Help with Color and Sex?

[Minerva]

Hello all! I was hoping some of you cockatiel folks could help me out with my new addition. I think her color is called pied, but I'm not positive. Her other side has less grey but I don't have a good picture of that. I was also hoping that there is a way to visually sex cockatiels. The girl at the store said that she was pretty sure that this one was a girl but didn't say why she thought that. I tried to google but got a ton of conflicting information.

Can you cockatiel afficionados tell me anything from these? I haven't named her (?) yet because I don't know that she's actually a girl.

 

[jannette]

Everything I've learned from people growing up (aunt bred tiels) is the only way to tell sex on a pied with that much lack of pigment is to either DNA test or having a proven male and female beside it to compared the pelvic Width. Everything else can be fairly unreliable.

 

[SilverSage]

Yes, cockatiels can be sexed visually. Unfortunately in cockatiels the pied mutation is anti-dimorphic. This means that the pied mutation removes the visual cues so pied cockatiels cannot be visually sexed without certain other factors coming into play which your bird doesn't have.

However $20 to Avian BioTech, Health Gene, or a similar company, will get you a DNA test


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[texsize]

behavior can be a good indicator but you kinda need to be familiar with them.
Strutting (standing very erect) and walking around with wings slightly spread is a male thing.
squatting and sitting low with back flat is a female thing.
Male's are more vocal, female more quiet.
These are all good but not perfect indicators of sex.
texsize

 

[SilverSage]

Do be careful though, as some birds display the opposite behaviors just to confuse you


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[Minerva]

Thanks guys, good to know! I think I'll choose a gender neutral name for now; I don't need to know badly enough to pluck her feathers.

 

[SilverSage]

Actually, I always encourage people to find out the sex. It can be very helpful in determining or at least ruling out certain problems in case of a medical emergency. To me it is a health concern, and important safety measure to know the gender of my birds. After all it's only $20 and with birds, Seconds can be the difference tween life and death. I would hate to have to spend those seconds trying to decide if my bird could possibly be egg binding if it was a male.


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[ClearCrystal]

Actually, I think so you cockatiel is female. How i can say this is by looking at her stance. The gap between the feet is wide. Here is also a name suggestion for you Bella.

 

[SilverSage]

Stance is not enough of an indication. It can suggest, but it is often wrong. Bella is a pretty name.


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