Expert: Chrys Meatyard - 3/16/2008

Question
I have two birds that I thought were the same age until the one girls cere changed into a dark red color and the other one just stays a light purple.  What's going on?!
Also neither of them like to come out of their cage  in fact they seem to hate it.  When I put my hand in there they scream at me.  When I do get them out they won't go in.
Also their nails keep getting caught on the carpet and it hurts them.  Do you know were I can go to learn how to clip their nails?
Please help, it would be much appreciated.

Answer
Hi, Kiri,

The cere is changing to a dark brown and is most likely crusty looking because this bird is female and the cere change means she's in breeding condition.  This doesn't have anything to do with age.  This does not mean you need to/should breed her.  Female budgies should be about 12 months old before you allow them to start breeding.  The light purple cere could mean the other bird is male or this bird could be female...these color ceres are hard to determine sex.  Normally, male budgie's ceres are a deep blue, however, it depends on the age of the bird and the overall coloration of the bird.  Light purple cere could go either way.

Your birds are not tame and are scared of you.  This is why they freak out when you come near them.  I do not recommend you placing your hand inside their cage in order to bring them out.  Allow them to come out on their own when you want them to come out.  They are scared of you/your hands and when you reach inside their cage, you are cornering them.  The only way they can respond is to scream, flap around inside their cage, and/or bite you/at you.  Once birds are out of their cages, most usually don't like to go back in because when out, they can fly freely and do what they want.  If this is a male/female pair, chances are they could be bonded with each other and you are a third wheel to them (birds prefer other birds to humans).  This is also the beginning of breeding season and a pair of birds often wants nothing to do with their humans when their hormones are raging.  

Clipping a bird's nails is the same process as clipping a dog or cats nails.  You can ask local pet shops, avian veterinarian offices, local breeders to clip them for you and/or show you how.  I have information about this on my website, too:  www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html.

Chrys