How do i know if my cockatiel is male or female?

Question

Ok Heres the story... I inhareted a 4 month cockatiel a couple months ago i was told was a female now she is singing songs and starting to talk i went to get her a mate and was told she is a he. So I got what i was told a female to pair with him and shes starting to mimic the first bird... Why is it so hard to tell without a DNA? I really want to know what sex my birds are. I still think my first one is a female because of how loving shes is and that shes not coulorful. please help!!

Answer 1

All juvenile cockatiels look like hens (females).



Most 'tiels can be visually sexed by 9 months of age, after their first molt (feather shed). Some mutations can be a little more difficult.



Females have horizontal barring (stripes) on the underside of their tail feathers. These can be seen when you are in front of your bird, with bright sunlight/light directly behind the bird. I have noted that the banding is not color, but the structure of the feather itself. Each stripe is actually a gap, without the little feather "hairs".



Males have a solid structure along both sides of the quill.



Females have a single white pea-sized dot on their primary wing feathers. Males do not.



On standard greys, the males have a mostly yellow crest. Females have yellow at the tip. Females have grey mixed in with the color on cheek patches, creating a muted or gray appearance, while males are bright. On whiteface grey birds, females will have little, if any, white on the cheeks.



Male and female pieds, and lutino's (yellow), have the same basic colorations, but females still have tail banding, and the dot on the primary feathers.



Pearl (fish scale pattern) males will lose most, if not all of their pearling as they age.



Here's a great link for visually sexing cockatiels:

http://www.cockatiels.org/articles/genet...



The only 100% accurate method of sexing a young bird (before the first molt), is by DNA testing. If you really need to know, you can have your bird tested yourself with a tiny sample of blood (toenail), a few feathers pulled from the chest area, or it's egg shell.



DNA sexing alone costs less than $25. Samples can also be tested for disease and parasites.



http://www.avianbiotech.com/



Never use pelvic sexing. It is not only inaccurate and outdated - it's also potentially dangerous. And it doesn't mean anything on young birds. The recognizable gap in the bone doesn't occur until females have begun laying eggs.



As for behavior, males tend to be vocal, affectionate and bold. Females tend to be rather quiet and shy. However, there are always exceptions.



Here are some of my favorite websites for cockatiels, and other parrots:

http://www.cockatiel.org/

http://www.cockatiels.org/

http://www.tailfeathersnetwork.com/

http://www.birdsnways.com/

http://www.birdchannel.com/

Answer 2

You can not always go by what the Tiel looks like since there are so many mutations. There is a very simple way and you dont need to spend the bucks to do a DNA testing. Locate where the pelvic bones are at(it is were the poop comes out) use the tip of your finger you will be able to feel the 2 bones, if they are far apart on the tip of your finger it is a girl, if the bones are very close together it is a male. Now where they are very young the bones will feel the same however as the female becomes sexually mature the bones will become father apart so the eggs can pass though. Hope this helps you. Now the best time to check the pelvic bones are when the bird is past the age of 6 months, because by the time they are about 15 months old they are old enough to breed, so the pelvic area has had to spread farther apart to allow the egg to pass.

Answer 3

I have 2 males and 1 female. The female has less yellow and orange on her cheeks and does not sing. (Not sure if the singing has anything to do with it though) But i am sure the coloring does, they are less vibrant and more loving.

Answer 4

A female tiel will have a variegated pattern under her tail feathers, some mutations are very hard to distinguish such as Lutinos, they will need an expert eye to tell what sex they are.

Wyspur & Flock

Answer 5

the female cockatiels usually have a pattern under their wings and their cheeks are redder than the males'.

Answer 6

Males are more talkative and they have brighter colors. Except for the cheeks.



Females don't talk a lot they have more spots under their wings, they are duller colors like gray and white, and they have brighter cheeks.

Answer 7

Males have more yellow on top of there heads and females are more gray,,,

Answer 8

What color is the cheek patch? If it's very bright, male. More drab, female.

Answer 9

GREY: FEMALES ARE ALMOST FULLY GREY AND HAVE DULL ORANGE PATCHES. MALES HAVE YELLOW ON THEIR HEADS AND HAVE BRIGHT ORANGE PATCHES ON THEIR CHEEKS AND TEND TO WHISTLE A LOT AND SING, SINGING FOR FEMALES IS REALLY RARE.

YELLOW LUTINO: FEMALES HAVE SPOTS UNDER THEIR WINGS AND ARE FULLY YELLOW. MALES DON'T HAVE SPOTS UNDER THEIR WINGS, AND HAVE WHITE PATCHES ON THEIR BACKS (AREN'T FULLY YELLOW)

Answer 10

Blood test.

Answer 11

Hope this helps!

Answer 12

i dont know