Crusty cere

[Dragonloverjas]

Hi, my Mum found a lost budgerigar getting attacked by native birds while walking her dog a few weeks back, and he seemed completely healthy for quite a while. However, just today I noticed that the base of his cere is a bit crusty looking. I was wondering if anyone could help with determining what this might be from, what caused it etc. I was also wondering if there is any way I can treat this at home or if I’ll need to take him to an avian vet. This would be quite annoying since we’ve already planned a vet visit for my young eclectus to have her first checkup and some blood work just to be safe. Avian vets are quite expensive from what I know. Luckily I do live relatively close to a good avian vet (Melbourne bird vet). So any advice would be appreciated

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

Could you post a picture of the budgie's cere? If it is what I'm thinking it might be, your little boy just may be a little girl

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[plumsmum2005]

A AV visit would be in order hun and quarantine procedures should be put in place to protect existing flock.

 

[Dragonloverjas]

Could you post a picture of the budgie's cere? If it is what I'm thinking it might be, your little boy just may be a little girl

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

I don’t believe that is what’s going on, but I will be very happy if it is. I got a nice photo of the cere, but I don’t know how to post it here (I am relatively new to this, and only really post when I need advice). When I go into the little photo icon, it gives me a little screen with a code on it, and wants me to type something. I don’t know what to type though xD I’m using a phone btw

 

[itzjbean]

Budgie/parakeet hens get really crusty ceres when they are in breeding condition. Does it look anything like these?

(female on left)

 

[EllenD]

The Cere's of all female Budgies turns very, very thick and crusty, almost like they are scabby, and at the same time they also turn a very dark-brown color, like a chocolate-brown color...This happens when all female Budgies go into Breeding-Season and become hormonal, and then after Breeding-Season is over they change back from the very dark, chocolate brown color to their regular color (either white, tan, or bright-blue with white-rings around each nostril)...So if your Budgie's Cere is not only crusty but also turned a dark-brown color at the same time it became crusty, then that's exactly what it is, it's a female Budgie who is hormonal, and it's fine and will turn back to it's normal color and thickness soon (it is the end of the normal Spring-Breeding Season right now, my female Budgie also still has her dark brown, crusty Cere as well, it will turn back to normal next month sometime).

***A lot of people, actually MOST people, even those who have owned many Budgies, do not realize that just because a Budgie has a bright-blue colored Cere does not mean that it's automatically a male Budgie...If your Budgie's Cere was bright-blue in color but had ANY LIGHT COLORING AROUND EACH NOSTRIL, THEN THAT MENS YOUR BUDGIE IS ACTUALLY A GIRL! And sometimes it's very subtle, just a very bright or very deep color of blue Cere with light-shading going around both nostrils indicates a female Budgie, as does a solid white, solid cream, or solid tan/light brown Cere...In order for it to be a male Budgie, it must have either a solid Blue, Pink, or Purple colored Cere with NO LIGHT SHADING AROUND THE NOSTRILS; instead the entire Cere has to be SOLID Blue, Pink, or Purple right up around each nostril....This is the most-common mistake made when people are sexing Budgies for sure, by-far...

So if in-addition to turning "crusty" your Budgie's Cere also turned to a dark-Brown color, then it's 100% a female who is in Breeding-Season and is currently hormonal, and it will turn back to it's original white, cream, tan, or blue with light/white shading around each nostril once she comes out of Breeding Season, which should be very soon, as May is pretty much it...However, if your Budgie's Cere simply became "crusty" but stayed it's same color and is not dark-Brown in color, then something else is going on, like a Mite-infestation, or it's been injured somehow, etc.

***If your Budgie's Cere also turned dark-Brown in color, then it's a female who is hormonal for sure, 100%, and nothing is wrong, so no need for a photo...However, if your Budgie's Cere is NOT dark-Brown in color and just became "Crusty", then yes, please post a photo of it...All you have to do is click the "photo button" above, which is yellow with a little landscape picture in it, and is beside the "Attachment" button with the Earth/paperclip...It will then take you to a page where you have to upload the photo to your account, just hit "Browse', then find the file on your device, and then hit "Upload", and you can then close that page out after you upload the file, and then hit "Preview Post" to make sure that the photo was inserted into your reply-message (it will insert it wherever the cursor is when you click the photo button and go upload the file)...

 

[EllenD]

You beat me to it, lol...

Yes, your Budgie is a female Budgie who is in Breeding-Season, 100%. This is completely normal, and her Cere will turn back to it's original color and thickness as soon as she is knocked-out of Breeding-Season, which should be sometime next month.

 

[EllenD]

Also, the Budgie behind your female is obviously a male....Are they housed together in the same cage? If so, then this is exactly what is causing her to go into Breeding-Season, and if they are mating/breeding you are going to get fertile-eggs; EVEN IF THEY AREN'T BREEDING/MATING, SHE IS PROBABLY GOING TO START LAYING INFERTILE-EGGS, WHICH IS VERY DANGEROUS FOR HER TO DO IF SHE CONTINUES TO LAY CLUTCH AFTER CLUTCH AFTER CLUTCH OF INFERTILE EGGS!!!

****I would advice you, highly advise you to NOT ALLOW YOUR BUDGIES TO BREED!!! I don't think you have any experience hand-raising or hand-feeding baby parrot chicks, and it's extremely common for Budgies to actually attack their babies, kill their babies, kick their babies out of the nest-box, or to refuse to feed the babies, and then you have to remove the babies from the nest-box, put them in a proper Brooder to keep them at the correct Ambient/Air Temperature for their level of feathering, and you must feed them hand-feeding formula that is always at the correct temperature range using a Cooking/Candy Thermometer, and do it every 2-3 hours INCLUDING OVERNIGHT up until they are 4 weeks old, and then you go to feeding them once every 3-4 hours during the day, and they can go 6 hours overnight without eating..Then at 5 weeks old and forward, up until they fully Abundance-Wean between 8-12 weeks old (you can't force them to wean), they need fed once every 4-5 hours during the day from that point until they start to Abundance wean themselves...It's not easy, it's difficult, you can kill them in any number of ways, and if you don't have a Brooder to keep them at the correct Air/Ambient Temperature they will develop a horrible Fungal/Yeast Infection in their Crops, then they need to go to an Avian Vet for diagnosis and prescription Anti-Fungal meds or they die, same thing happens if you don't have a proper Candy/Cooking Thermometer and keep the hand-feeding formula between 104 degrees F and 110 degrees F at all times...And you can very easily Aspirate formula into their lungs and kill them instantly...And Budgies often have very large clutches of eggs/babies, average is 6 eggs, but typically they get up between 8 and 13 eggs...It's lot of work and you have to be home all day long...So you don't want to allow them to breed/mate...

***The other issue that you MUST deal with immediately is that you female went into Breeding-Season in the first place because of the male, and this will likely cause her to start laying Infertile Eggs if they haven't mated, or Fertile Eggs if they have...And she will continue to lay egg after egg after egg UNLESS YOU KNOCK HER OUT OF BREEDING SEASON by making sure she is in her own, individual cage and not housed with the male, you make sure she has NO NEST-BOX!!! As well as NO other types of Boxes, Tents, Beds, "Huts" (like the "Happy Huts" or "Snuggle Huts" or "Triangle Beds", they are called a lot of different names), no Hammocks, no Blankets, no Towels, etc. NO small, dark places that she can get inside of or underneath AT ALL, and also nothing in the bottom of her cage that resembles or can be used as a "Nesting-Material", such as any type of Animal-Bedding/Rodent-Bedding, Wood-Chips, Shredded-Paper, Corn-Cob Bedding, Crushed Walnut Shell Bedding, etc. Only sheets of Newspaper, Butcher Paper, or other sheets of paper or actual Bird-Cage Liners that you put UNDER the grate in the bottom of her cage...All of these things that give her a small, dark place to get underneath or inside of, as well as anything that looks like or can be used as Nesting-Material all cause their hormones to go crazy, putting them in Breeding-Season, keeping them there, and this will cause a female to start laying eggs...And laying clutches of eggs is extremely hard on a female Budgie, and can kill her by causing Malnutrition, Nutritional Deficiencies, and Egg-Binding, which is 100% fatal without medical-intervention once it happens...So this is why you need to keep the female in her own cage by herself, and also make sure that she has BOTH a Cuttlebone AND a Mineral Block inside of her cage at all times so that she gets as much Calcium, Phosphorous, Magnesium, etc. that she needs while she's hormonal, and just in case she starts laying eggs...If she does start laying eggs, you'll need to follow a plan to try to knock her out of Breeding-Season and stop her from laying clutch after clutch after clutch, because simply removing the eggs from her cage will only keep her laying more and more...

 

[EllenD]

Oh Itzjbean, I didn't see that you posted that photo, I thought it was a photo of the OP's Budgies...Uhg...Well, I covered the bases anyway...Sorry about that, apologies to you and the OP if your Budgie actually isn't a female...

 

[Dragonloverjas]

You beat me to it, lol...

Yes, your Budgie is a female Budgie who is in Breeding-Season, 100%. This is completely normal, and her Cere will turn back to it's original color and thickness as soon as she is knocked-out of Breeding-Season, which should be sometime next month.

I understand why you would think this, but I’m at least 80% sure this bird is a male. The cere is an extremely vibrant blue, and it’s only the base of the cere where it touches the beak that’s crusty, and it almost looks like it’s peeling off. I have lots of budgies, and I always see the crustyness in the females, but never a male. Of course there’s the chance that this IS what’s going on, and I honestly hope so since I way prefer that over him (possibly her) being sick. Do you know how to post photos from an iPhone here? I got a nice photo of the cere that I would like to show

 

[Dragonloverjas]

Budgie/parakeet hens get really crusty ceres when they are in breeding condition. Does it look anything like these?

(female on left)

No, this is almost surely a male budgie, and the crustyness is quite different from the photos. It’s only crusty at the bottom of the cere. I really would prefer that it’s just that over him being sick.

 

[Dragonloverjas]

Also, the Budgie behind your female is obviously a male....Are they housed together in the same cage? If so, then this is exactly what is causing her to go into Breeding-Season, and if they are mating/breeding you are going to get fertile-eggs; EVEN IF THEY AREN'T BREEDING/MATING, SHE IS PROBABLY GOING TO START LAYING INFERTILE-EGGS, WHICH IS VERY DANGEROUS FOR HER TO DO IF SHE CONTINUES TO LAY CLUTCH AFTER CLUTCH AFTER CLUTCH OF INFERTILE EGGS!!!

****I would advice you, highly advise you to NOT ALLOW YOUR BUDGIES TO BREED!!! I don't think you have any experience hand-raising or hand-feeding baby parrot chicks, and it's extremely common for Budgies to actually attack their babies, kill their babies, kick their babies out of the nest-box, or to refuse to feed the babies, and then you have to remove the babies from the nest-box, put them in a proper Brooder to keep them at the correct Ambient/Air Temperature for their level of feathering, and you must feed them hand-feeding formula that is always at the correct temperature range using a Cooking/Candy Thermometer, and do it every 2-3 hours INCLUDING OVERNIGHT up until they are 4 weeks old, and then you go to feeding them once every 3-4 hours during the day, and they can go 6 hours overnight without eating..Then at 5 weeks old and forward, up until they fully Abundance-Wean between 8-12 weeks old (you can't force them to wean), they need fed once every 4-5 hours during the day from that point until they start to Abundance wean themselves...It's not easy, it's difficult, you can kill them in any number of ways, and if you don't have a Brooder to keep them at the correct Air/Ambient Temperature they will develop a horrible Fungal/Yeast Infection in their Crops, then they need to go to an Avian Vet for diagnosis and prescription Anti-Fungal meds or they die, same thing happens if you don't have a proper Candy/Cooking Thermometer and keep the hand-feeding formula between 104 degrees F and 110 degrees F at all times...And you can very easily Aspirate formula into their lungs and kill them instantly...And Budgies often have very large clutches of eggs/babies, average is 6 eggs, but typically they get up between 8 and 13 eggs...It's lot of work and you have to be home all day long...So you don't want to allow them to breed/mate...

***The other issue that you MUST deal with immediately is that you female went into Breeding-Season in the first place because of the male, and this will likely cause her to start laying Infertile Eggs if they haven't mated, or Fertile Eggs if they have...And she will continue to lay egg after egg after egg UNLESS YOU KNOCK HER OUT OF BREEDING SEASON by making sure she is in her own, individual cage and not housed with the male, you make sure she has NO NEST-BOX!!! As well as NO other types of Boxes, Tents, Beds, "Huts" (like the "Happy Huts" or "Snuggle Huts" or "Triangle Beds", they are called a lot of different names), no Hammocks, no Blankets, no Towels, etc. NO small, dark places that she can get inside of or underneath AT ALL, and also nothing in the bottom of her cage that resembles or can be used as a "Nesting-Material", such as any type of Animal-Bedding/Rodent-Bedding, Wood-Chips, Shredded-Paper, Corn-Cob Bedding, Crushed Walnut Shell Bedding, etc. Only sheets of Newspaper, Butcher Paper, or other sheets of paper or actual Bird-Cage Liners that you put UNDER the grate in the bottom of her cage...All of these things that give her a small, dark place to get underneath or inside of, as well as anything that looks like or can be used as Nesting-Material all cause their hormones to go crazy, putting them in Breeding-Season, keeping them there, and this will cause a female to start laying eggs...And laying clutches of eggs is extremely hard on a female Budgie, and can kill her by causing Malnutrition, Nutritional Deficiencies, and Egg-Binding, which is 100% fatal without medical-intervention once it happens...So this is why you need to keep the female in her own cage by herself, and also make sure that she has BOTH a Cuttlebone AND a Mineral Block inside of her cage at all times so that she gets as much Calcium, Phosphorous, Magnesium, etc. that she needs while she's hormonal, and just in case she starts laying eggs...If she does start laying eggs, you'll need to follow a plan to try to knock her out of Breeding-Season and stop her from laying clutch after clutch after clutch, because simply removing the eggs from her cage will only keep her laying more and more...

Hey I know you already realised that those aren’t my budgies, but I actually do have a bit of experience hand raising budgies. I have A LOT of budgerigars, and I have had them breed before. Around 4 times actually, never had any problems with that luckily. The crustyness on my budgie’s beak is very different from that of a breeding female, but there is a slight chance that this still might be what it is. This budgie has not shown any behaviours of a hormonal female, and is alone in a smaller cage (since I have no clue where this bird came from since he/she was found in a park being attacked by wild birds). I have had one of my budgies that is DEFINITELY a female visit this newer budgies cage, and they weren’t really acting like two females when interacting. But I also didn’t see any breeding behaviour between them. This new budgie’s cere is blue, but I can’t get a great look at it since he/she is very shy, and doesn’t like being looked at. I will try and see if I can post a photo

 

[Dragonloverjas]

Also, the Budgie behind your female is obviously a male....Are they housed together in the same cage? If so, then this is exactly what is causing her to go into Breeding-Season, and if they are mating/breeding you are going to get fertile-eggs; EVEN IF THEY AREN'T BREEDING/MATING, SHE IS PROBABLY GOING TO START LAYING INFERTILE-EGGS, WHICH IS VERY DANGEROUS FOR HER TO DO IF SHE CONTINUES TO LAY CLUTCH AFTER CLUTCH AFTER CLUTCH OF INFERTILE EGGS!!!

****I would advice you, highly advise you to NOT ALLOW YOUR BUDGIES TO BREED!!! I don't think you have any experience hand-raising or hand-feeding baby parrot chicks, and it's extremely common for Budgies to actually attack their babies, kill their babies, kick their babies out of the nest-box, or to refuse to feed the babies, and then you have to remove the babies from the nest-box, put them in a proper Brooder to keep them at the correct Ambient/Air Temperature for their level of feathering, and you must feed them hand-feeding formula that is always at the correct temperature range using a Cooking/Candy Thermometer, and do it every 2-3 hours INCLUDING OVERNIGHT up until they are 4 weeks old, and then you go to feeding them once every 3-4 hours during the day, and they can go 6 hours overnight without eating..Then at 5 weeks old and forward, up until they fully Abundance-Wean between 8-12 weeks old (you can't force them to wean), they need fed once every 4-5 hours during the day from that point until they start to Abundance wean themselves...It's not easy, it's difficult, you can kill them in any number of ways, and if you don't have a Brooder to keep them at the correct Air/Ambient Temperature they will develop a horrible Fungal/Yeast Infection in their Crops, then they need to go to an Avian Vet for diagnosis and prescription Anti-Fungal meds or they die, same thing happens if you don't have a proper Candy/Cooking Thermometer and keep the hand-feeding formula between 104 degrees F and 110 degrees F at all times...And you can very easily Aspirate formula into their lungs and kill them instantly...And Budgies often have very large clutches of eggs/babies, average is 6 eggs, but typically they get up between 8 and 13 eggs...It's lot of work and you have to be home all day long...So you don't want to allow them to breed/mate...

***The other issue that you MUST deal with immediately is that you female went into Breeding-Season in the first place because of the male, and this will likely cause her to start laying Infertile Eggs if they haven't mated, or Fertile Eggs if they have...And she will continue to lay egg after egg after egg UNLESS YOU KNOCK HER OUT OF BREEDING SEASON by making sure she is in her own, individual cage and not housed with the male, you make sure she has NO NEST-BOX!!! As well as NO other types of Boxes, Tents, Beds, "Huts" (like the "Happy Huts" or "Snuggle Huts" or "Triangle Beds", they are called a lot of different names), no Hammocks, no Blankets, no Towels, etc. NO small, dark places that she can get inside of or underneath AT ALL, and also nothing in the bottom of her cage that resembles or can be used as a "Nesting-Material", such as any type of Animal-Bedding/Rodent-Bedding, Wood-Chips, Shredded-Paper, Corn-Cob Bedding, Crushed Walnut Shell Bedding, etc. Only sheets of Newspaper, Butcher Paper, or other sheets of paper or actual Bird-Cage Liners that you put UNDER the grate in the bottom of her cage...All of these things that give her a small, dark place to get underneath or inside of, as well as anything that looks like or can be used as Nesting-Material all cause their hormones to go crazy, putting them in Breeding-Season, keeping them there, and this will cause a female to start laying eggs...And laying clutches of eggs is extremely hard on a female Budgie, and can kill her by causing Malnutrition, Nutritional Deficiencies, and Egg-Binding, which is 100% fatal without medical-intervention once it happens...So this is why you need to keep the female in her own cage by herself, and also make sure that she has BOTH a Cuttlebone AND a Mineral Block inside of her cage at all times so that she gets as much Calcium, Phosphorous, Magnesium, etc. that she needs while she's hormonal, and just in case she starts laying eggs...If she does start laying eggs, you'll need to follow a plan to try to knock her out of Breeding-Season and stop her from laying clutch after clutch after clutch, because simply removing the eggs from her cage will only keep her laying more and more...

here he is

 

[Dragonloverjas]

Oh Itzjbean, I didn't see that you posted that photo, I thought it was a photo of the OP's Budgies...Uhg...Well, I covered the bases anyway...Sorry about that, apologies to you and the OP if your Budgie actually isn't a female...

Haha you don't need to worry about that, the information you gave is very helpful anyways, and luckily I am already doing everything you said. Except I actually do keep all of my budgies together, but I keep a VERY close eye on them in breeding season. I am actually getting a really big walk in aviary for them all very soon, so I'm going to have to be very careful.