It's concerning how many people dislike female budgies due to stereotypes.

[StormyPica]

I keep seeing this.
"Female budgies are so aggressive"
"Female budgies aren't as social as male budgies"
"Female budgies can't be as tame or playful as male budgies"
"Female budgies can't be in a mutually beneficial relationship with you, the budgie benefits and you don't"
"Female budgies are mean and bitey"

And on and on and on. I just encountered a post on Reddit where the user was extremely disappointed to get a female budgie. I mean, to the point where I questioned weither they could provide a good home, because they couldn't seem to get past the fact that she wouldn't let them hold her only a month of having her. Apparently all their male budgies let them, so they were either unusually tame, or the owner was flooding them and thought "well, they aren't biting, they must be fine".

I've seen this a lot, but that person had such an extreme negative reaction to ending up with a female budgie that I decided to make this post. My girlies are beautiful, outgoing, goofy, adorable, gentle, and they were everything I could have asked for and more. Of course, they have very clear boundaries, but I respect those. It's part of owning a bird, you respect their boundaries. Doesn't matter if they're male or female.

 

[Keet_Krazy]

Honestly, it probably stems from the hundreds of people who push that you need a young (preferably handraised) male budgie to have any kind of relationship with them. The girls have been getting the short end of the stick for a very long time.
I hate seeing people who do not care or try to care for their girls correctly. I also greatly dislike people who try to pass off girls as not being aggressive. I truely love my girlies, don't get me wrong, but it's a fact of nature that they can be territorial and hormones can reek havoc.

 

[StormyPica]

hormones can reek havoc.

Yes, definitely. I've had quite a few issues with "hormonal rages", especially with Cossie.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I keep seeing this.
"Female budgies are so aggressive"
"Female budgies aren't as social as male budgies"
"Female budgies can't be as tame or playful as male budgies"
"Female budgies can't be in a mutually beneficial relationship with you, the budgie benefits and you don't"
"Female budgies are mean and bitey"

And on and on and on. I just encountered a post on Reddit where the user was extremely disappointed to get a female budgie. I mean, to the point where I questioned weither they could provide a good home, because they couldn't seem to get past the fact that she wouldn't let them hold her only a month of having her. Apparently all their male budgies let them, so they were either unusually tame, or the owner was flooding them and thought "well, they aren't biting, they must be fine".

I've seen this a lot, but that person had such an extreme negative reaction to ending up with a female budgie that I decided to make this post. My girlies are beautiful, outgoing, goofy, adorable, gentle, and they were everything I could have asked for and more. Of course, they have very clear boundaries, but I respect those. It's part of owning a bird, you respect their boundaries. Doesn't matter if they're male or female.

After keeping budgies for over 50 years, and having had both male and female budgies, I definitely prefer male budgies as companion birds. There are behavior differences between makes and females that can be evident as young as six weeks old- long before females become sexually mature- so I don't believe it's entirely due to raging hormones. I believe their brains are wired slightly differently. Assuming they are equally tame, the differences I have seen are:
1. Females chew on things (wood, paper, fabrics, etc) a lot, often eventually destroying them. I have never had a male budgie do that.
2. Male budgies talk more than females.
3. Male budgies are gentler and more easy going with other budgies. Females are often aggressive toward other females and bossy toward males.
4. Female budgies bite people more than males and they bite much harder.

I don't agree that all females are less playful, or less "social" with people than males are. I hand raised my now five months old female Rocky from an egg and she is very bonded to me and my husband and loves strangers, too. She wants nothing more than to be "on" us. Unfortunately she also wants to chew on us, including any exposed skin. She nips at our ears and faces and it hurts so we must wear hoodies when she's out of her cage. She has behaved like this starting at six weeks old. Rocky is also the most playful budgie I have ever had. She plays with her toys and any small objects like a puppy. I wish Rocky was a male because I have never had a male that was a biter unless he was scared and untamed, but I love Rocky with all my heart. She is just acting like a female budgie and I can't fault her for it. I wish I could trust Rocky not to fly to a person visiting us and bite them but I can't, so I can't let her out when I have guests unless they wear a hoodie. I know she's not being "mean" - she's just acting like a female budgie.

To give the females credit, there is a good reason why they chew so much more than males- they are the ones that hollow out the nest cavities so they can breed and continue the species.
Females are more aggressive and bite more because they are the defenders of the nest. They drive away other budgies, mostly other females that covet their nesting sites, and predators that want to eat their eggs and chicks. If females were as easygoing and gentle as the males they wouldn't be as successful as a species.

Females don't "talk" as much as males because they don't have to. Males dance and chatter to the females to impress them. Females either accept or reject a male suitor- the more impressive he is with his " interpersonal skills" the more likely he will get chosen by a female to breed. Females' vocalizations are generally harsher and meant to drive away intruders trying to steal her nesting sites or harm their chicks.

Many private breeders hand raising budgies charge significantly more for young males than for young females because for all the reasons I mention males are more desirable as pets than females.

I realize this post may be unpopular but many years of experience owning budgies, lots of research, and plain old common sense support my observations.

 

[Keet_Krazy]

Talking really should not come into the equation IMO. It has nothing to do with relationship, bonding, intelligence, etc. Same as with every other species of parrot.
I understand completely that the boys are "easier" (bite softer, chew less, etc), but it does not mean people should treat the girls as inferior or, as mentioned in the OP, be discouraged because they ended up with a girl. They contain the best personalities and my life would be dull without them. And TBH I think I have a better bond with two of my girls then I do with either of my boys.
If someone is having issue with a overly bitey budgie, I believe it should be dealt with the same way as a bitey big parrot. Why should be pass it off as simply being a female budgie?? It's a behaviour that should be dealt with the same as any other parrot species, I can guarantee if it was a 'too no one would be saying "It's just behaving like a cockatoo"

 

[StormyPica]

I understand completely that the boys are "easier" (bite softer, chew less, etc), but it does not mean people should treat the girls as inferior or, as mentioned in the OP, be discouraged because they ended up with a girl. They contain the best personalities and my life would be dull without them.

I really liked how you described this. My girlies both have HUGE personalities that are very much unique to them. I've noticed my males, and pretty much all males I've met, have pretty similar personalities, while the "spectrum of personalities" females have seems to be slightly larger.

If someone is having issue with a overly bitey budgie, I believe it should be dealt with the same way as a bitey big parrot. Why should be pass it off as simply being a female budgie?? It's a behaviour that should be dealt with the same as any other parrot species, I can guarantee if it was a 'too no one would be saying "It's just behaving like a cockatoo"

I agree with this, and would like to add my own personal experience and what works for me when training not to bite. I use targeting to discourage biting. Is the training perfect? No, but I do my best. Other things, like shunning, also work as well, especially when you're the one being bitten. I mainly use targeting to stop fights or squbbles between my two girlies. I think in your case, shunning would work better, especially since she's bonded to you.

Overall, I think I have a better bond with Cossie than Stormy. Her boundaries are more clear and harder to overstep, she is more outgoing and confident, and she keeps still better than my fidgety little Stormy. Apollo is very confident too. She's not the best as "step up", however she is much more confident than Stormy, though he is more tame. And her boundaries are also quite clear. Plus Stormy turns everything into a game of "I will do anything but what Dad wants me to do".

 

[Keet_Krazy]

I really liked how you described this. My girlies both have HUGE personalities that are very much unique to them. I've noticed my males, and pretty much all males I've met, have pretty similar personalities, while the "spectrum of personalities" females have seems to be slightly larger.

Don't get me wrong my LJ was my perfect budgie, he was my "heart bird". But goodness Miss Sunbeam can make me smile, laugh, and want to pull my hair out all in the span of five minutes

 

[foxgloveparrot]

I sometimes joke around about how I like males better, but I had no idea that people ACTUALLY NEGLECT THEIR BIRDS purely because of the sex. That's so sad and messed up.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I sometimes joke around about how I like males better, but I had no idea that people ACTUALLY NEGLECT THEIR BIRDS purely because of the sex. That's so sad and messed up.

Extremely sad and messed up!

 

[zERo]

I’ve had more male budgies than females but just by one.
I love the boys, I have 3 right now, but I really adore Hedwig!
Yes, she’s a chewing monster, mahogany pods last a few minutes with her.
She just looks at me so intensely, and has weeks where she won’t leave me alone and then other weeks she pretends she doesn’t know me
I had another female that passed away, Flakor. She was sooo sweet! She’d lay on my chest or in my hands and just sleep or give me kisses!
I think the sexes have their differences, but they’re both fantastic for different reasons.

 

[StormyPica]

She just looks at me so intensely, and has weeks where she won’t leave me alone and then other weeks she pretends she doesn’t know me

The girlies are like big birds LOL

 

[FlockOf18]

I keep seeing this.
"Female budgies are so aggressive"
"Female budgies aren't as social as male budgies"
"Female budgies can't be as tame or playful as male budgies"
"Female budgies can't be in a mutually beneficial relationship with you, the budgie benefits and you don't"
"Female budgies are mean and bitey"

And on and on and on. I just encountered a post on Reddit where the user was extremely disappointed to get a female budgie. I mean, to the point where I questioned weither they could provide a good home, because they couldn't seem to get past the fact that she wouldn't let them hold her only a month of having her. Apparently all their male budgies let them, so they were either unusually tame, or the owner was flooding them and thought "well, they aren't biting, they must be fine".

I've seen this a lot, but that person had such an extreme negative reaction to ending up with a female budgie that I decided to make this post. My girlies are beautiful, outgoing, goofy, adorable, gentle, and they were everything I could have asked for and more. Of course, they have very clear boundaries, but I respect those. It's part of owning a bird, you respect their boundaries. Doesn't matter if they're male or female.

I honestly could not agree more! I was led to believe females were just trouble and all of what you said.
Very, very long story short, out of my budgie flock only 2 out of the 11 are female (im ashamed to say at first I wanted all boys, the 2 hens were sold as boys but there’s no way in the world I would be sad when they turned out to be girls!) and they are both the most characteristic, hilarious, entertaining budgies you could meet! My boys are amazing too and I couldn’t love them anymore than I do but my females are just so funny and the 2 bosses
They never fight, just the occasional bickering and I’ve avoided breeding but also prepared if need be.
So yes, I totally agree! Girls rock too!

 

[ThatCatAgain]

I keep seeing this.
"Female budgies are so aggressive"
"Female budgies aren't as social as male budgies"
"Female budgies can't be as tame or playful as male budgies"
"Female budgies can't be in a mutually beneficial relationship with you, the budgie benefits and you don't"
"Female budgies are mean and bitey"

And on and on and on. I just encountered a post on Reddit where the user was extremely disappointed to get a female budgie. I mean, to the point where I questioned weither they could provide a good home, because they couldn't seem to get past the fact that she wouldn't let them hold her only a month of having her. Apparently all their male budgies let them, so they were either unusually tame, or the owner was flooding them and thought "well, they aren't biting, they must be fine".

I've seen this a lot, but that person had such an extreme negative reaction to ending up with a female budgie that I decided to make this post. My girlies are beautiful, outgoing, goofy, adorable, gentle, and they were everything I could have asked for and more. Of course, they have very clear boundaries, but I respect those. It's part of owning a bird, you respect their boundaries. Doesn't matter if they're male or female.

I agree with you,it doesn't matter if your bird is male or female,what matters is that your'e having fun with them,and that's they're alright and healthy. To mention that having a couple would be much better!