I want to know what my cockatiel's sex is. But?

Question

the local vet charges $35 for an exam and $50 for the dna test. Is there a cheaper way to go about sexing it?

It is very quiet. She doesn't really make a peep. She grinds her teeth and makes a little kissy sound when I do. But, no whistles, chirps, singing.

Answer 1

I had to do the same thing with my African gray. I did not know the sex of the bird for 5 years. I think you just pay the money if you want to know.

Answer 2

Put avian bio tech into yahoo search. They do DNA sexing and I believe it runs about 35 dollars total. An healthy bird exam is always a great thing to have, but 50 seems a little excessive for the DNA. You might try some bird stores in your area they usually test as well.

Answer 3

Some Cockatiels can be sexed visually (by just looking at them). Some generalities: in most mutations, males have brighter yellow faces and brighter orange cheekpatches; males normally sing and whistle more than females; and males will usually be more aggressive than females. These are just generalities, however, and there are exceptions to every rule.

Look at some of the following websites:

http://www.avianweb.com/cockatielinfo.htm

http://www.cockatiels.org/articles/genetics/vsexing.html

Answer 4

If you aren't breeding, does it really matter? Is the bird really talkative or really good at whistling? If it is really good at those 2 things, it is usually a boy. The girls are usually more quiet, but can say a few words. But you will really know if it is a girl when it laids a egg. Usually that happens when it is about 2 years old, but maybe a little sooner.

Hope this helps a little.....

Answer 5

You should be taking your bird to the vet regardless of whether you want to know the gender. Regular check ups are just as important for birds as they are for dogs and cats.

An avian vet that only charges $35 for an exam is very cheap!

Answer 6

its a rule normally with any bird species, that the plumage on a male is more vibrant and colorful and the female are more dull in color, get a cockatiel book because there are other ways as like the bars on their tails feathers and other ways, this link here is a picture of a female:http://pets.webshots.com/photo/1032579575033828450MehQfu

and this link here is a picture of a male:http://pets.webshots.com/photo/1035633791033828450dMpXLK


but even looks alone are confusing, heres a male and female pair and both have vivid colors:http://pets.webshots.com/photo/1032579775033828450mAxNLs i suggest that you just get a book and read the section on sexing them. but the fee is kinda cheap to know what the bird is and it'll give you a peace of mind knowing what your bird is, do you have a pic?

Answer 7

typically, if the cere is blue it's a boy, if pink it's a girl. Not reliable tho'.
Many parrots are difficult to sex. Cheyenne Mt. Zoo had several Hyacinth Macaws that they thought were a mixture of male/female. After a few years of no mating behavior, the vet had to bloodtest them.
Daft zoo had nothing but males.

Answer 8

that is the only guaranteed way to know the sex. you can look at the orange on the cheeks and usually the ones with darker orange are male and the ones with lighter orange are female, but this isn't always the case. the only way to know for sure is through the vet or if you have more than one and they start breeding.

Answer 9

males usually develop brite orange cheeks and a female usually stays gray with lite orange cheeks(regarding grey cockatiels) what breed do you have?Visual Sexing Myths
You can sex a bird by the bars on its tail or dots on its wings. Nope, sorry, no cigar. While females generally have bars and dots, they don't always. One of my males, a whiteface, has very well defined bars on his tail. He is definitely not a female. :) So this method isn't great for determining gender.
Louder, more aggressive birds are males. Usually. Not always. There are some very sweet, quiet males, and there are some loud, non-snuggly females. However, if genetics doesn't help the breeder determine the sex, they usually will use this method as a sort of backup to help figure out who's what. If you're looking for a specific sex, then this way of sexing might disappoint you.
Male lutinos have brighter cheekpatches. No. There is no way to visually sex a lutino or a pied. Period.

Below is a listing of many mutations of cockatiels. I will include photos as they are available. Males are on the left, females on the right. This is only for single mutations, birds like cinnamon pieds, or pearl lutinos, are not included here, as there are quite a few combinations possible. However, any bird that is a full pied (not split to it) cannot be visually sexed. Any bird that displays lutino, cannot be visually sexed. For example, a whiteface lutino. You can sex the whiteface, but lutinos cannot be visually sexed. Therefore, the whiteface lutino cannot be visually sexed.


Takoda Aviary's Visual Cockatiel Identification



Normal greys
The most common mutation of cockatiel.The bird is grey, with white wing tips and orange cheek patches. The male develops a bright yellow face with bright orange cheek patches, the female retains the grey face (usually with small amounts of yellow) and dull cheekpatches.

Male Female


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Cinnamons
Very similar to normal greys.The bird's body, instead of being grey, is a shade of brown, with white wing tips and orange cheek patches. The male develops a bright yellow face with bright orange cheek patches, the female retains the grey face (usually with small amounts of yellow) and dull cheekpatches.
No Photo Available.
Male Female
Owned by Debby


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Whiteface
Similar to normal grey. The bird is grey, with white wing tips and silvery cheek patches. The male develops a snow white face, the female retains the grey face with silver cheekpatches.

Male Female


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Yellowcheek
Similar to normal grey. The bird is grey, with white wing tips and yellow to yellow-orange cheek patches. The male develops a bright yellow face, the female retains the grey face (usually with small amounts of yellow) with the yellow cheekpatches. Sometimes the cheeks may blend in completely with the yellow head of the male.
No Photo Available No Photo Available.
Male Female


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Pearl
This mutation is highly sexually dimorphic, with the female being the more attractive of the sexes. The mature female has a bright yellow head with bright orange cheek patches, with pearling all over the body and wings. A good specimen has pearlings on the chest as well. Males look like normal greys, the grey body, white wing tips, and yellow head with bright orange cheepatches. A good specimen will retain a few pearls, loosely scattered over the body.
No Photo Available
Male Female



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Lutino
This mutation cannot be visually sexed. There are two variations on this mutation. The bird may either be completely yellow, with orange cheekpatches, or a yellow head with orange cheekpatches, and a white body.

"Rickki" owned by Ron Howard


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Pied
This mutation cannot be visually sexed. The bird will have grey and yellow/white patches all over its body, with bright orange cheekpatches. This is a highly variable mutation - some are more pied than others.

"Buddy" owned by Carole Obermeyer "Sunny" owned by Ron Howard

Answer 10

No, that's really the only way. However, there are characteristics of males and females, and seeing which category your bird fits into can help you formulate a guess. But it's not 100%.

http://www.cockatiels.org/articles/genetics/vsexing.html