budgie questions

Question
Hi!  I have a couple questions about budgies.

I just got two babies a month ago.  They turned 3 months old Friday!  My first question is when will you be able to tell if they're male or female?  Their ceres right now are both a light white-blue.  The breeder I got them from said it was too early to tell and she wasn't able to tell me a time-frame.  Do their nails have anything to do with it?  One baby has brown nails and the other clear.

My second question is about one of the babies - "Chickpea".  'He' is a chewer, he chews on everything he possibly can get a hold of.  Well, last night, he threw up out of the blue 3 times in one hour.  He was acting totally fine other than that, and even would run right back to his food cup after he threw up.  Well, Chickpea has been chewing on the smooth wooden perches I have in his cage and I also noticed last night that he had chewed a crater about the size of a quarter in the perch.  So now I'm wondering if that's why he threw up, if maybe he digested some wood.  So my question is, first of all, how dangerous is that?  I won't be able to get to the store to find something new until this weekend...but if it's seriously a hazzard I will take off work to stop by the pet store.  Also, what kind of perches can I get that he won't digest?  Rope?  Pummace?  I'm kind of bummed because I know those perches are small and won't extend all the way across the cage.  But if it's what I have to do to keep him safe, I will.

The other baby's name is Parsley.  My only question about 'her' is instead of having a smooth chest, she has a "line" (almost like a crease in a piece of paper) that goes from her chest down to under her legs.  Does that mean anything or is it just how she is?

One more question :)  I also have two older budies, Kiwi and Sweetie.  They are 4 year old females.  Sweetie has some kind of light brown stuff growing on her cere.  She had it once before and took her to the vet.  They were able to kind of flake it off and said not to worry as long as it didn't cover her breathing holes.  It has since come back, and isn't covering her breathing holes, but I'm just wondering what it could be!

Sorry about all the questions!  Thanks!  Erin :)

Answer
Hi Erin,

 Sorry it took me a couple of days to get back to you. We had some storms here on Tuesday night so I didn't want to turn my computer on.

 I wish I could help you more with sexing your new budgies but I think you have to wait until they are over six months old before you will see enough of the color change in their ceres to be able to tell what you have. Other than pelvic sexing -feeling the space between the pelvic bones, which I have never been good at - or dna sexing, I know of no other sure way to sex the little birds. As for Parsley's crease, I think that is probably just the way her feathers happened to grow I don't know of anything that it could mean.

 I am concerned about Chickpea "throwing up". Birds do not normally do that and it is often a sign of illness. On the other hand, many handfed birds that are bonded to their owner will regurgitate now and then. It is something some adult birds do which we are supposed to take as being flattering. Theory is that they are trying to show us what good mates they can be and how well they could feed out babies. (I am just glad humans don't do that when trying to win one anothers hearts) I used to be the official "baby bird cuddler" at a friends bird store and for some reason a large number of her babies would regurgitate for me/on me. I think it was excitement. Keep an eye on Chickpea and make sure he is not showing any other signs of being ill or losing weight. If he is, you need to get him to a vet right away. Don't get rid of the wooden perches though. You need wooden perches of various diameters in the cage to provide the best foot and leg health. Wood chewing is also a natural bird behavior, so just replace the perches when they get to the point where they seem splintered.
 
The one thing I would tell you to ask you vet about rather than asking me is the brown substance on your older budgies ceres. I would think that your vet would not mind you giving them a call just to ask about it. I havent had budgies in many years and when I did, it was before I knew about the proper care of birds. I dont want to give you the wrong advice on the cere situation.You might also do a web search for some budgie sites ( I am sure there are some good ones) as I am betting that is a frequently asked question. You could also try www.birdsnways.com
that is probably the best of the bird sites in my opinion and you might find an answer there in the online articles section.

Good luck to you.

Jan