# Cere crust and also not sure about the gender



## bradeac (Jun 5, 2021)

Hi everyone,

A few months ago I noticed that a crust appeared on the cere of my mother's budgie. I did some online research and found out that it can be caused by mites, so I took the little fella to the vet.

Unfortunately, we live in a rather small town in Romania, so there are no vets specialized in exotic birds here.

The vet applied some vitamin A on the cere and told us to get back a week later for another round of vitamin A. Meanwhile, we disinfected the cage and all the toys and also bought some vitamin drops that you put in the budgie's drinking water.

After 2 visits to the vet and constantly cleaning the cage thoroughly, the crust is still there. The little fella doesn't show any signs of being ill, but I have read that they tend to hide illness symptoms.

I'll attach a few photos with the crusty cere, and also one from about 2 years ago when we just got him.

Can you please suggest other stuff that we can try for the crusty cere ?

Oh and by the way, we are thinking that he is a boy, but we aren't 100% sure, maybe someone can give us an opinion about it based on the pictures.

Thanks a lot !  🐦

(He was eating some mashed potatoes in the first one )

















And the old photo:


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*Your budgie is a pretty little female. What is her name?

Female budgies' ceres become crusty when they are in breeding condition.
Make sure you do not stroke her back as that can stimulate her hormones.
Additionally, please never put anything in the cage which can be used as a nesting site. 
Females can lay eggs even when no male bird is present. You don't want that to happen as laying is very hard on the budgie's body.
Obviously the veterinarian which saw her had very little knowledge about budgies so you are definitely going to want to learn as much about them as possible. 

What are you feeding her?*
*A Healthy Diet for your Budgie*
*Quality Seed Mix*
*CuttleBones, Mineral Blocks and Manu Clay Roses*

*If she is getting a varied and healthy diet, there should be no need for supplemental vitamins.

Be careful that there is no overdose of the Vitamin A. *
*Vitamin A in Birds*

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

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.

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*

*List of Stickies*

*Posting on the Forums*

*Let's Talk Budgies!*

*FAQ*

*Articles*

*Be Prepared for Veterinary Care Expense*

*Avian First Aid*

*Quarantine IS Necessary!*

*A heartfelt plea to forum members new and old*

*Tips For Discouraging Breeding*

*Before You Ever Consider Breeding Your Budgies*

*Guidance for Breeding Advice Threads*

*Cage sizes.*

*Essentials to a Great Cage*

*Resource Directory*


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## ChickWas (May 6, 2021)

It's adorable seeing how worried you are about your little goofball, when the reality of the situation is your bird is just becoming a lady 😂 She's beautiful, by the way! Do you have any tips on how you stop her pooping all over your keyboard? My two love to drop bombs between my keys and it's a nightmare to clean up.


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

ChickWas said:


> It's adorable seeing how worried you are about your little goofball, when the reality of the situation is your bird is just becoming a lady 😂 She's beautiful, by the way! Do you have any tips on how you stop her pooping all over your keyboard? My two love to drop bombs between my keys and it's a nightmare to clean up.


*Please keep in mind that not all members have extensive experience with budgies. 

You can get clear plastic covers for your keyboard that allow you to type but are easy to clean.

I am SO glad when members are concerned about the health of their birds and want to do everything in their power to ensure their little one's health and well-being.
Well done to the Original Poster, bradeac. 💚💚*


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## bradeac (Jun 5, 2021)

Thank you both @FaeryBee and @ChickWas for the quick answers 

This is exactly why I brought up gender. I have read on the internet that the crusty cere is normal for a female budgie. The funny thing is that we were convinced we have a male budgie, the guy we got him from told us he is a male 



@FaeryBee regarding the diet, besides the seeds and the honey bars, we let the budgie eat from our plate whatever we are eating (obviously, with some exceptions, every time I'm not sure if something is good or not I google it). For example, potatoes are a favorite ! Also, when we are preparing food, he (I have to get used to using "she" from now on, haha) loves to eat some parsley, dill, or other green stuff we are using for the food. My mother also gives her boiled egg from time to time (another favorite food). We also give her fruits like apples, peaches, bananas and so on.
I also tried sweet potatoes (didn't like them), zucchini (that was good !), carrots (loves them !) and a whole other kinds of vegetables.

What I do know is that tomatoes aren't a good idea since they are acidic. And also onions, garlic, and uncooked meat are a big no-no.

Thank you for linking all those resources, I'll make sure I'll read them so we can take even better care of our budgie ! 




@ChickWas we love him (actually, it's 'her' now ) very much so we got concerned once the crust appeared.

About the keyboard, when I see that she is starting to walk on the keyboard, I just get my hand in front of her and she jumps on the hand and then I take her to a different part of the desk. I also don't want scooping poops between the keys . Otherwise, when I'm not at the computer, she's just not interested in the keyboard at all.

I'm pretty happy I found this forum and that there are a lot of knowledgeable people around here. As you saw, there aren't any budgie experts where I'm living, so stumbling upon all this information is super nice !


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## FaeryBee (May 9, 2011)

*You may find this link helpful:
*
*Safe Foods for Budgies*


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## Budgiecat2 (Aug 6, 2020)

Your girl is just so cute!


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## obxdiva (Aug 11, 2020)

What a BEAUTIFUL little.friend!!! She looks like she had yellow watercolor splashed on her bright green. Just gorgeous. ☺


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Welcome to the forums! 

She's an absolutely gorgeous little girl! 

You've gotten great advice and resources above from FaeryBee. Please be sure to read through all the links and other information provided to ensure you're up to date on the best of budgie care practices! If you have any questions after doing so, please be sure to ask as we'd love to help. 

We hope to see you around, and please keep us posted on how things go! Hope to see more of her around here 

Cheers 👋


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