Not Normal??

[Sylvie]

Hey I think there might be something wrong with one of my birds. Lulu has feathers sort of hanging over one of her eyes and also her cere is starting to grow kind of outwards. I'm not very sure if this is normal cuz none of my other budgies are like this. Also she is a lot less active than the other birdies.

Thnx.

[Lace]

hmmm well does it seem that whats around the eyes is like crust? Cus it sounds like the poor dear has mites. :( If this is what i think it is, take her to an avian vet and have him put invermectin drops on the the areas to ride her of the scaley mites. plus, if you have other budgies, i suggest you seperate her from them till she is better for scaley mites can be contagious. You only have to continue to get the drop once every 6 or so weeks and soon it should clear up ^^ Good luck dear!

[Budgiekin]

Hmmm....are you able to post a picture of your sweety? It's hard to tell what may be the problem with just a description.

Is there crusty material developing around her cere? If so, Lace may be correct in saying your little sweety has mites. With mites, the crusty material begins to look sort of honeycomb-like in appearance. It can spread from the cere to the eyes and to the legs as well.

Here is a picture of my budgie Skyla who had mites shortly after I first got her:
http://i7.tinypic.com/21e4zrc.jpg

I would bring Lulu to an avian vet to have her checked out since you sound concerned. Ivermectin is an inexpensive treatment for mites, so bringing her to the vet won't put you in the poor house! If she does in fact have mites, you will definitely want to get it treated since if left untreated, mites can cause severe beak deformities and eventually prevent your budgie from eating properly.

If you need to find an avian vet in your area, you can try looking one up here:

http://www.aav.org/vet-lookup/

Has Lulu had a CHANGE in her activity level? If she is not as active as your other birdies, then that would be cause for concern. If she is as active as she has always been, then that is not likely a reason to be concerned, unless she was showing other signs of illness like runny droppings, sitting fluffed up, sleeping all the time, not eating....

[Amy]

I agree with the others, your little girl may have mites. Not to worry, it can be cured. Am I right in thinking that removing her from the others is a good idea otherwise they will also be infected? A picture might be useful.

Take her to the vets and she will soon recover. Good Luck!