what is the best way to tell if a cockateil is a he or she?

Question

no stupid answers please

Answer 1

Determining the sex of the young cockatiel is not always easy; it often consists of an educated guess. The males and females of the normal greys and cinnamons are identical when young. They show little or no yellow on the face and both have large spots under the wings on the long flight feathers. As the males approach maturity and molt into adult plumage, usually at six months to a year, they lose their under wing spots and the facial area becomes mostly yellow. The orange cheek patch stands out clearly against the light colored head. The females continue to look like the young birds after molting. They retain their under wing spots and have very little yellow in the facial areas. They have the orange cheek patch but against the darkness of the surrounding plumage it is less obvious.

The pearl males lose their pearling with the first molt but the females retain their pearling for life. As immature birds they are identical. The pieds are the most difficult to sex. Both males and females retain the same under wing markings in maturity.

In all cockatiels the males are more vocal. When the mating song is heard, you can be sure that your bird is a male bird.

Palpation of the space between the pelvic bones is another method of determining the sex of the bird. The bones of the male are pointed and close together while the females' are dull, rounded, and further apart. The females are usually wider across the chest and the males longer and slimmer. The male often has a larger and fuller crest. None of these are completely reliable indicators but serve as contributors to that educated guess.

For the past year I have been trying a simple method of determining sex which so far has proved surprisingly accurate. In the greys, cinnamons, and pearls the under wing spots or bars extend only half way up the extended wing on the males. In the hens, these extend up the full length of the wing to the body of the bird.

Answer 2

The easiest (but not always reliable) is once the cockatiel is full grown, at least a year, if the orange patch on the check is very bright, it is a male. If it is not very vivid, it is a female. The most reliable (full proof) is by DNA testing. I can't remember the name of the site, but we used to order the paper needed and do it ourselves. It cost about $25 to send it. We cut a small piece of the birds nail until it bled then we would fill in the circle with the birds blood and send it off in the mail. We had this powder called sure stop and dipped the bird's nail in this to stop the bleeding. If you don't have that, flour will usually do the same. I don't know how much a vet would charge to do this, probably as much as the vet said. Another way is to look under the tail feathers. If the markings are an upside down "V" shape, it is a male, if it is more curved, it is a female. Again, this is not very reliable.

Answer 3

The absolute best way to tell the sex of a cockatiel is to have DNA sex-typing performed by a laboratory. Many can be found through the internet and charge a reasonable fee. However, if you wish to "guess" by physical examination, male cockatiels after a few weeks of age, begin to show a 'square' brow ridge above their eyes. In the females, this ridge is noticeably more rounded. Males also tend to be more vocal than females and will whistle more readily...however, female cockatiels will also, rarely, display vocal ability comparable to males. If your cockatiel is a 'normal'--meaning it is not the offspring from specifically bred parents, grandparents, etc to distort natural color patterns, the orange patch on its cheeks will be a more dark and vivid color in males and lighter in color in females.

Answer 4

cockatiels are not sexually dimorphic therefore it is virtually impossible to tell their sex by simple physical examination. i am a practicing veterinarian who specializes in avian medicine, and it is a question that i am asked very frequently. the best way to determine sex is by DNA testing. i believe the company offering such tests is Zoogen. many commercial vet labs have access to such DNA tests and one can simply be performed at your local veterinarian. i my experience this can be costly (be prepared for at least 50 dollars for such a test to be done). in some bird species palpation of the pubic bones and the distance that separates them can be used to "guess" a sex. this can be a bit tricky in small birds like cockatiels because the distance may vary a few milimeters and therefore be very subjective. i generally do not use behavioral traits like vocalization simply because the noisiness of birds have a lot more to do with just the sex and can be a highly inaccurate factor.

Answer 5

With parakeets you can tell a male by the blue or purple coloring on their beaks, not sure if this pertains to a cockatiel though.

Answer 6

Does it leave the toilet seat up or down?

Answer 7

stick your finger up its ... oh no stupid answers. sorry

Answer 8

boys usually more colorful..

Answer 9

first teach him how to talk, then ask him.