Cere Changing color when older

[Chrissi]

Hi there! I'm looking for some help with my budgie. We have had Fry for over a year. Since we got him his cere has been blue. Recently the color has been changing to brown. When I spoke to people in the pet store who are very farmiliar with birds, they told me it was one of two things: Either he didn't have a mate to impress so the color was fading, or he wasn't getting enough vitamins. Fry is only on a seed diet, as I cannot seem to convince him to try any other foods. We did put some vitamins on his seed and it seemed to help. Last week we went away on vacation and left Fry in the care of my parents. Unfortunately they ignored my directions and gave him mostly treat seeds instead of his food as well. When we got back his cere was now completely brown and looked a bit flaky/crusty. I have tried to attach two pictures, one of before and one I took today. If it doesnt post I will try again. Any suggestions as to what could be the problem and how i can fix this? Thanks!

[Jess89]

what is happening- is your budgie is maturing. All budgies are born with the same coloured cere which is a light whitish-pinkish-blue colour.

When budgies mature their cere changes colours depending on their sex. Female budgies have brown and male budgies have a darker blue.

So.. this just means that Fry is a girl ^_^ so theres nothing to worry about!

You might want to take a look at this page:
About Budgies

[Ashling]

"Either he didn't have a mate to impress so the color was fading, or he wasn't getting enough vitamins."
What!? lol yeah you have a girl budgie.

[Jess89]

Lol ashling thats what i thought... some people in pet shops know NOTHING lol

[Chrissi]

Well if we are done insulting the only person who has actually tried to help me.. If you read my whole post the cere is flaky/crusty. That was my concern. I have since spritzed Fry with water as he enjoys and some of the brown color has come off on the edges but it is still brown in the middle. I could be wrong but I assume that if Fry was a girl the cere would not flake the brown color off. Does anyone have some information about what it could be and what I can do to help him?

[Kiwi08]

I am 99% sure Fry is a girl. The same thing happened with one of my budgies. When I got her (which I thought was a boy at the time!), her cere was light blue, same as in your picture. When she was around 1 year old it started turning brown. As she goes through seasons her cere has changed back to a lighter color, then gone back to the rough brown (depends on hormones). Also the cere on a female can get a buildup and flake off. Its happened to all my females...so its normal!

[Chrissi]

Thanks kiwi. Really appreciate your information. That was really helpful information!

[Ashling]

Indeed the brown and flakiness is your female budgie maturing. Try her on sprouts, millet, untreated (no pesticides) grass seed etc for extra variety of foods if you're worried about natural vitamin intake.

[Monica]

She's a very gorgeous budgie!!!

I've got an thread in my signature that may be of help to you! Check it out! Here's the link for ya!
Sexing Budgies (helpful guide using 3 of my budgies)

And the following page has many great photos that show the difference between males and females!
Keeping Budgies; Sexing Your Budgerigar