Ratzy
New member
I thought I'd bore you all and write up on telling the sex of a budgie. Here are some myths to starts me off.
Myth
Males have square heads and female's heads are rounder.
Males sing and talk. Females don't.
Any blue on the cere equals male.
Pink is female.
Females are less active than males.
You can't tell a budgie's sex before it is three months old.
Males are tamer and more friendly.
If a budgie's cere changes to brown it is a female.
Fact
Both males and females can have squarish heads, and vise versa.
Females DO take a little more work than males to teach them to talk, but they can be taught all the same. I have a hen that sings along with the males and even feeds the other females.
Out-of-breeding-condition hens have blue ceres with a white over cast. Young hens also have light blue ceres.
You see pink on a young male's cere, it is smooth and completely pink. You also see it in certain mutations, where the males never 'grow out of' that stage.
My females are just as active as the males, they do tend to be a little grouchy and withdrawn though. I was able to tell my baby's sexes at three weeks of age, a lot of breeders I know online can tell at less than a week old.
Actually, my females tend to be a little more friendly and outgoing than my males. They are always the first ones to come up and say high.
Female's ceres first change to brown at around 4-6 months of age. A proven male that is, say, 3 years old and has never changed cere colour before, that just changed to brown, could be a hormonal issue or a type of cancer.
Male
Adult: Deep, smooth blue with no white or pink on certain mutations such as recessive pied, lutino, albino and more.
Juvenile: A smooth pink or purple ( when changing from pink to blue ).
Female
Adult: In breeding condition a rough brown. Out of breeding condition is a blue with a white overcast.
Juvenile: White in very young hens, blue with a white overcast in hens that are 2+ months old.
The cere ( situated at the top of the beak, contains the nostrils ), changes colour at 3-6 months. To give you some idea of age, the forehead bars change at 4-6 months and if your budgie has no iris ( except in certain mutations ), it is very young. If there is a lot of iris, it is above 6-8 months.
Pics later, but photobucket has gone all weird on me, so I'm going to have to use pics off google images.
Myth
Males have square heads and female's heads are rounder.
Males sing and talk. Females don't.
Any blue on the cere equals male.
Pink is female.
Females are less active than males.
You can't tell a budgie's sex before it is three months old.
Males are tamer and more friendly.
If a budgie's cere changes to brown it is a female.
Fact
Both males and females can have squarish heads, and vise versa.
Females DO take a little more work than males to teach them to talk, but they can be taught all the same. I have a hen that sings along with the males and even feeds the other females.
Out-of-breeding-condition hens have blue ceres with a white over cast. Young hens also have light blue ceres.
You see pink on a young male's cere, it is smooth and completely pink. You also see it in certain mutations, where the males never 'grow out of' that stage.
My females are just as active as the males, they do tend to be a little grouchy and withdrawn though. I was able to tell my baby's sexes at three weeks of age, a lot of breeders I know online can tell at less than a week old.
Actually, my females tend to be a little more friendly and outgoing than my males. They are always the first ones to come up and say high.
Female's ceres first change to brown at around 4-6 months of age. A proven male that is, say, 3 years old and has never changed cere colour before, that just changed to brown, could be a hormonal issue or a type of cancer.
Male
Adult: Deep, smooth blue with no white or pink on certain mutations such as recessive pied, lutino, albino and more.
Juvenile: A smooth pink or purple ( when changing from pink to blue ).
Female
Adult: In breeding condition a rough brown. Out of breeding condition is a blue with a white overcast.
Juvenile: White in very young hens, blue with a white overcast in hens that are 2+ months old.
The cere ( situated at the top of the beak, contains the nostrils ), changes colour at 3-6 months. To give you some idea of age, the forehead bars change at 4-6 months and if your budgie has no iris ( except in certain mutations ), it is very young. If there is a lot of iris, it is above 6-8 months.
Pics later, but photobucket has gone all weird on me, so I'm going to have to use pics off google images.
