Budgie illness??

Question
I have two parakeets, both green budgies, by the names of Merlin and King Arthur. Normally they are very healthy birds-- Merlin is currently molting. Unfortunately, King Arthur has developed very small patches of baldness around his beak and cere. He is not molting, and otherwise is perfectly healthy. They are both around two years old, we think, and we got them from a pet store. Do you have any idea what could be causing this?
I appreciate your help!
Amy Lesemann and Alice Elliott  

Answer
Hi, Amy and Alice.  Thanks for posting.

Why do you think King Arthur isn't molting?  If King Arthur hasn't molted yet, but Merlin is, King Arthur could be in the process of molting.  The baldness around his beak and cere could be areas where he is molting and the new feathers haven't come in yet (during a molt, every feather on the body is gradually replaced, even the smallest feathers).  Do you see any signs of pin feathers coming in in these areas?  The baldness could also be areas where perhaps Merlin has overpreened King Arthur (do they preen each other?).  Could also be areas where perhaps King Arthur has lost feathers due to rubbing his beak/cere on things in his cage, such as when he is cleaning off his beak.  

Something to watch for in parakeets/budgies is scaly mites.  If a keet/budgie has scaly mites, it's feet/legs/cere (and sometimes area aroundt he beak) will look like warts have developed.  This condition is easily curable with usually one dose of parasite medicine from a bird vet.  Scaly mites usually appear as the result of placing something inside the bird's cage that has come from outside, such as using a perch from a tree limb or something like this.  Do you use perches from outside tree limbs or have you placed anything into the cage that has come from outside?

Watch them closely for a day or so to see what you can see.  You may have to watch them incognito (without them knowing you are watching) in order to see what goes on when they think you aren't watching in order to try to uncover what may be causing this problem.  If you feel Kind Arthur is healthy, it's most likely a molting issue, overpreening, or loss of feathers due to rubbing.  It's a process of elimination!

Let me know how your investigation progresses.  If King Arthur shows any signs of illness, get him to an avian vet immediately.  Sometimes feather loss is the result of a vitamin deficiency, lack of unfiltered sunlight, lack of bathing, poor diet, etc.  The more details you can provide, the more I can help.

Thanks.

Chrys