is my bird sick?

[Cathy11]

hi, my budgie, Dexter has some brown coloring or feathers or something just above her cere, is she sick? should i take her to a vet? her cere is mostly blue, and i know that means she is a he, but there is on one side of her cere there is a brown patch, what does this mean? they told me that Dexy was a girl, so is my birdie a girl or a boy and is she sick? thanks

[Monica]

How old is this bird??? This bird is most likely not very old since you didn't buy him not too long ago. Are you able to take a photograph??? Female budgies can have blue coloring on their ceres but their ceres do not look waxy or oily (shiny basically, unless extremely young). So is the cere shiny or is her cere white with blue??? If there is any white on her cere (nostrils) then she is deffinately a she. If there is no white and the cere is waxy in looks then you have a male.

If this budgie is under 5 months old then this could be a sign of scaley face mites or another illness. If the bird is 6 months to a year then it could be normal female maturing (less the beak is waxy of course). It may be best to get her checked out by an avian vet.

[Cathy11]

my bird is about 4 to 5 months old. her cere has blue on the lower part then it fades into blue. i'll try and get a picture. if she does have mites should i get her checked asap? thanks

[Monica]

I didn't quite understand what you have said about her cere but if indeed she has mites then you need to get her checked out by an avian vet to be sure and so that he or she can help you. There are mite protectors that can be bought in petstores though these are of little use...

[prncssjade]

If the feathers above her nostrils are stained brown then it is being caused by a nasal dicharge. This is a sign of a respitory infection. Is she sneezing more then usual? If this is the case you need to take her to an avian vet immediatly to be put on antibiotics. This may be the only sign that she's sick as birds will hide their illness until its too late. If you even suspect she's sick take her to the vet. It's well worth it in the end! This happened to my bird when I first got her and I was lucky to catch it early. Hope this helps!!

~Kristin~

[Cathy11]

oh no, it is stained brown just above her nostrils! she has been snezzing, is this really serious?
i'll get her to a vet asap

[prncssjade]

Originally Posted by Cathy11

oh no, it is stained brown just above her nostrils! she has been snezzing, is this really serious?
i'll get her to a vet asap

Yes!! Then she definitly has a respitory infection. Get her to a vet ASAP so they can put her on an antibiotic like Vetisulid Powder. Hopefully you have an avian vet in your area to look at her. Respitory infections for birds are deadly. Hope everything turns out ok. Keep us posted.

~Kristin~

[Cathy11]

you were right, i took her to the vet today and he said that dexy had an upper respitory infection. he gave this stuff to give her. i moved her cage to the living room because the room i had her in might be too small and maybe she caught something there. i hope she gets better. btw the vet said that dexy was a he!

[prncssjade]

I'm glad to hear that everything turned out ok. You're lucky you noticed the discoloration in time. I guess your bird's name is Dexter now...hahaha!

[Cathy11]

yeah, the vet said to bring him back in two weeks. i hope he gets better