Nose Turning Colors

User Question
I have a 1 1/2 year old blue parakeet given to me as a Mother's day gift. I love this little bird whom I have named "Huey". His nose has always been a bright clear blue, but for the past few months is has turned a dark muddy color. What does this mean? Otherwise, "Huey" is a very active, friendly bird.

Lisa's Answer
Usually the 'cere' of a parakeet (the colored bump above their beaks) gets darker and more crinkly as the parakeet matures. So that is a normal transition. I would have thought this would happen long before age 1 1/2 yrs, but you never can quite tell with a bird exactly how old it is. And of course keets mature at different rates just like humans do.

There is of course always the risk of mites and tumors, so I would keep an eye on it. If it just seems to be darkening and crinkling a bit, I wouldn't worry about it - especially if the keet is as normal acting as ever. But if it starts to get larger or bumpy, or if the feathers / skin around the cere begin to look odd, I would bring him to a vet. Vet visits are very cheap, and can catch problems when they are in the "inexpensive" stage to fix.

All Questions in this Category

List of Parakeet Question Categories

NOTE: Because of the huge volume of incoming questions, I no longer answer them one by one. Instead, we have created a live, free Parakeet Forum which is very active, where people are online 24 hours a day to help you with your parakeet related questions. If you have any questions about parakeet care - or simply want to share your parakeet stories and photos - please join us!

Parakeet Forum