Staining Above Cere

[2pedersens 0]

Dukie has had some faint staining above her cere for the past week. Today when we came home from work and school, it was very very obvious. The other bird on the left has just the faintest of staining and our yellow based budgie has none. I haven't seen or heard any coughing, seen any discharge and all three are active and flying. Any suggestions? Does this warrant a vet trip? Thanks!

 

 

 

 

[**KAZ** 0]

This usually indicates a respiratory aggravation. Either something upsetting the birds breathing like vapours or a respiratory illness. A serious respiratory illness would also have discharge from nostrils and tail pumping when breathing and after exercise.

[Guest K&M Breeding]

it is also a sign of Vitamin A Deficiency

 

the way i determine which it is, is if the bird shows no signs of Respiratory problems - hard tail bobbing, heavy breathing even when not active, liquid coming out of the nostrils, etc Then it is most likely Vitamin A Deficiency

 

when I got my first budgie way back when he had the brown stains, But no signs of a respiratory problem.so i started feeding him foods high in Vitamin A - Carrots is what I choose in about a week to 2 weeks the staining was gone and has never came back - but now he (nor the rest of my birds) will touch a carrot with a 10 foot pole , BUT they don't know i sneak it into their birdie bread and they devour that

[Lozza 0]

Hi guys, sorry to take over the thread, but one of my budgies has similar staining to this, but i do feed them carrot regularly. Her staining is more orange and goes around her mouth too - would this be because of her messy eating? She isnt sick in any other way. Pretty sure im worried over nothing

[Guest K&M Breeding]

Hi guys, sorry to take over the thread, but one of my budgies has similar staining to this, but i do feed them carrot regularly. Her staining is more orange and goes around her mouth too - would this be because of her messy eating? She isnt sick in any other way. Pretty sure im worried over nothing

 

that sounds like staining from the carrots, or any Orange colored toys she may have

 

Mine get green stains around the corners of their beak, tip of the beak and sometimes their "chin" from eating Green leafy foods like kale

Edited May 13, 2011 by K&M Breeding

[2pedersens 0]

Hi,

 

I posted a few weeks ago regarding staining above the cere in one of the hens we have. We started putting carrots in with their food and supplementing with vitamins in their water as one member suggested that it may be due to vitamin A deficiency. However she still has some staining. We don't have any perfumes, candles or air fresheners in our house. Do any of the other budgies look as though they have respiratory issues? I also have another question regarding breeding conditions. Wiggers' cere changed to that crusty brown color (which I assumed indicated she was going into breeding condition) for about a month. It's now regaining it's prior coloration, but the cere looks as though it's peeling and when viewed from a side profile the darker area on her cere looks like it's bulging. We've not experience breeding conditions in our hens before, so I don't know if this is normal.

 

Thanks,

 

Jen

 

 

Here is all three of them. The flash washed out some of the discoloration on the bottom right hen's cere. She's also moulting so she's been looking scruffy.

 

 

A closer view of Wigger's cere.

 

 

 

You can just visualize the bulge of her cere. It's not incredibly noticeable until you are up close to her.

[**KAZ** 0]

Peeling off the brown part of the cere is normal. Its part of going in and out of condition. There is nothing unusual about her cere.

 

 

 

 

PS re vitamin A deficiency and staining above the cere. I do NOT believe that staining above the cere is due to a vitamin A deficiency. In consult with a well respected avian vet on this vitamin A deficiency once he stated that you will see feather issues, flakiness and powdered down flaking off...in short snowflake dandruff type effects coming off the bird with relation to vitamin A defiency NOT staining above the cere.

Edited June 2, 2011 by **KAZ**

[2pedersens 0]

Thanks Kaz. Looks like we will be taking her in to the vet then and see what they say.

[**KAZ** 0]

Sometimes, if all other respiratory issues have been resolved you may find a small respiratory issue has been caused by aspiration of food or water at some point. This can cause an infection in the lungs that will show by staining near the nostrils and tail bobbing if bad enough. Aspiration can happen when a bird is fed ( either food or meds or water ) from a syringe. Some birds actually dunk their heads/ beaks and nostrils under when drinking from a large water dish ( why drinkers are a better idea ). An infection due to aspiration can go on for a long time if untreated.

Edited June 2, 2011 by **KAZ**

[sparky,snowflake,and ben 0]

i have a female budgie who until recently was pretty normal. she started molting and her and my male bred. i dont think it was successful since she never laid an egg but now she is laying completely flat on her belly for most of the day. she has a very faint yellow staining above her cere. tail bobbing and seems to be having difficulty flying. I seperated her from the male in fear of her being sick and spreading it to him. im worried about her but she seems to eat and drink like normal. i know they miss each other as i put the cages close enough they can chirp at each other and not be too lonely. the male has now started humping EVERYTHING in the cage. could the female just be egg bound? if so what should i do? im use to Big parrots not small budgies but i love my birds and want to help them. am i over reacting and shes just ready for round two of the male or am i justified in thinking she may be sick? please help