budgie question

Question
Hi there!

I have two questions about my budgies.  I have two 5 year olds and 2 one year olds.

The first question is about if my one year olds are male or female.  I know the basic thing is that blue = male and white or brown = female.  Well, one of the one year olds cere is totally white so i'm sure it's a female.  The other one year old I'm confused about though.  The cere is MOSTLY white, with just a tiny bit of blue.  I mean, not enough blue to really notice but if you look it's definitely a little bit of blue. I would say 85% white and 15% really light blue.  I asked my vet and she said even if there's the tiniest hint of blue that means it's a male.  I asked the breeder and he was leaning toward female since it was mostly white.  So I'm totally confused, can you help?

Along the same lines...if I DO happen to have a male and a female in my one year olds, how likely is it that they will breed?  They were lovey-dovey when I first got them at 8 weeks but they fight a lot now.  I think they're from the same clutch too, does that make a difference on if they breed?

Ok, so I guess technically this is the third question, not second like I said above ;)  One of my 5 year olds has been in poor health for a while now.  14 months ago she started holding one leg up and not using it.  She went through TONS of tests, X-rays, medications, blood tests, etc and $1500 later it was all still inconclusive.  My vet was leaning toward liver tumor even though the tests didn't show anything for sure.  But anyway...her newest problem for the last 2 months is a big sore, right smack in the middle of the bottom of one of her feet.  It's been there for 2 months...it really looks like if you were to fall down and scrape your knee...how that would scab over...that's what it looks like on her.  It's broken open/fallen off twice and bled.  The vet and I have tried oral antibiotics, foot creams, arthritis medication, wrapping the perches in soft material...but nothing is helping at all.  The vet is stumped on what it could be...she said anything from arthritis to gout to like a diabetic sore (tho her blood tests - even though taken a year ago - showed no gout or diabetes). Do you have any idea what it could be?  Oh...and here's the weird thing...on the same foot that the sore is on...all four of her toes face forward now...instead of having 2 forward and two back like normal budgies.  My vet had no idea about that either - she said she's never seen that before!

Thanks so much for reading my novel :) and for any insight you might have into my questions.

~ Erin :)

Answer
Hi Erin! Some parakeets take longer to mature than others. Most of the time when you look at the cere and its mostly blue or looks like its turning blue it is a male. Your parakeet probably hasnt hit the right time yet and the cere is juuuust starting to change. Just wait a few weeks and the color should become clear. A mature female will have a dark brown cere. Its white when its a baby (around a year) for females.
If they come from the same brood then it is not a good idea to breed them beacuse complications and mutations can occur. Such as deformaties, Weak Pin and blood feathers, and illnesses. They would probably breed after a while (it could take years) if you put a nest box in. But as long as the nest box stays out, they will not breed. (fighting between older birds is normal)
Wow iv never heard of that eather! (laughs) but lets see what i can come up with. Are her perches wooden ones? Are they straight? Sometimes birds can develop foot cramping from standing in the same spot on the same kinds of perches. Different sizes of perches also flex their feet so they dont get accustomed to one size of perch. Her foot deffect is most likely caused by the perching. Some perches can also be too rough for a budgie, like concrete perches or sand perches. Here's what you can try: Blueberry bushes are great resources for branches. They are safe and twist all around making it a wonderful exercise perch. Chop some branches from out side (find ones with weird or unusual surfaces) and take all the old perches out (cutting your own braches is easy and.. FREE!) Does your bird fly? If not, let her wings grow out and slowly accustom her to flying in a room or where ever. This will exercise her body and she will be able to keep off her feet for a while. Her feet will feel releaved to take a break for a while. If you had tests done by a vet then there is nothing more I myself can do as far as a diognostic. Try the free flying and differnt perches and see if she improves.
good luck and thank you for asking lots of questions!