I had 2 parakeets, they've multiplied! i cant tell male birds from females..can u?
I now have 10 total, w 5 kids in the house it becomes pretty noisy at times LOL friends want to take "couples" home (parakeets, not kids lol) but i dont know which birds to give them..
It has happened among almost every pet bird owner. They buy a bird, start calling it “Charlie”, and much to their surprise they awake one morning to realize that Charlie laid an egg. What happened? The dilemma is not one that is easily solved. Birds in general do not show external sexual characteristics. The males favor the females and vice versa. So how do you tell a male bird from a female bird? Unless you are trying to breed your bird it doesn’t matter what the bird’s sex is.
If you were breeding your bird, there are several options to determine the sex. One is by observation. There are no such things as male behaviors or female behaviors, but if the bird lays an egg than you know you have a female. The female’s ability to do this is independent of having a male nearby. Sometimes females will lay infertile eggs spontaneously. If you prefer and want a more concise way of identifying the sex there is the technique of DNA sexing. This technique analyzes the bird’s red blood cells to determine the presence of male or female chromosomes. Any age bird can undergo this testing and it only takes one drop of blood. For the most part this technique is reliable and relatively inexpensive. The blood sample taken from the bird is sent out to a lab for identification. Results can take up to o three weeks to come back from the lab. DNA fingerprinting is also available for birds, but it is less common.
Surgical Sexing is also available for birds. Of all the modern methods available, this is the oldest and quickest way to determine the sex. A tool known as an endoscope is passed into the body cavity. The bird is placed under a general anesthesia. With this tool either ovaries or testes are seen and alas you have the sex of the bird. There is an advantage to this technique in that when the veterinarian has the endoscope inside the bird, it can reveal the overall health of the bird. This is an expensive technique. It also places stress on the bird. An experienced avian veterinarian can usually do this technique at a minimal risk.
Fecal Steroid Analysis is another technique. This requires that the bird be sexually mature. A stool sample is analyzed for the presence of reproductive hormones.
Feather Sexing is conclusive in determining sex if you retrieve the feather pulp from a growing feather. The feather is analyzed for the presence of male or female chromosomes. The sample needs to be sent to the lab in an ice pack by overnight mail.
For most pet birds, there are general guidelines to determine the sex of the bird. These guidelines are based on the physical characteristics of the bird and should only be used as a guideline, because there are exceptions to every rule. For most people, however, they are enough to satisfy their need to know.
In parakeets there are ceres, which are small dots on the bird's beak. In mature male parakeets the ceres are bright-bluish; the female ceres are reddish-brown. When the birds are young, it is difficult to tell because the ceres of both sexes are pale blue.
In the cockatiel, males are generally great singers. Female cockatiels have been known to talk but are generally quiet. The male cockatiel has bright orange cheek patches. The females also have orange cheek patches but they are dull in color. These again are only guidelines. In other birds it is virtually impossible to tell the difference between a male and female. The only reliable method for these birds is to take it to an avian veterinarian and have it done diagnostically.
For most people it doesn’t matter if the bird is male or female. The bird has become a part of their family, and a Charlie can easily become to be called Charlene. For breeders and people that just have to know, there are techniques available as discussed above. As with anything it is important to discuss any concerns you have with your avian veterinarian.
In parakeets there are ceres, which are small dots on the bird's beak. In mature male parakeets the ceres are bright-bluish; the female ceres are reddish-brown. When the birds are young, it is difficult to tell because the ceres of both sexes are pale blue.
Mmmmm. If this may be a real subject then Im sorry on your loss. human beings can become very related to what's going to become a factor of your loved ones. i understand i moan like mad when I ought to take the dogs in the rain yet sense so responsible while he seems at me with those dark unhappy eyes.... It dosent remember what the animal is, in case you spend long adequate of a while around them, you advance to love them. You sound like a worrying proprietor so in spite of the fact which you maynot sense like it now, as your of course an animal individual, sooner or later you will probable finally end up with yet another addition to the family individuals.
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
get them dna tested take them to the vet or buy a dna testing kit about £10-£25.
Hope this helps!
well according to the site i found
"Some people will tell you that you can't tell the sex of a baby
parakeet, but they are mistaken. I learned the method below from
people who breed budgies to show. It only works on regularly
colored birds, not on albinos or lutinos (birds with red eyes).
I don't know how to sex those.
First, make sure you have a baby. Young parakeets have black bars
on their foreheads all the way down to their beak; older birds have
a clear, unbarred forehead. Young parakeets have eyes entirely
black; most (not all) older birds have white irises.
Not all parakeets sold in pet stores are babies - often there are
adults mixed in.
Now look closely at the cere (the fleshy skin over the beak, where
the nostrils are).
MALE baby parakeets have TRANSLUCENT PINK ceres, that look a bit
like a sore thumb. The cere may have a bluish or purplish tint.
FEMALE baby parakeets have OPAQUE WHITE covering most of the cere,
especially around the nostrils. It often has a light blue tint.
Notice that in babies, the blue color is not helpful - it does not
mean you have a male. What matters is whether the skin is
translucent or opaque.
There is a lot of individual variation in this. However, females
normally have the opaque whiteness covering MOST of the cere, with
the area surrounding the nostrils being an especially solid white.
Males may have some opacity around the nostrils too, but it's not
as intensely white as on females, and it doesn't cover such a large
area of the cere.
Another clue is that males are much more vocal than females, even
as babies. They chatter and sing on and on!
It will help you learn to sex them if you examine a big group of
birds at a pet store and try to figure out each bird's sex. At
first, when I did this, most of the birds always looked female to
me. After a while, though, it got easier to tell them apart. In
some it's more obvious what their sex is than in others.
SEXING ADULT PARAKEETS
In adult MALES, the cere is BLUE all over.
In adult FEMALES, the cere VARIES. Females grow an ugly brown
crusty skin on the cere when they are ready to breed. Later this
falls or peels off, and the cere returns to its underlying color,
which can be white, beige, or bluish. If you look at the color of
the rest of the bird, it can help explain the color of the cere.
Look at the toes and beak. Some birds have pink toes and bright
yellow beaks. Others are much bluer, with greyish-blue toes and
dark greyish-green beaks. These birds may have a bluer cere, too.
Thus, a non-breeding female with a bluish cere is not necessarily
sick or undergoing a sex change."
It has happened among almost every pet bird owner. They buy a bird, start calling it “Charlie”, and much to their surprise they awake one morning to realize that Charlie laid an egg. What happened? The dilemma is not one that is easily solved. Birds in general do not show external sexual characteristics. The males favor the females and vice versa. So how do you tell a male bird from a female bird? Unless you are trying to breed your bird it doesn’t matter what the bird’s sex is.
If you were breeding your bird, there are several options to determine the sex. One is by observation. There are no such things as male behaviors or female behaviors, but if the bird lays an egg than you know you have a female. The female’s ability to do this is independent of having a male nearby. Sometimes females will lay infertile eggs spontaneously. If you prefer and want a more concise way of identifying the sex there is the technique of DNA sexing. This technique analyzes the bird’s red blood cells to determine the presence of male or female chromosomes. Any age bird can undergo this testing and it only takes one drop of blood. For the most part this technique is reliable and relatively inexpensive. The blood sample taken from the bird is sent out to a lab for identification. Results can take up to o three weeks to come back from the lab. DNA fingerprinting is also available for birds, but it is less common.
Surgical Sexing is also available for birds. Of all the modern methods available, this is the oldest and quickest way to determine the sex. A tool known as an endoscope is passed into the body cavity. The bird is placed under a general anesthesia. With this tool either ovaries or testes are seen and alas you have the sex of the bird. There is an advantage to this technique in that when the veterinarian has the endoscope inside the bird, it can reveal the overall health of the bird. This is an expensive technique. It also places stress on the bird. An experienced avian veterinarian can usually do this technique at a minimal risk.
Fecal Steroid Analysis is another technique. This requires that the bird be sexually mature. A stool sample is analyzed for the presence of reproductive hormones.
Feather Sexing is conclusive in determining sex if you retrieve the feather pulp from a growing feather. The feather is analyzed for the presence of male or female chromosomes. The sample needs to be sent to the lab in an ice pack by overnight mail.
For most pet birds, there are general guidelines to determine the sex of the bird. These guidelines are based on the physical characteristics of the bird and should only be used as a guideline, because there are exceptions to every rule. For most people, however, they are enough to satisfy their need to know.
In parakeets there are ceres, which are small dots on the bird's beak. In mature male parakeets the ceres are bright-bluish; the female ceres are reddish-brown. When the birds are young, it is difficult to tell because the ceres of both sexes are pale blue.
In the cockatiel, males are generally great singers. Female cockatiels have been known to talk but are generally quiet. The male cockatiel has bright orange cheek patches. The females also have orange cheek patches but they are dull in color. These again are only guidelines. In other birds it is virtually impossible to tell the difference between a male and female. The only reliable method for these birds is to take it to an avian veterinarian and have it done diagnostically.
For most people it doesn’t matter if the bird is male or female. The bird has become a part of their family, and a Charlie can easily become to be called Charlene. For breeders and people that just have to know, there are techniques available as discussed above. As with anything it is important to discuss any concerns you have with your avian veterinarian.
In parakeets there are ceres, which are small dots on the bird's beak. In mature male parakeets the ceres are bright-bluish; the female ceres are reddish-brown. When the birds are young, it is difficult to tell because the ceres of both sexes are pale blue.
Mmmmm. If this may be a real subject then Im sorry on your loss. human beings can become very related to what's going to become a factor of your loved ones. i understand i moan like mad when I ought to take the dogs in the rain yet sense so responsible while he seems at me with those dark unhappy eyes.... It dosent remember what the animal is, in case you spend long adequate of a while around them, you advance to love them. You sound like a worrying proprietor so in spite of the fact which you maynot sense like it now, as your of course an animal individual, sooner or later you will probable finally end up with yet another addition to the family individuals.