Hello... Beaker is my Cape Parrot

[BeakersBro]

Hello everyone. I am new and I would like to introduce myself, as well as introduce Beaker.

He is almost 3 years old (his 3rd birthday is coming up in February).

He is my sunshine, my only sunshine and I would completely die if anything happened to him.

 

[BeakersBro]

YouTube videos of Beaker

Beaker 1
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoLbgTXjU1s"]

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Beaker 2
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAWELOaIZfE"]

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Beaker eating soup
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLz9rgRTgfA"]

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Beaker eating Cheerios
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeZjRd4lO8Y"]

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Beaker is full and how dare he be interrupted!
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u14YPMLE9lc"]

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Beaker eating chicker Marsala
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yimuMytzl90"]

[/ame]

 

[Featheredsamurai]

awww he's so sweet! I love the videos

He is my sunshine, my only sunshine and I would completely die if anything happened to him.

I feel the same way about my Rosie, I would be broken until someone came along to bring light back into my life. Even my friends, who I love so much, can never replace my feathered best friend.

 

[Dharmawaits]

Welcome and amen! My little love is all of four inches and the thought of her not here just about kills me. Your Beaker is absolutely precious!!!

 

[antoinette]

Welcome, Beaker is gorgeous, loves his colouring
I feel exactly the same way about my AG Mishka, he is my best friend, my companion, one of my reasons for breathing.
Enjoy the forum

 

[wenz2712]

Welcome to the forum

 

[aliray]

welcome and thanks for sharing the videos. Beaker is really cute.

 

[OOwl]

Your Beaker is so cute; looks like he's smiling. I've never met a Cape parrot before in person. They're adorable.

I think everyone has at least one of their birds that own their entire heart. I love every parrot in my flock, but my male lovebird is a bird I would have a hard time living without (I'm going to need therapy if something happens to him in my lifetime). So you are in good company with those that understand your love for Beaker.

 

[bkparrot]

Beautiful bird. I would love to meet one in person someday. Until then... look forward to stories and photos from current owners.

 

[Shade]

Welcome!
Given the amount of coral on Beaker's head (and given it seems to be pictures of Beaker as an adult), Beaker would be a female. Capes are sexually dimorphic and one of the clear differences is, as adult, male Capes loose the coral on their head.
(Unless these are old pictures and Beaker no longer has the colour on his head, in which case ignore what I put above.)

 

[BeakersBro]

Thanks for the compliments everyone

 

[BeakersBro]

Welcome!
Given the amount of coral on Beaker's head (and given it seems to be pictures of Beaker as an adult), Beaker would be a female. Capes are sexually dimorphic and one of the clear differences is, as adult, male Capes loose the coral on their head.
(Unless these are old pictures and Beaker no longer has the colour on his head, in which case ignore what I put above.)

The pictures and videos are recent. He still has a very bright orange on his head. I expect it will go away when he gets older. When I got him, the vet performed a DNA sex test and said he was male.

 

[Shade]

Welcome!
Given the amount of coral on Beaker's head (and given it seems to be pictures of Beaker as an adult), Beaker would be a female. Capes are sexually dimorphic and one of the clear differences is, as adult, male Capes loose the coral on their head.
(Unless these are old pictures and Beaker no longer has the colour on his head, in which case ignore what I put above.)

The pictures and videos are recent. He still has a very bright orange on his head. I expect it will go away when he gets older. When I got him, the vet performed a DNA sex test and said he was male.

DNA tests aren't 100% accurate all the time, in fact I know of a few people who have gotten false results, including one of my RBs previous owners.
Generally the colour would have gone away with the first molt. At 3 years of age, I'm pretty sure you have a female.

 

[OOwl]

I have a Grey that was DNA'd as male; however, my vet swore was a female based on physical exam and other factors. The bird ACTS like a female, so I had another DNA test done, from blood this time since the first one was a plucked feather and I thought might of gotten mixed up with one of the other clutch babies. Again, came back male. The bird is now going on ten years old and STILL displays like a female. Since I'm not a breeder and will never breed my bird, it doesn't matter, but I was just curious.

 

[BeakersBro]

But aren't there 3 kinds of Cape parrots? Maybe this kind keeps the orange...

 

[Shade]

There are. The "true" Cape parrot, Poicephalus robustus, which is not found in the North American aviculture and the one that is truly endangered.

The other two, Poicephalus fuscicollis fuscicollis (or Brown necked parrot) and Poicephalus fuscicollis suahelicus (or Grey headed parrot) are what are found in North America, the former more so in the US and the latter in Canada.

In all cases the males lose their colours as their adult colours start coming in, at around 9 months of age. I know of a few owners with either a Brown necked parrot or Grey headed parrot (which is what I have) and all the males lost the coral/orange on their head before a year of age and the females kept it. For a while, as Léa was molting I thought there was a chance she was a male as she lost all her orange before it grew back in a deeper coral (just like on Beaker). I have found that the transition on Brown necks to be more transitional whereas it is more radical on Grey heads, based on pictures I've seen from different owners. As well, female Brown necks tend to be the most colourful of all of them, the coral often having a larger spread.