Hi everyone, I am abit confused about one of my birds, Kit. I have had it for a week now and when I brought it home it's cere was mostly brown with a slight blue tinge above the nostrils now it looks like this

Much to the disgust of them all I caught a few that I knew the sex of and had a feel of the vents, boys and girls and Kits did feel more like the girls than the boys but I may be wrong.

If it is a girl like I am hoping then is something wrong?

It is very blue for a hen out of condition

 

To me my first thought was its a male out of condition..... but i really dont know

I am sure someone else will know

It is a hard one. Correct it is too blue for a hen out of condition BUT the top reddish layer is actually peeling away like it does once the hen is out of breeding condition.

Males ceres when they have hormonal issues or testicular cancer can have that two colour cere happening and so does the DF dominant pieds have a two coloured cere. BUT in both those cases the cocks cere is two colours and smooth not flaking away like this ones is.

So, at the risk of being totally wrong....I say HEN

Did you use a flash when you took the picture??

yes I used a flash I tried taking one with out but its a bit fuzzy

I saw this bird in the shop for a couple of weeks before I got it and I could swear the cere was really brown but since I got her the colour has been changing

should I be worried?

any ring on the bird? might give a better idea of age. I agree that the cere is too dark blue for a hen out of condition but doesn't mean this one couldn't still be a hen. (there is always an exeption to the rule)

This is tooo Easy...

It is a hermaphrodite ... An Sheman if you will

 

 

 

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okay Sorry it wasn't much help, BUT YOU NEVER NEVER know

It is a hermaphrodite

 

You never know - it could happen

When I was working as a vet nurse someone brought their pup in for desexing and when we opened her up she had male and female internal organs so you never know

Put her in a breeding cage with a cock if they have egg then you have a hen sorry not much help pretty face for a Budgie however.

Looks like a Hen going out of breeding I have had 1 hen that was alot bluer then the other girls - But this one is Boy blue, If you have concerns take her down to a vet and have a look ......

I am thinking on the lines of what Kaz said male ceres can turn brown if they have testicular problems, instead of guessing I would take him to the vet to get him checked out.

I had a hen who laid and raised two clutches. She then became unwell over time, and her cere went blue. I took her to my avian vet, and it turns out she had ovarian cancer. Something to do with the hormones related to it changed her cere. She had to be put down. I hope this is not the case with your budgie.

okay thanks guys, I think I will look up a vet near me and see what they say, heres hoping it's just a hen that likes to be different

Was he in with a heap of other males????? As a submissive male budgie cere can turn brown to show he isn't a threat to the others ...

Was he in with a heap of other males????? As a submissive male budgie cere can turn brown to show he isn't a threat to the others ...

 

might have been not really sure

I had one like this too. Well at first it was the dark brown so i put it in a cabinet with a male and then it turned bright blue exactly like yours and i thought i had put to boys together but after i took her out and put her in the flight it changed back and she laid an egg! So i would say hen also.

I also thought hen out of condition, but, as others have said a change in the balance of sex hormones such as tumours of the testicle or ovary can cause a cere to change dramatically.

 

When you do see a vet make sure it is an avian (bird) vet, as a normal small animal vet would not know as much and won't have tests readily available to them.

Any updates

well Kit's cere turned completely blue (dark like my other boy in condition) and has stayed that way so I am guessing that she is a he, It was really wierd though cause i had seen him in the shop for a few weeks beforehand and could have sworn the cere was brown so unless it has one of the conditions mentioned before then its a boy, he seems healthy and happy though

Hi I think tis budgie is a boy because the cere is more blue then brown.

Edited September 29, 200816 yr by **Liv**

Hi everyone, a few weeks ago I was out feeding the birds and checking them over as I do, I looked them all over and had to do a double take when I came to Kit, the cere is turning brown :sadsorry: okay this is abit strange so I have kept an eye on Kit for the last couple of weeks and watched it changing colour. I was out there today and it looks just like it did in the shop so I took a picture to show you what I mean

up close it is not completely brown, there is still tinges of blue at the top.

I think i have 1 very confused budgie

Did you end up taking him/her to a vet?

No he/she seems happy and healthy and when the cere turned completely blue the first time and stayed that way for ages i figured I would let it be.