Why does my parakeet have a blocked nose and growth near its beak?

Some crusting can happen when a bird is ready to mate, but that looks a bit more than that -- It is possible your bird has a respiratory issue going on, a fungal infection taking hold in the nostrils, or another type of infection/illness. It would be best to bring him to a vet to have the area flushed out and treatment started for any underlying infection. Separating him to a hospital cage that is kept warm and with easy access to food and water may also help to prevent the spread of any illness and to keep Ocean comfortable if your other parakeet is picking on him until you can be seen by your vet. You can also use a warm washcloth to try and remove any debris to make him more comfortable.

Ouch! It looks like there may be a fungal infection or growth of some sort that is blocking the nostrils. If current medications haven't helped, another trip to the vet to have a sample taken and sent to a lab for testing, as well as having your vet flush out the nostrils may make it easier for John to breathe and help get him feeling better. In the meantime, keeping the nose as clean and free of debris as you can at home may make it easier for him to breathe.

Oh goodness. Poor little Guy. Unfortunately the pictures are too blurry to really visualize the lesion. I would worry about infection or possible self trauma. Is he rubbing his beak on anything in the cage? Is there crust or discharge from the nostril? If so then he may have an upper respiratory infection and should be seen my an avian veterinarian to develop a treatment plans. I hope he improves quickly .

Unfortunately the photo is not very useful to see the problem. I cannot see it very well. Maybe you can take close up photo and upload it. Please do not use tea tree oil on your bird. Many birds cannot metabolize it correctly and the metabolic break-down products are toxic. From what I can see your budgie may be suffering from hypertrophy of the cere. This occurs in many types of chronic ill health. It is important to find and treat the underlying cause. The cere should be treated also: You can pick away the heaped-up material and applya little oily lotion. The growth can sometimes be caused by mites or tumours. Therefore I suggest you take have your budgie seen by a veterinarian (preferably an avian vet).

Thanks for your question about Beanie. Many birds do get clogged nares, and material like what you mentioned is often quite common. If you have tried to gently flush it without success, it may have hardened into a lump of material that is now stuck. This is called a rhinolith, and these typically require a veterinarian's assistance to remove as it can require specialized tools to remove them. I saw Beanie's age, and I would be concerned that maybe she is not able to pick her own nose anymore, which then would predispose her to getting build up. They often pick their noses with their feet, and older birds can get arthritis in their feet (similar to how older people can in their hands and feet). If their joints hurt or are stiff, they may not pick their noses like they should. I would recommend taking Beanie to a veterinarian for evaluation, not just for the material in the nose but to evaluate her for potential arthritis. Due to her age, they may also recommend other diagnostic testing, such as blood work to evaluate systemic health. If she has arthritis, they may recommend treatments to relieve pain and inflammation associated with it. I hope that this gives you a place to start, and that Beanie feels better soon!

Some infections such as fungal infections can cause flaky growths around the beak or nose. Growths on the skin from infection, tumors, parasites, etc may also cause a dirty growth appearance anywhere on the body. Regurgitation of food may also cause stuck debris, as well as problems with the crop causing food or bacterial to come back up into the mouth. If it's impeding Chico, can't be cleaned away (or returns even with cleaning) or you are seeing other signs of illness such as changes in energy levels, behavioral habits, eating and drinking habits, etc, then having a vet look at it in person is best. They may need to flush the area and clean it and start Chico on a round of medication to treat as needed.

Although a picture of it would help to determine more specifically underlying cause, this kind of lump/growth needs to be ideally assessed by your veterinarian to have a definitive and specific answer. Usually there are two ways your vet can do that a part from examining it directly during physical examination. A biopsy can be taken under local or general anesthetic, otherwise a smaller sample through a fine needle can be aspirated (this technique is called FNA= fine needle aspiration). Differentials include skin cysts, a cloacal type of prolapse, infection, benign or more sinister type of tumors. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.