Brown staining around cere and face plezse help

[Tkhatun]

I bought two new budgies. One is blue and was told she is 10 weeks old. One is white and was told it is 8 weeks old and gender not known. The birds were fine when I got them but now the feathers around the face have gone like a brownie colour. It was all white and clean and fresh before now it's just gone brown. I've only had them for 2 weeks. Please help are they ill do they need help what can I do. I can't even go to a vet as I don't have one near by. I contacted the breeder breeder told me they are moulting and it's normal for feather to go brown like this. But I can't seem to find this anywhere on YouTube that this browning or staining is normal. Please help. I have attached some picture. And 1 picture showing when we got the budgie this was when all the feathers were nice and white and clean. Not they look stained. Also the blue budgie his feathers shake a lot even when he is still. Please please help I can't get hold of an avian vet because of where I live

 

[fiddlejen]

What is his food, or what does he have access to chew on?

 

[Kitekeeper]

Welcome Tkhatun.

That´s a good observation. It is not common for birds to have their feathers dirty. They have a gland that provide oil to be spread in the feathers. That oil will keep the feathers waterproof and will give the bird´s feather a smooth and clean appearance.

Thanks for the pictures, they helped a lot. If you can observe closely, it seems to me that both birds have their feathers dirty as a whole and not just around the cheeks. I will ask you the same question fiddlejen asked you. What are you feeding them, or have they access to chew something dirty? If it is just a matter of dirty feathers you can provide a bowl with freshwater for them to clean up and the stain will be cleaned.

On the other hand some information you gave let me concerned. No, your birds are not that young. When the blue bird (which is a female dominant pied clear flight mutation) was 10 weeks old she had the head stripes all the way to the top of her nose. Her nose would not be that brown, which is in the shade of a female ready to mate (chocolate brown). They reach sexual maturity near 8 month to one year of life and your blue female has a beak/nose aspect of a female more than 2 years old. The white bird, seems to me to be a male although his mutation (pied recessive) is hard to develop the expected blue cere of regular male budgies. He is at least one year old.

I would add another level of concerning, the feathers aspect of the female (and in some degree of the white bird too) is of a rough texture. This, associated with the flake off of her beak suggest a liver overcharged; possibly due to a only seeds diet for too long and maybe little to none exposure to sunlight. Looking to the pictures you provided, they don´t seem to be moulting at all.

I recommend you to take both to the vet. Until then, switch their food for mostly pellets and some seeds with vegetables in the beginning and later only pellets and vegetables to help the liver. Expose them to early morning sunlight for 15 minutes every day. Also try to identify where they are getting their cheeks dirty. Could it be seeds dirt from the seeds bowl?

Cheers

 

[Tkhatun]

Hi the definitely didn't eat anything to make it stained. Since I got them I give them seeds one day and greens next day. That's all they have been eating with me I've only had them over a week. I was told they are babies. I have spread them with water twice a day the staining is still there.

I am extremely annoyed breeder has lied to me. I even contacted them yesterday they told me they are moulting. Blue one is apparently maturing quickly and white one is to young to tell its age. Very very very disappointed. I have attached another picture of blue one today. Some of the crust has gone.

Are you definitely sure they are old as you are saying. And if they are this age can vet tell me the age of the birds.

 

[Skarila]

Hi the definitely didn't eat anything to make it stained. Since I got them I give them seeds one day and greens next day. That's all they have been eating with me I've only had them over a week. I was told they are babies. I have spread them with water twice a day the staining is still there.

I am extremely annoyed breeder has lied to me. I even contacted them yesterday they told me they are moulting. Blue one is apparently maturing quickly and white one is to young to tell its age. Very very very disappointed. I have attached another picture of blue one today. Some of the crust has gone.

Are you definitely sure they are old as you are saying. And if they are this age can vet tell me the age of the birds.

I can also confirm that the female is an adult already, the brown cere really gives it out. As weird as it sounds, far as I've read the budgies do get their adult plumage after 3 months, however, if the guy told you that they are 8/10 weeks old, and during the time you had them they did not molt at all, the guy obviously lied. The birds should've had the stripes up to their cere if they were that young.
Sadly I cannot help you with the staining problem.

 

[fiddlejen]

What are the greens? My Calliope gets green stains from spinach in that pattern, and orange stains from carrots. Also at one point I mine had a cage where they were able to start chewing away the paint, which is why I wonder if your birdie might be chewing on something else.

Also Im concerned you said they get greens one day and seeds the next? Do you mean every other day the only thing they get to eat is green veggies? That seems an awful long time for tiny birds to go between solid meals. Do they have pellets in the meantime? Or are there enough seeds that on the veggie day they have leftover seeds? Or do the greens include more substantial, starchy veggies or beans? ??

Hungry birds might be desperately chewing on anything. Do they have toys that might be made of dyed wood? (Hopefully, you have given them lots of toys, right?)