Noticed new behavior

[beeali]

Hello~ I noticed one of my older budgies doing this for a long amount of time today as well as opening /closing his beak...he's done it before but usually a few seconds and I read this is normal ..but today it was continuous for minutes and minutes ? Should I be worried? 

photos.app.goo.gl/wcqkVPRiq25kXcfx9

[Hezz]

For starters that bird is a hen, (unless the cere has previously been dark blue and this is a male with testicular cancer) and secondly what was the temperature when this was happening? Looks like it could be a bird who is overly hot, but she is standing up high on her toes. Have you tried anything? Tried cooling her down? If this continues, please get her to a vet asap.

[beeali]

omygodness cancer? I had no idea that was something they could get ..I'm pretty sure he's he :c, he has a mate, and she laid eggs...this was in June...I never noticed the change in color?. My family got them while I was away in university I think 3 years ago now and only since I graduated and returned home have I taken over their care 100% because I noticed they really weren't doing the best job at it :c the earliest picture I have of him is from April and it already looked brown? He's still eating and playing although I did notice he's not as active as the others but I just figured it was because he was older in age...His name is Shadow though I call him Pops sometimes...I read there really isn't much you can do if it is cancer right?...right now sadly I can't afford the vet which is why I'd been working even harder to take good care of them ...
edit* i asked my sister and she has a picture from last year where it was brown as well? she says she thinks its been brown since she can remember so now I'm confused maybe I got the genders mixed up? but his mate's cere is white/tan and I read thats a female cere color
I really appreacite your advice, thank you so much



July



the mate


him (?) with their baby :c

[Hezz]

Are you saying that this bird and another had a clutch?? I'm not reading that wrongly? If so, do you know for sure who laid the egg(s)? Are these your only birds, and the only matching that could have had happened?

If this is the case, and the other budgie laid the eggs, there are two possible scenarios for for male to show a hormonal hen coloured cere. The first is what I first mentioned, your male (if indeed a male) has some sort of testicular problem going on, most usually testicular cancer, unfortunately. In this case I wouldn't expect that he would be able to be a father. The chance in cere colour is due to the cancer affecting the production of testosterone.
The second scenario is a iodine deficiency. This is a much easier one to diagnose and treat. Get some iodine tincture from your local pharmacy/chemist, 25mg/ml. Add three drops of iodine to 100mls of water for your budgie each day for a week, at most two. If you see no change in that two-week time-frame, cease giving it as you can cause an overdose of iodine. If iodine deficiency is the cause of the cere colour changing you will see changes in that short time.