Male or female, can you help me?

[sterug]

Hello, first of all sorry for my English (a translator is helping me), I have two cockatiels, an albino male and an ancestral female. I have some doubts about the possibility that the female (it was sold to me as such) is really female... can you help me?

 

[Vampiric_Conure]

The grey bird looks like a younger male. He's got the face and solid colored tail feathers. Does he sing/whistle?

 

[sterug]

The grey bird looks like a younger male. He's got the face and solid colored tail feathers. Does he sing/whistle?

I suspected it... but he doesn't sing and whistles little and in a different way than the albino

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Theyre lovely birds! Assuming they'll are at least one year old, if the underside of t long wing and tail feathers is solid grey with no sideways barring, it's a male. If he face is yellow without grey mixed in its a male. From the pictures the grey one is a male.
The white bird is likely a female. Male albino are pretty rare. If you need to know for certain whether the white one is a male you will need to get a DNA test.

 

[sterug]

Theyre lovely birds! Assuming they'll are at least one year old, if the underside of t long wing and tail feathers is solid grey with no sideways barring, it's a male. If he face is yellow without grey mixed in its a male. From the pictures the grey one is a male.
The white bird is likely a female. Male albino are pretty rare. If you need to know for certain whether the white one is a male you will need to get a DNA test.

For the white one I have already done a DNA test and it is male... my doubts are for the grey one which I also think is male, but it was sold to me as female (I was and am inexperienced).

 

[texsize]

Grey bird looks male to me.
Immature cockatiels have female coloration until first molt.
Bright yellow and red cheeks are definitely male.
The grey strip on neck is a little unusual but could be explained by being young and not fully molted out.

 

[clark_conure]

Yeah DNA test is the only way to be conclusive unless it bonds to one HUMAN sex over the other, girls like boys, boys like girls. It's not scientific but can work.

I'm just going to say it...wild birds at least have differences in color, while parrots are like "I don't care if we all dress the same we all look fabulous!!!!!"

 

[rheashard2]

Beautiful birds!

 

[Caecilius est in horto]

Hello, first of all sorry for my English (a translator is helping me), I have two cockatiels, an albino male and an ancestral female. I have some doubts about the possibility that the female (it was sold to me as such) is really female... can you help me?

View attachment 78890View attachment 78891View attachment 78892

usually if it talks and whistles alot, it's a male

 

[TheSillyBirbHouse!1!1]

This isn’t a response to a question at hand but there are certain aspects in your bird cage/setup that need changing for the benefit of the birds. For one, the cage has plastic perches which can cause your birds bumble foot and arthritis so I would suggest swapping them out for natural perches which you can buy on amazon and even outside if you check that the tree your getting it from is bird safe. Second, I don’t see any toys in the cage, toys are required for birds mental health, I would heavily suggest foraging and shredding toys. Third, plastic bowls grow bacteria way quicker, especially with the water so switching them with stainless steel cups would be better. Finally this isn’t necessarily for the cage setup but I can’t help but notice that the birds are on a seed diet, seed is like junk food for birds it’s can cause fatty liver disease and usually ends the birds life earlier, also I would suggest not having millet in the cage because it makes it work way worse for training and previously having seeds readily available in the cage isn’t suggested. Anyways bye, I hope you take these bird care tips!

 

[AprilRobin]

This isn’t a response to a question at hand but there are certain aspects in your bird cage/setup that need changing for the benefit of the birds. For one, the cage has plastic perches which can cause your birds bumble foot and arthritis so I would suggest swapping them out for natural perches which you can buy on amazon and even outside if you check that the tree your getting it from is bird safe. Second, I don’t see any toys in the cage, toys are required for birds mental health, I would heavily suggest foraging and shredding toys. Third, plastic bowls grow bacteria way quicker, especially with the water so switching them with stainless steel cups would be better. Finally this isn’t necessarily for the cage setup but I can’t help but notice that the birds are on a seed diet, seed is like junk food for birds it’s can cause fatty liver disease and usually ends the birds life earlier, also I would suggest not having millet in the cage because it makes it work way worse for training and previously having seeds readily available in the cage isn’t suggested. Anyways bye, I hope you take these bird care tips!

I agree with what you said about toys and perches, however...

1. Just because we see bowls of seed in this photo, it doesn't necessarily mean that these birds never eat anything else. I won't get started on the "pellets vs no pellets" debate. I will say that I go to a forum where many users are from the UK, and pellets are MUCH less popular there...but members have kept healthy birds for years. Their birds eat seeds, vegetables, and appropriate amounts of fruits, nuts, Avi-Cakes, and Nutriberries. My birds currently have seed/pellet mix in their cages - but everyone ate a lot of vegetables earlier. I also know a married couple, in person, who have been keeping birds for about 30 years, and never feed pellets.

2. I use plastic cups in my Budgies' cage. I clean and wipe them very carefully. When the Budgies had access to stainless steel cups, some of them liked to peck at their reflections or remove the cups from the holders. The cups that came with the cage; they don't peck at or move. Currently, one of our Cockatiels is hormonal and defensive over a steel food cup. I might change those to plastic. I know of one other Cockatiel owner who switched to plastic for this same reason.

I am not trying to be rude and I hope I don't sound that way. I just want to help this owner.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I agree with what you said about toys and perches, however...

1. Just because we see bowls of seed in this photo, it doesn't necessarily mean that these birds never eat anything else. I won't get started on the "pellets vs no pellets" debate. I will say that I go to a forum where many users are from the UK, and pellets are MUCH less popular there...but members have kept healthy birds for years. Their birds eat seeds, vegetables, and appropriate amounts of fruits, nuts, Avi-Cakes, and Nutriberries. My birds currently have seed/pellet mix in their cages - but everyone ate a lot of vegetables earlier. I also know a married couple, in person, who have been keeping birds for about 30 years, and never feed pellets.

2. I use plastic cups in my Budgies' cage. I clean and wipe them very carefully. When the Budgies had access to stainless steel cups, some of them liked to peck at their reflections or remove the cups from the holders. The cups that came with the cage; they don't peck at or move. Currently, one of our Cockatiels is hormonal and defensive over a steel food cup. I might change those to plastic. I know of one other Cockatiel owner who switched to plastic for this same reason.

I am not trying to be rude and I hope I don't sound that way. I just want to help this owner.

I also use plastic water and food bowls and rinse and wipe them thoroughly every day and in the dishwasher once a week. I also don't feed pellets but feed chop and a seed mix to my budgies, plus leafy greens, a bit of plain scrambled egg, and sprouted seeds. Not all of these foods would be evident in a photo of the inside of the cage.
I think it's okay to remind people about the proper diet for birds especially new members. If it makes a bird healthier I don't mind being incorrect sometimes about what someone actually feeds them.
It bothers me a lot when birds are kept in too small cages with bad perches and too few toys. Birds deserve so much better.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I confess that not all my birds' perches are natural branch type. Some are dowels, some are natural branch, some are rope. I believe there isn't anything wrong with dowel perches unless they're the only perches. If you give a variety of perching options a bird will select what feels good on its feet and that may change with time. I don't use plastic perches but I don't think including one plastic perch in a cage with many options would harm birds' feet. I draw the line at sandpaper perch sleeves- who would want to stand barefoot on sandpaper!

 

[rheashard2]

My first avian vet was a specialist in this area. He stressed variety in perch types, dowel, natural, whatever didn't matter. Variety was the key to preventing foot inflammation. He gave it a long string of syllables. I looked dumb. He laughed and said bumble foot. As long as there was variety in type, textures and diameter the risk was low. He said check on foot bottom as she navigates about sides of cage. My CAG spends random amounts of time on each. I only use dowels as step up. Some of her natural slim down to 0.25 cm and up to about 3 cm. She has a grit perch used randomly short times during day. Thats her favorite spot beak scrubbing spot. Her primary night roost is the edge of her enclosed food dish. It's basically a rectangle about 0.3 cm wide and 1.4 cm tall. I worry about stress points from that location. Since it's an unnatural shape.

 

[AprilRobin]

I also use plastic water and food bowls and rinse and wipe them thoroughly every day and in the dishwasher once a week. I also don't feed pellets but feed chop and a seed mix to my budgies, plus leafy greens, a bit of plain scrambled egg, and sprouted seeds. Not all of these foods would be evident in a photo of the inside of the cage.
I think it's okay to remind people about the proper diet for birds especially new members. If it makes a bird healthier I don't mind being incorrect sometimes about what someone actually feeds them.
It bothers me a lot when birds are kept in too small cages with bad perches and too few toys. Birds deserve so much better.

I usually think it's okay to remind people...but the wording of the comment "I can’t help but notice that the birds are on a seed diet" seemed to be making assumptions. Maybe I overreacted, but that was just how it sounded to me at the moment. When people say "seed diet", they often seem to think (in my experience) "the bird is only eating seeds and nothing else at all".

 

[AprilRobin]

I confess that not all my birds' perches are natural branch type. Some are dowels, some are natural branch, some are rope. I believe there isn't anything wrong with dowel perches unless they're the only perches. If you give a variety of perching options a bird will select what feels good on its feet and that may change with time. I don't use plastic perches but I don't think including one plastic perch in a cage with many options would harm birds' feet. I draw the line at sandpaper perch sleeves- who would want to stand barefoot on sandpaper!

My first avian vet was a specialist in this area. He stressed variety in perch types, dowel, natural, whatever didn't matter. Variety was the key to preventing foot inflammation. He gave it a long string of syllables. I looked dumb. He laughed and said bumble foot. As long as there was variety in type, textures and diameter the risk was low. He said check on foot bottom as she navigates about sides of cage. My CAG spends random amounts of time on each. I only use dowels as step up. Some of her natural slim down to 0.25 cm and up to about 3 cm. She has a grit perch used randomly short times during day. Thats her favorite spot beak scrubbing spot. Her primary night roost is the edge of her enclosed food dish. It's basically a rectangle about 0.3 cm wide and 1.4 cm tall. I worry about stress points from that location. Since it's an unnatural shape.

I agree, variety is more important than having every single branch be natural. Sometimes, a couple of our Budgies just want to sit on the edges of food dishes, like Rheashard2's CAG. Doesn't matter how much space is available on any perch.

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Its funny where our budgies chose to perch after spending a lot on the finest perches! But I trust my budgies to sit where they are comfortable even if it's hanging onto the wires at the corner of the cage, straddling the corner!

 

[AprilRobin]

Its funny where our budgies chose to perch after spending a lot on the finest perches! But I trust my budgies to sit where they are comfortable even if it's hanging onto the wires at the corner of the cage, straddling the corner!

I've seen this at night...peeked into the room and I could tell (from the glow of the nightlights) that some are straddling corners or clinging to cage walls!

 

[rheashard2]

Yeah, yippee, yahoo's. My CAG isn't a weird egg! That's a relief. Sometimes I am afflicted with owner doubts. What am I doing wrong etc. So this is another example of 'why'...because I can!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Parrots feet are built just like woodpeckers' feet, two toes facing back and two facing front, and they are engineered to cling to trees. Peckers often roost at night and durimg storms inside small tree hollows, sleeping clinging to the sides. Parrots are not like typical perching birds with three toes facing front and one facing back. Plus they have a hookbill! Parrots are natural climbers- you never see a sparrow climbing! So it's not surprising that parrot type birds perch in uncomfortable looking positions. We must give our Parrots ample climbing opportunities. I have some budgies in plexiglass cube cages without bars so I provide them with lots of cage decor and toys that allow them to climb in lieu of cage bars and they're happy.