Hi Everyone,

 

Sunny is my new budgie. We went to someone's house and found him there all scared... it turned out the current owner needed a home for this little guy... We think he is a year old... but his eyes still didn't change... although his cere did. His friend died because of noise and fumes. They renovated the new house and he was left behind the back door. Never saw the light of day or had any civil contact. He was so scared when we saw him. Not even a blanket for the little guy or a toy, just two Finch size perches . He is now with us for about two weeks and already responding to the step-up command. Although I think he is responding out of fear. We bought him mullet and lots of toys and lots of perches... He is a sweet little guy and soft hearted... but very scared. We hope he would want us to be his best friends as much as we want him to be our best friend. Luckily I have lots of patience and time on hand as I am still a full time student. Let's hope he will do well. I have a few photos. Please tell me what you think... I am wondering if he is not some type of albino and if his cere is showing signs of bad health maybe?

 

 

 

 

http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr30/va...ny/Closeup1.jpg

 

Can you see it now?

Edited October 20, 200816 yr by KAZ
One picture changed to a link due to oversize

I can see your pictures, but dont really feel confident to answer your questions. I dont think the cere shows ill health, but I have been told a browny/blue cere can show an imbalance of hormones, which doesnt really mean anything except problems when it comes to breeding possibly and as you obviously have taken him as a pet that wont matter It looks like you have made a lovely home for him/her and I am sure you will be rewarded with love and trust in time. It sounds like you are doing well with training, because if he isnt panicking and flying around like a mad thing when you put your hand near him, thats a good start :party0011: Good luck with Sunny and its great he has found a loving, caring home who will enrich his life with out of cage time and toys to explore :party0011:

Hi Everyone,

 

Sunny is my new budgie. We went to someone's house and found him there all scared... it turned out the current owner needed a home for this little guy... We think he is a year old... but his eyes still didn't change... although his cere did. His friend died because of noise and fumes. They renovated the new house and he was left behind the back door. Never saw the light of day or had any civil contact. He was so scared when we saw him. Not even a blanket for the little guy or a toy, just two Finch size perches . He is now with us for about two weeks and already responding to the step-up command. Although I think he is responding out of fear. We bought him mullet and lots of toys and lots of perches... He is a sweet little guy and soft hearted... but very scared. We hope he would want us to be his best friends as much as we want him to be our best friend. Luckily I have lots of patience and time on hand as I am still a full time student. Let's hope he will do well. I have a few photos. Please tell me what you think... I am wondering if he is not some type of albino and if his cere is showing signs of bad health maybe?

 

Sunny is lovely........looks very healthy. Cere colour is an imbalance thing, definitely to do with upset hormones....can be associated with testicular cancer in older birds

( assuming it is a boy which appears to be )

Definitely NOT albino. Has the look of a recessive pied but not the correct cere colour. DF dom pied maybe but need a photo of its back ? Iris rings ? not on the only side we can see....DF dom pied can have iris rings one side and not the other. Spangle recessive pied maybe...but again cere colour is hiding that.

No iris rings on the other eye either. I will take a photo of his back tomorrow. Thanks so far! I'm so excited to hear that he appears to look o.k.

Well Done for taking him in .... That cage is an awesome set up and her has free time ... "HATS OFF MATE" Great job ...

 

 

What a spunk too i might add ..... The cere is showing sign ..... of health issues ...

I am leaning towards Spangle rec pied ..... I am ruling out the cere - How is he health wise ...

I have one which I posted about recently who looked as though he had no iris rings, it was only when I held a very bright light right near his face that I could see the faintest ones right on the edges, somethimes they can be very hard to see

He's beautiful! That cere is nothing like anything I've ever seen. It almost reminds me of a blood blister. I had a boy whose cere went brown once and then died soon after (at that time i'd never heard of the hormone imbalance thing), and it didn't look like that. Could it be a girl underneath whatever that reddish purple colour is? Because the top looks fairly white.

Oh, O.K, I will take a very good look tomorrow... (little guy is asleep now... cause it is night time in Canada :party0011: ) and then I will get back to you on that.

 

So on the cere... does that mean if he has cancer his life expectancy might be shorter? (I will try and find a post on that topic though). He is a bit quiet, but I thought it was due to the fact that he might be new. He has started playing with the balls hanging underneath each other, in his cage (also talks to it, hehehe, he even pretends that he is putting them in their place because they have misbehaved! And then he does talk a lot (budgie talk of course)... especially when hubby comes to sit and chat with me in the room here with him (boy he can chat up a storm). He loves flying around. He has learnt sounds (that I make already...) whistling types. He didn't strike me as having ill health... but then, you never know with these guys, they can just pretend till it is too late for them!

If he has been neglected it also could be to do with poor diet and lighting conditions (eg, being kept in the dark more than he should could possibly affect hormone levels), it will be interesting to see if it rights itself in the next week or so.

 

To give you an idfea with the iris rings this is my boy, he is a normal green so definately not recessive peid or anything like that:

 

 

I thought I was going crazy until I held a light very close and then could see them very faintly.

Edited October 20, 200816 yr by melbournebudgies

I have looked at his eyes. But really can't see any iris rings. Must say I never thought that this is normal in budgies. I thought it shows that he is still a baby or an albino... You can tell that I still have LOTS to learn eh? I used the web cam to take a photo of his back. Sorry for the bad quality.

 

His droppings is a 100% fine. I can not detect ill health there either. His feet and nails are fine. He is molting a bit now. But not on his head yet. Just normal feathers. They all look fine as well. Not too many lost. He came to sit close to the computer today on his own. I just love it when he does that. He likes the window a lot.

He's a yf blue df dom pied and maybe spangle or opaline also.

He's very pretty :hi:

Try switching his plastic and dowel perches for some natural branches if you can

I have looked far and wide here in Calgary... and have asked the pet shop owners. There is so far not one pet shop that have natural wood perches and swings. They are all plastic. And the worst is, I can see he doesn't like his current swing. I wouln't either. I would have to make an effort with the advice on the natural branches. I'm a bit scared, because I don't know which will be safe for the little guy and which gives off fumes that might irritate him. I'll have to search a bit. I'm not familiar with tree names and types. So this learning curve will be steep!

 

It's all worht it for my little bird though.

Edited October 21, 200816 yr by Montie

This link is a great help. it gives all the safe and toxic plants ----> Here

Oh thanks a million! You are the best!

I have looked far and wide here in Calgary... and have asked the pet shop owners. There is so far not one pet shop that have natural wood perches and swings. They are all plastic. And the worst is, I can see he doesn't like his current swing. I wouln't either. I would have to make an effort with the advice on the natural branches. I'm a bit scared, because I don't know which will be safe for the little guy and which gives off fumes that might irritate him. I'll have to search a bit. I'm not familiar with tree names and types. So this learning curve will be steep!

 

It's all worht it for my little bird though.

I notice that you say you are from Calgary, have you tried this place Parrotdise perch? It is located in Calgary and they have a ton of natural perches, rope perches. You can even order online, this is where l order heaps of stuff for my bugies

Oh thanks a MILLION! I have just spent half the day drooling over some of the stuff! Will most definitely give them a visit!

Edited October 27, 200816 yr by KAZ

Yesterday I noticed for the first time that it seems as if the brown on his cere is busy peeling off. It might be wishful thinking, but the right side is almost completely blue. And the left side has still got lots of brown, but with tiny white "crack" appearances in it. So I will take a photo as soon as he will allow me, and then I will show you guys. Maybe we have got an improvement. The only thing (except for the light that he gets now during the day) that is different is he is eating LOTS and LOTS of mullet as if it is going out of fashion. I did notice now that his apatite has improved… although, no fruits or veggies yet). But maybe that is just because he LOVES the mullet so much!

 

I hope we have made a real cock out of this budgie... All fingers crossed!

Sunny doesn't look like a young bird to me. You have a yellow face double factor dominant pied or possibly a combination of recessive and dominant pied types. I don't think that iris rings, which would help in estimating the age, will develop. The cere is definately a sign of sexual ill health or hormonal imbalance, but if it is peeling it is a sign of recovery. Apart from the cere it sounds very healthy in every other way. The best of luck with a beautiful bird

Whohoo! I got the pictures. Cere from all possible sides. As you can see his right side (our left) have almost got no more brown on it. I hope that in the next few days it might be all gone. The other crusty bits ons his left (our right) are still sticking, but it is peeling from the top to ghe bottom. He looks as if he is recovering from surgery. I will give him another month and then I will post pictures again. Maybe the little guy is really improving!

 

I am so excited, as he is such a sweet little thing. He is very soft hearted. I love him so much already!

I really apologize for the bad quality, but this is the best I can do.

Edited October 26, 200816 yr by Montie

Males with ceres turning brown usually as Neville said is an imbalance in male hormones and sometimes is an indication of a testicular tumor or imbalance, taking him to an avain vet will be your best bet.

Great news... he is really recovering. His cere is almost completely blue. It seems as if there is only a "clear powder" of brown on his cere left . I will post pictures as soon as it is all gone. You guys will not believe the difference a day and a week can make! :chickendance: :yes: :bliss:

 

I'm so happy I am doing the jiggy here on this side! I have now started to hold the mullet while he is eating it. I leave it at a spot where he can see it all the time, and then hold it for him a few seconds every time I get a chance.

 

Since Mister here seemed to have perked up a bit, we have also discovered out vocal cords! :doh: Yes! Mister here is screaming like mad at times! Like a real budgie must do . I think he is now in his terrible twos and I am just trying to ignore it! But since it is bringing me back from the dead sometimes... it is difficult!

 

I just love this little bundle of joy. After I held some mullet for him just now, he started to make soft baby wining sounds. It was so cute!

 

Thank you to every one for every bit of advice. I am sure that if he has cancer, he will perk down again. So I will have to keep a close eye on him anyway. But for now it seems more light and diet has done the trick. I will try and not think about his cancer... I read here on the forum that one can not do anything about it anyway. Just have him put down when his suffering gets worse. But, since just the thought of that makes me break into tears... for now I will make as if it is only diet and light and then tackle the decision when it arises. (Sometimes ignorance is bliss).

okay. So here is some of the proof!

This is what we started off with:

 

And this is what we have now:

and the happy camper himself:

 

Couldn't get him to loose the feather on his nose...

Great! Thanks for the pics! They look fantastic!