I got Sherbie and Sparky 10th Dec - 2 1/2 months ago, and the entire time I have had her, her cere has been crusty brown. Is it normal for them to stay in breeding condition for this long? There has been no attempt at breeding and I haven't put anything in the cage to encourage it, and she is in with 3 males, so how long would it be before her cere returns to the normal pinkish colour that females have??

Females of breeding age won't have pinkish ceres, so it shouldn't be that color again. Mine are always in breeding condition, so I don't think there is a set time for it to last. I only have 4 hens now, and all of them always have brown crusty ceres. They've not been around a male budgie for 9 months. Skittles is 5 years old, and she has only not been in breeding condition once and that was shortly after her second clutch of babies had hatched. Her cere turned a light tannish white color for about 4 or 5 weeks, then went back to crusty brown once they had fledged and she wasn't feeding them anymore. It won't hurt them to be in breeding mode, it just means estrogen levels are high.

I just wish that Crusty Brown Ceres meant Breeding condition.

I have a number of hens in this condition but it means they are past the breeding condition. When the cere is turning tan from a bluish colour is when the hens are comming into condition.

Daz, doesn't that mean brown is breeding condition if tan is coming into breeding condition? The cere color is a result of the levels of estrogen in the hens body. As the color changes, estrogen levels are either rising or falling depending upon which way the color is going. At a constant level the color remains the same. Past breeding condition would mean the color of the cere is fading due to falling levels of estrogen.

I always thought that but have been told that the time to pair them is when the cere is changing to tan. When it goes crusty brown it's too late.

 

I'd be interested in Hath's opinion on this.

Patty has had a crusty brown cere since she was about 6 months old she is nearly 3 now!

Coco is always in breeding condition, she is laying on 5 unfertilized eggs right now! And remember Star, she was in breeding condition 365 days a year! I have nightmares about eggs But to calm everybody down, we have determined that my budgies are very strange and this is not the norm. My avian vet and I are trying a different strategy with Coco. :ausb:

Edited March 1, 200718 yr by Phoebe

I don't know about that not being the norm, LOL. Skittles is 5 and has always been in "breeding condition" with the exception of a few weeks. The babies are 3 now, and the hens have always been "in condition" since puberty. I think it is normal.

:ausb: But you don't have THOSE eggs happening, do you Rainbow?

brown crusty ceres are the end of breeding condition and they will breed but to catch them in peak breeding condition pair them up when the cere is turning tan

 

birds that are kept in the house will probably bein bsome state of breeding condition all the time as temp and light seed and water does not change

But you don't have THOSE eggs happening, do you Rainbow? :ausb:

 

 

LOL, No I don't! But there are no little boy budgies to really get things going either. Although 2 of my hens have begun to feed each other *sigh* and that is a bit unusual for them...but this is the first time I have been without any male budgies for years. It could be a normal outlet for them now.

 

brown crusty ceres are the end of breeding condition and they will breed but to catch them in peak breeding condition pair them up when the cere is turning tan

 

birds that are kept in the house will probably bein bsome state of breeding condition all the time as temp and light seed and water does not change

 

That makes quite a bit of sense, hath. If you pair them up when the cere is tan changing to chocolate brown, by the time they mate and eggs are laid, estrogen levels will be pretty high. I had not really factored in the constants of 'indoor temps' and light cycles. All those things contribute, don't they? LOL the only thing I had factored in before was the constant water running from the washer right outside their room! (Although without the males around they are not nearly as broody, thank goodness, as I can't change where the washer is located!)

This is why we don't pair them if they are chocolate brown. It is too late. I have never had a hen in this condition go to nest. :ausb:

This is why we don't pair them if they are chocolate brown. It is too late. I have never had a hen in this condition go to nest.

 

i have had them go to nest but have had poor results

Hmmmm....that's how I got my babies....!! For first-time parents I thought they did really well.