Advice please?!

[pistachio]

Hi, my budgie hen's cere has developed a small amount of blue on it, she is currently raising chicks. I read that this means she is losing breeding condition and will not be able to feed her babies, is this true? What should I do? 

[nadi75]

Hi i hope you don't mind me following your post,my hen has 3 2wk old chicks and yesterday i noticed her cere was turning blue to 🤔 they have calcivet in the water as 1 chick has splayed legs, they also have vionate in there food and cuttlefish and iodine. She is looking after the chicks very well upto now and seems healthy in herself but now I'm wandering if she is ok.

[Marianne Marlow]

clt80 skysmum You have had budgies that bred, does the hens cere going blue mean anything when she's raising chicks?

It's not something I have heard of.

[clt80]

What colour is here cere normally when she is not in breeding condition? Is it brown or a bluey white colour?

My hen's cere stayed brown throughout but her cere was always brown and went crusty when she was in season.

[clt80]

Oh I'm sorry, you've posted a picture above, only just realised.

I have a hen Mabel who after breeding condition, so after it's gone crusty and dark brown, it flakes off and it's blue underneath. Not bright blue like a males but pale blue/white. For her that is normal.

If it looks a different colour to what her cere normally is when she's not in breeding condition I'd maybe call your vet and ask for advice.

[skysmum]

You have to be watchful if they start to come out of breeding condition and have young, they can start to reject or even attack them. Have some hand feeding formula on hand just in case. Both of these girlslook to be coming out of breeding condition.

[pistachio]

Thanks, I have some handfeeding formula on hand and I will continue to monitor the hen

[clt80]

If she stops feeding the chicks Dad should be able to take over.