# Crusty nose female budgie



## evi<3birds (9 mo ago)

hello everyone,
my budgie (female, got her in oct 2020 she was a few weeks old then) is living in her cage with a male budgie (got him around same time as her) and her nose has grown crusty and weirdly colored??
















(this is her)
im only 15 so i dont have a lot of animal-care-taking experience and i dont know if i should be worried or not? please reply and thank u in advance!!

(excuse me if my english isnt great, im dutch so its not my native language)


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

She is a beautiful lady. Nothing to worry about, the change in her cere is due to hormones. When a female begins to come into breeding condition the cere will begin to turn brown and can also thicken, this is also due to estrogen. Thickening of the cere is termed cere hypertrophy and is a build up of keratin, nothing to be done unless one of the nares becomes blocked by the overgrowth, then you would need to take her to the vet to have the blockage cleared.


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## evi<3birds (9 mo ago)

Cody said:


> She is a beautiful lady. Nothing to worry about, the change in her cere is due to hormones. When a female begins to come into breeding condition the cere will begin to turn brown and can also thicken, this is also due to estrogen. Thickening of the cere is termed cere hypertrophy and is a build up of keratin, nothing to be done unless one of the nares becomes blocked by the overgrowth, then you would need to take her to the vet to have the blockage cleared.


thank you so much for your reply! now i can rest easy heh


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## Cody (Sep 5, 2013)

Since you have a mixed gender pair you need to be aware of how to prevent unwanted breeding, please read through this link When We Don't Want Eggs!


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*As you have a mixed gender pair, it is extremely important that you do everything necessary to prevent breeding.*
*A Heartfelt Plea to All Members*
*Tips For Discouraging Breeding*
*Before You Ever Consider Breeding Your Budgies*
*Guidance for Breeding Advice Threads*

*Rearranging their cage frequently will help tremendously.
Please be sure you never put a nest box or anything that could be used as a nesting site in their cage.
When they come into condition, you need to limit the light they get to 8 hours a day and limit the amount of protein in their diet.

The purpose of this forum is to promote the BEST PRACTICES in the care of budgies for their optimal Health and Well-Being*
*Locating an Avian Veterinarian*

*A Healthy Diet for your Budgie*
*Quality Seed Mix*
*CuttleBones, Mineral Blocks and Manu Clay Roses*
*Safe Foods for Budgies*
*The Truth about GRIT*

*Please take the time to read through the Site Guidelines, the FAQs, the Budgie Articles and all of the Stickies located at the top of each section of the forum.*

*Truly, the very BEST advice anyone can offer you is to take the time to read ALL of the stickies throughout the various Talk Budgie forums as well as the Budgie Articles we have posted.
(Stickies are threads “stuck” at the top of each forum sub-section)
These are great resources for Talk Budgie members and have a wealth of reliable information which will assist you to learn the best practices in caring for your budgies for their optimal health and well-being.*

*SITE GUIDELINES*
*Posting on the Forums*
*Let's Talk Budgies!*
*FAQ*
*Articles*
*Be Prepared for Veterinary Care Expense*
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*A Heartfelt Plea to All Members*
*Tips For Discouraging Breeding*
*Before You Ever Consider Breeding Your Budgies*
*Guidance for Breeding Advice Threads*
*Cage sizes.*
*Essentials to a Great Cage*
*Dangers to Pet Birds*
*Resource Directory*


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## evi<3birds (9 mo ago)

FaeryBee said:


> *As you have a mixed gender pair, it is extremely important that you do everything necessary to prevent breeding.*
> *A Heartfelt Plea to All Members*
> *Tips For Discouraging Breeding*
> *Before You Ever Consider Breeding Your Budgies*
> ...


when you say limit their sunlight hours, what do you mean by that? as in closing curtains or moving the cage to a dark room?


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Cage should be in a dark room. Cover the top, three sides and 1/3 of the way down the front of the cage.
Ensure you have a dim night light on in the room to help prevent night frights.*


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