If an owner knows how to determine the sex of a budgie and knows how to apply his skills, he can become a professional breeder. In order not to make mistakes when breeding, you need to distinguish between external features that are inherent only to females or males. There are several methods for finding out the sex of a parrot: by wax, by character, by color. The most reliable way to distinguish a male from a female is DNA analysis.
At what age can you determine the sex of a budgerigar?
Young birds
It is impossible to find out the gender of a newly hatched chick. There is an option with DNA testing, but who would allow taking a puncture from a tiny creature.
At least some idea of whether the baby in front of us is a boy or a girl can only be obtained from a 4-week period. To do this, you should look at the bird's wax. In a male, its color will be violet, lilac or pink. The last two options refer to the Lutino and Steam colors.
How to determine the sex of a young budgie
In young females, the waxes are colored purple or pink. Just like boys, you say. Yes, but girls will still have very thin white circles around their nostrils. In males, these circles are also found, but their color is not always blue.
Unfortunately, at such an early stage this method may fail, because the chicks actively change color during their development. Therefore, we recommend, if possible, to observe the color of the cere over time. In males, changes will go towards the blue spectrum, i.e. gain intensity, in girls to pale shades of beige and brown.
Another feature that will help in determining gender is the uniform color of the wax. Boy parrots have an even color, as if varnished. In girls it is intermittent. Igor Ignatenkov
Adults
With mature birds everything is simpler. By 7-8 months, their body is fully formed, and the gender of the “oldies” can be determined by one or more characteristics. The methods discussed below apply specifically to mature parrots.
How to determine the sex of an adult budgie
Features of females
The fact that the female lays eggs is probably no secret to anyone, but this is not the only difference between a girl’s parrot and a male, and no buyer will wait until the bird reaches sexual maturity. The female can be distinguished by the following characteristics:
- The cere ( seals above the beak , where the bird's nostrils are located) in females is of a delicate color - pink, beige, grayish or light blue; the cere around the nostrils has white spots; when the female reaches sexual maturity, its cere acquires a rich brown color.
- Females are indifferent to toys and mirrors.
- Girls most often run away from hands and do not like being held in the palm of their hand or stroked on their feathers.
- The paws of females have a pinkish tint.
- Girls study poorly and are indifferent to human speech.
- Female parrots are warlike, often gnawing cage bars and perches, since when free they hollow out hollows for breeding future offspring.
- Females can bite hard, even bleeding.
- You can observe how the females restore order in the cage, clearing the cage of debris with flapping wings.
- During sexual intercourse, the female is at the bottom.
Based on the above criteria, females can be almost unmistakably identified from a variety of birds, because the characteristics of males are radically different from them.
We distinguish between males and females by external characteristics
How to distinguish by wax
Animal sellers will offer you exactly this method. This is really a good option to find out the gender of your future pet. Here are its basic rules:
- in males the cere will be bright blue;
- if the boys belong to the lutino, lacewing, recessive motley, albino, fallow breeds, in this case the color will be pink or mixed with blue;
- in females the cere has a beige or brown tone;
- Males have a uniform color, females do not;
- if you touch this growth, then for girls it will be rough, for boys it will be smooth (but you are unlikely to be able to do this, especially with unfamiliar wavy parts).
Differences between boys and girls by wax
Why doesn't this always work? Because there are genetic mutations associated with pedigree. If the parrot's ancestors included representatives of other colors, then they can affect both the general appearance of the bird and its wax.
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The second reason why the method does not work is changes in the hormonal background of birds or illness. The growth on the beak turns pale or even loses color.
But the sex of a bird can be distinguished by other characteristics.
According to the shape of the head
In females the skull is slightly flattened, in males it is dome-shaped and larger in comparison. Visually, this technique can be represented as an egg: the blunt end is a girl, the sharp end is a boy. The method will not work for determining the sex of crested budgerigars. Or just disheveled.
You can determine the sex of a parrot by the shape of its head
By spots on the cheeks
If we are dealing with ordinary parrots of the green or yellow series, then they are characterized by spots on the cheeks. In males they will be a deep purple color. The females are also purple, but the color is not so intense and not so large. The method can be considered additional, since color tonality is a subjective concept.
How to tell by body shape
If we consider birds of the same age, then males are larger and taller than females. The boys are fit and slender. Girls have a characteristic expansion at the bottom of the body. This is especially noticeable when the birds sit on a flat surface.
There is another way to find out the gender of a parrot. Females have wider pelvic bones. This feature is necessary for females to lay eggs. You can check this by feeling the bones of the wavy animals from the back under the tail. Birds are unlikely to like such manipulations - be careful!
Identification by parrot beak
If examination of the cere does not give a clear answer to the question at hand, then pay attention to the beak itself. The color is the same, but the size of the male is slightly different; the beak will be slightly larger. This method is comparative, that is, it requires two wavy animals, the gender of which is in doubt.
Determining the sex of a parrot by its beak
Voskovitsa: finding the differences
But the younger the bird, the less informative this sign is. Boys and girls up to forty days cannot be distinguished by their cere. In males in the second month of life, the skin growth gradually takes on a delicate pinkish-violet hue. By six months he turns blue. However, in atypical representatives of the species the cere may not change color.
And young girl budgies, having reached forty days old, show a whitish-blue or beige wax, with a white highlight near the nostrils. In a maturing female, this color changes to brown. Sometimes, under conditions of stress or molting, the color of the beak may become blue, but then the color returns to normal.
Laying eggs
Modern science claims that if a bird is laying eggs, then it is more likely that it is a female. But jokes aside, the topic is good and let's look at it.
The sex of parrots can be determined by their actions related to breeding.
- Nest device. Behavior of the male: flirts, dances around the chosen one, seeks her attention. Manners of the female: arranges a place for laying, observes the actions of the suitor.
- Pairing. Everything is simple here. Lady below, gentleman above. Well... you get the idea.
- Laying eggs. If you witnessed the process with your own eyes, then all questions should disappear. But this is not always possible to see.
- Hatching eggs. It is known that in some birds the eggs are incubated by males (alternately or constantly). So here it is. In budgerigars, only the female does this. Dad takes care of the hen - he feeds her, he can clean her feathers, but he won’t sit.
The sex of a parrot can be determined by the process of laying eggs.
By characteristic behavior
We touched upon the topic of the manners and habits of parrots associated with procreation. But in general, even outside of this process, males and females can be recognized by different ways of acting.
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What determines the nature of a boy? The male is more active, always in front, whether feeding or flying out of the cage. These are curious creatures, they need to check everything. Sings more often and louder. He is more willing to make contact with people, and reacts to people more calmly. Learns words and animal sounds faster. When kept in a pair, males will take a clear dominant position. And if there are more pets, then conflicts with other males are inevitable to determine alpha status.
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. Girls. Their character is greatly influenced by maternal instinct. This is not to say that they are quiet, rather more cautious. They monitor their partner’s reaction and then begin to act. They are reluctant to make contact with people, especially physical contact. They can bite for no apparent reason, just as a warning. During periods of hormonal activity they become aggressive and do not let anyone near them.
How to determine the gender of a budgie? / Definition and practice!)
Obviously, this information is not suitable for instantly determining the sex of parrots, but after observing a flock of birds even for a short time, you will see how females and males express themselves.
Who is in front of you: he or she?
Will budgies be talkative and how to distinguish a boy from a girl can be determined by the behavior of the bird .
- The male is the leader, he must be noticeable and stand out not only in color. Under natural conditions, the activity of a bird determines its lifespan and attractiveness to the opposite sex.
An active, noisy and curious “boy” sings louder and more willingly, and enjoys showing off in front of the mirror and his relatives. He pesters other birds, trying to build hierarchical relationships. An active and brave budgerigar boy will bravely step into your hand for food and quickly get used to his new environment.
- And the girl is patient and restrained. She rarely raises her voice, and does not waste time acting in front of the mirror. The female prefers to quietly contemplate.
But if a parrot gets into a new home, she begins to adapt it to herself: she does “spring cleaning” and throws out everything unnecessary from the cage. Girl budgies do not speak as readily as males, but their speech is clearer.
Genetic method for recognizing the gender of a boy and a girl
A rather complicated method that is applicable only to some breeds of budgies. Helps determine the gender of a chick before other options become available.
What colors are suitable? Opaline, Cinnamon, Albino, Lutino, Lacewing, Texas Celandine, Slate.
What do you need to know? Plumage color of parents.
How does it work? We take any of the above colors as A or B, and substitute according to the formulas.
- Dad A + Mom A. All chicks will be color A - the method will not work.
- Dad A + Mom B. All chicks A will be females, all chicks B will be males.
Hand chicks 30 days. How to determine the gender of a budgie
