Help!!! Dry cere?? Looks like she is scratching

Hi all,

Today I came home from work and I discovered that my red belly's cere is very red and it looks like she has been scratching. Last night I noticed that it looked a bit red to me and thought to keep an eye on it. Is there such thing as 'dry skin' for birds?

I just gave her a bath tonight, and otherwise looks as though everything else is normal. She isn't itching uncontrollably in any other sense. Not sneezing. Eating/drinking as per usual, etc. So I doubt that she is ill. Could she be allergic to something? Even now, I haven't seen her itch her cere at all tonight.

I'm a very nervous/paranoid person when it comes to my birds and always assume the worst!! Anyone else have any suggestions?

It could be excessive rubbing. The beak and nostril area look uniformly worn. I'm not a vet, so I'd recommend a quick run to the vet just to make sure it's not more serious than it looks. Hahnzel wound up with an abscess on his mask that didn't look like much in the beginning when I caught it.
As for dry skin, my vet techs put some kind of moisturizer on Hahnzels beak after he gets groomed to take away the flakiness.

goalerjones said:

It could be excessive rubbing. The beak and nostril area look uniformly worn. I'm not a vet, so I'd recommend a quick run to the vet just to make sure it's not more serious than it looks. Hahnzel wound up with an abscess on his mask that didn't look like much in the beginning when I caught it.
As for dry skin, my vet techs put some kind of moisturizer on Hahnzels beak after he gets groomed to take away the flakiness.

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I wanted to watch her for a couple days before going to the vet to see if there was any improvement. I've given her a shower the past couple days and looks to be helping the redness go away (on the off chance it was because there was no humidity in the house). We've been having an extremely cold winter here in Ontario and the heat has been on all the time. Going to check on her when I get home and see what's going on today. If by next week I don't see any improvement on the appearance I will take her to the vet.

I think the vet uses mineral oil?

How did you birdy get an abscess on his mask? Aww poor little guy.

I had a budgie some years back with a similar problem. Keep an eye to make sure you don't see any scaly growth. The thing that a vet advised me to use was a bit of neosporin cream (not ointment) rubbed very carefully into the cere, avoiding the holes. It always worked like a charm used on a nightly basis. Cleared it right out it in no time.

CassMarie said:

I think the vet uses mineral oil?

How did you birdy get an abscess on his mask? Aww poor little guy.

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I think it was an ingrown pin feather. I saw a very small bump on the white mask near his beak and thought it looked strange. I took him in and the vet was amazed I caught it so soon, but I know his little face. I also know when something looks different. Learned to give him antibiotics injections and it all cleared up.
With your baby I'd say you are probably right about the dry air from the heater. My skin was a wreck when I went back to chicago the first week of December. The heater going all night gave me small nosebleeds.

To add, with the heat on, your air in the house must bd dry. My bird used to get pinkish nares which he would scratch. I tried to increase the humidity in he apartment with a humidifier, water plants and potted plants. His nares got better . So maybe consider upping your humidity.

Also give lots of vitamin A fruits /veggies for skin, beak and plumage health. You can get vitamin A as a supplement too such as red palm oil that you can mix in the food. Good luck!

goalerjones said:

CassMarie said:

I think the vet uses mineral oil?

How did you birdy get an abscess on his mask? Aww poor little guy.

Click to expand...

I think it was an ingrown pin feather. I saw a very small bump on the white mask near his beak and thought it looked strange. I took him in and the vet was amazed I caught it so soon, but I know his little face. I also know when something looks different. Learned to give him antibiotics injections and it all cleared up.
With your baby I'd say you are probably right about the dry air from the heater. My skin was a wreck when I went back to chicago the first week of December. The heater going all night gave me small nosebleeds.

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Aw well that is good! Glad to hear that it wasn't anything super serious. I am the same way, I notice all the little things right away! That's a good thing for the birds, but a bad thing for me as it always seems to cause undue stress hahaha!

Eeek! I sympathize. My skin has been a wreck as of late, too. I had to buy a more heavy duty moisturizer because my other one just wasn't cutting it. Bring on spring!

Kalidasa said:

I had a budgie some years back with a similar problem. Keep an eye to make sure you don't see any scaly growth. The thing that a vet advised me to use was a bit of neosporin cream (not ointment) rubbed very carefully into the cere, avoiding the holes. It always worked like a charm used on a nightly basis. Cleared it right out it in no time.

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I haven't noticed any scaly growth, or growths in general which is good. It seems to be getting better day by day, the redness is going away! .. but thanks for the advice I will keep Neosporin cream in mind.

BoomBoom said:

To add, with the heat on, your air in the house must bd dry. My bird used to get pinkish nares which he would scratch. I tried to increase the humidity in he apartment with a humidifier, water plants and potted plants. His nares got better . So maybe consider upping your humidity.

Also give lots of vitamin A fruits /veggies for skin, beak and plumage health. You can get vitamin A as a supplement too such as red palm oil that you can mix in the food. Good luck!

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The air is very dry. :52: I am over it! lol! I am considering buying a humidifier or even leaving some bowls of water around the house to add moisture back into the air.

Unfortunately I am cursed with plant care for some reason. They always die on me in a matter of days/weeks and I just don't think I have the patience.

I give my two a nice veggie mix in the morning before I go to work and of course they have their pellets. Red palm oil? Never heard of it?

I can't get on google right now but look up: Red Palm Oil by Sun Factor. Use moderately with food. The oil is solid so you may need to heat it up before giving. My bird loves it on warm steamed rice. It melts the oil so less work for me. I just out a tiny amount and let the rice melt it. My vet okayed to use this as a supplement for beak/skin/feather health. Alternatively and probably better, you can give your bird vitamin A rich produce like carrots, mangoes, cantaloupe, etcetera.

I highly recommend at least a humidifier if your air is indeed dry Also water bamboo (lucky bamboo) will grow with anyone! You can practically ignore it - just add water every week preferably with some miracle grow liquid fertilizer, put in a bright area of your room, and every 1-3 months, throw out half of the old water (not all) and add half new water. It's not bird safe so make sure the bird can't access it.