which may cause their feet to become raw, red and inflamed. One cause of foot infections and incessant foot chewing is the avian herpesvirus. This infectious condition is contagious and can be transferred from one bird to another with direct contact.

Another cause can be from allergies and malicious mites. Nicotine and tar residue from smoking, hand lotion, perfumes and even soap residue on your hands can all trigger an allergic reaction in your bird. Mite infestations can also cause itching and irritation

Another reason is that your bird is bored. You mentioned she does this mostly when she's out of the cage. Are you providing her enough activities that keep her mind busy and active? If not, I recommend getting a play gym for her for out of the cage time.

I try to keep her entertained as much as I can, while out of the cage. She likes to play with my hair a lot, and she's pretty easily entertained (considering how she loves looking out the window), so I doubt she's bored.

I have noticed though, that her feet look somewhat red and flaky. I'm wondering if I should wash off her perches or something.

She does have a sand perch, much like this one here. Could that be drying out her feet?

It could be aggregating them. Preening their feet keeps them clean, moist and comfortable, but if they are red and flaky she may need a cream from a vet to soothe her feet. Until then, could you mist her off so she's getting moisture?

Getting to a vet is going to be tough. We can't afford a vet right now, and there are no avian vets near here that I know of.

I've tried misting her. She doesn't seem to like it much. Maybe I was doing something wrong last time? Then again, the bottle doesn't really have a "mist" setting on it. I would turn on the misters outside, though I'm afraid she would fly away.

Someone I know with a cockatoo uses coconut oil regularly, because his bird's feet get dry. I don't know if Lucy's case is anything similar, so I'm not sure if it would work. Worth a try, right? (Crossing fingers because I can't seem to find an appropriate smiley)

Why not give it a try? Just make sure it's pure coconut oil, and maybe dilute it a bit just in case.

I'll have to tomorrow. Lucy's already had her out of cage session today, and now she really doesn't want to come back out again. She probably wants to rest, and I don't want to stress her out too much.

The problem with oil is that if it gets on the feathers they will lose their insulating capability. So if you use it you have to be very sparing and careful with it.

The air is currently pretty moist by Tucson standards since the monsoon hasn't completely blown out of town yet, and I've never had a problem with dry feet in my flock even when the humidity is basically nonexistent. They're desert birds in the wild so these are normal conditions for them.

If it was just dry air I'd suggest a humidifier but that's probably not the problem. I wonder if there might be something that she's allergic to or if she's gotten into something that irritates her skin.

I doubt it's dry air. There was a huge storm at my place just last night. Heck, I was almost tempted to bring Lucy out during the time it lightened up into a light sprinkle, so she could get herself a shower. However, she's a strong flyer, and I really don't want to lose her.

I'll try and see if coconut oil will work. I'll wash her perches too, if that might have anything to do with it. I noticed there seems to be what looks like droppings from the last bird that was in there. My mom said there was nothing wrong with it being there, but it always bugged me. I'll wash it off as soon as I get home from classes today.

Meanwhile, does anyone know how I can apply coconut oil on her? The guy I talked to about it (the one with the cockatoo) uses a toothbrush, but Lucy's so much smaller than his cockatoo. I was think of a Q-tip, but I'm not sure. I have big fingers, so doing it by hand might be out of the question.