# Can you tell me the gender of my new cockatiel? :)



## Cloudmark (May 11, 2013)

Hello guys,

I have been petting a budgie for 2,5 years, and he is 3 years old. Yesterday I decided to buy a new parrot to our home. I was very intersted about cockatiels and wanted to buy a cockatiel,

I read the forum and found that I need to buy from a breeder, First I went to the bazaar where they sell lots of birds (I am living in Turkey), the birds there were very frightended and in bad condition, so I went to my local pet shop where I buy food and stuff for my old budgie, 

there, there was a very health looking budgie. He was whistling very beautifully and it was the best bird I had seen that day after all these birds in bad condition in bird bazaar.(Its called bird bazaar in Istanbul)

anyways, I immedietly loved the bird and wanted to buy it, but there was a problem. I was intented to buy a male bird in the first place, but the bird I saw there was not looking like a male. I mean, I did some researches and according to my researches(not sure if they are totally true) this bird was not looking like a male[pure yellow nech and orange mark on the face for males, but not pure yellow neck(yellow and green is mixed) for females]. His/her whistling is just like a males whistling,he is not chirping but whistling beautifully just like the males I saw on youtube etc., he is 3 months old as the breeder says. He insisted on that this bird is %100 sure a male. But I was just not that satisfied,

Then I bought the bird. He/she is in the cage for 1 day now and not talking much as it used to yesterday in the pet store. I am just confused if he is a male or a female, I ll be adding a picture of him so you might help me  THank you very much 

Note: he/she is 75-80 days old /(2.5-3 months) according to the breeder guy from the local pet store.He said : "The yellow color of the face isnt that clear right now because the bird is just baby at the moment.in 4-5 months you will se his face will be pure yellow and the orange dots will be wisible, Because he is a male."



























by the way: I am thinking this bird is a female by looking at this picture I found on the internet,









Can you help me? Thanks , and sorry for my bad english


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

The bird is still a baby. All baby tiels look female, that doesn't mean they are. You will have to wait til after the first molt to determine gender.

As to the singing, the bird is in a new environment and very scared. Once it settles in, then it will sing. Just give it some time.


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## Cloudmark (May 11, 2013)

So there is no way I can tell its gender now?  Its whistling just like a male do, I cant tell it from whistling?


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## ollieandme (Mar 25, 2013)

whistling is a male thing. occasionally a female will, but it's rare.
so it's highly likely it's a male.

can you wing-spot sex a baby tiel?


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## Nymphicus (Oct 11, 2010)

Do you have access to a DNA laboratory where you live? (you don't say where you live) If you do you a DNA test would determine the exact gender.


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## Cloudmark (May 11, 2013)

Note:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F91onSQEfJg

His/her whistling is just like this one in the video! , but its not rhytmy, just random whistling 

He is now sitting in front of the meals, just looking at me and winking its eyes in a comfortable way. I think he/she is happy right now, 

and I really want it to be a male  I just love the whistling and singing of cockatiels too much


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## Cloudmark (May 11, 2013)

Nymphicus said:


> Do you have access to a DNA laboratory where you live? (you don't say where you live) If you do you a DNA test would determine the exact gender.


I am living in Istanbul/Turkey, but is not likely I will find any DNA lab here, there isnt even much normal laboratoary that do Human DNA tests here, we dont even have Vets here that understands birds, they just know about dogs and cats,

I think its impossible for me to do a dna test in this conditions


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## wilfred (Apr 19, 2013)

A boy cockatiel does sound lovely when he whistles. A hen will whistle but not like a boy.If your bird is whistling anything at all like the one in the video you linked it's most likely a boy, but don't worry if it's a girl, I know for a fact girl tiels make lovely gentle pets and I would say better even then the boys. This is just a generalisation though, they are all individuals just like people.


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

ollieandme said:


> can you wing-spot sex a baby tiel?


No, you can't all babies will look femail but when they'd ace their first molt then either if its a male then they will change and if femail it will stay barred


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## Amz (Apr 10, 2013)

wilfred said:


> A boy cockatiel does sound lovely when he whistles.


You must not have a boy cockatiel then. :lol: "Lovely" is definitely not the word to come to mind when Rocko sings... more like... painfully earsplitting. And repetitive. All he knows is Jingle Bells. And he sings it ALL. THE. TIME.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> No, you can't all babies will look femail but when they'd ace their first molt then either if its a male then they will change and if femail it will stay barred


Actually wing spot sexing is completely different and is a way to try to determine gender before the first molt. See: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=18307

There are other behaviors to watch for, along with whistling, look for beak banging and heart wings. These are also male behaviors. Sounds like he's settling in nicely.


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## Cloudmark (May 11, 2013)

Ok,

I liked the wing-spot sexing thing but I think I cant make him open his wing for me he ll probably scare a lot, since I cant even get my hand close to him at the moment. All I can do is wait for him to yawn so I can see his wings opened 

He has just been in our home for 1 day , but he is a lot familiar to us than yesterday, 

yesterday all he do was waiting in scare , now he is eating, cleaning his feathers. But when I try to give him food/leaf from my hand , he just gets into a alert position and make some hiss from his mouth to make me go away, 

What do you guys suggest me to do for first 30 days? I know I mustnt get him out of the cage in any way, and I wont do that , Is there anything I can do to make love us and maybe hand train him?  He is in our sitting room with the family,

I just wonder how long does it take for him to start feeling like our pet bird ? 

thanks in advance 

Nice Edit: Just seen him yawning and opening his wings for stretching, the feathers close to his body were completely grey just likr this picture

http://talkcockatiels.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7308&d=1298765813

yay!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

Here are some threads on taming:
http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=22073
http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=33824

Also food bribery is good, if you have millet sprigs, those work the best: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=28661

One question though, why aren't you letting him out of the cage? I know that there is a 30 day quarantine period (you said you had budgie right?) but that means they're in separate rooms not that he's locked in a cage for 30 days, that's not fair to the bird. You can let him out, it may help him get used to you faster. Are his wings clipped?


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## wilfred (Apr 19, 2013)

Amz said:


> You must not have a boy cockatiel then. :lol: "Lovely" is definitely not the word to come to mind when Rocko sings... more like... painfully earsplitting. And repetitive. All he knows is Jingle Bells. And he sings it ALL. THE. TIME.


Well Joey doesn't only sing, he doeas know how to do the ear splitting shrieks, but fortunately he's learnt how to do one or two garden bird songs which is nice.The fire alarm is less sonorous.


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## Cloudmark (May 11, 2013)

roxy culver said:


> Here are some threads on taming:
> http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=22073
> http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=33824
> 
> ...


I just bought some millet springs today, my budgie goes crazy for them, but cockatiel isnt interested in it too much now, He is just not interested in things I am giving him, I think its because he isnt familiar to us so well, I ll try the millets later for trying to tame him,

There are lots of dangerous things in the home where the bird might get into trouble, I have read lots of blogs etc about this 15/30 days thing, So I dont want to make any mistake, I ll wait for 15-20 days then let him go out the cage  while the budgie is outside cockatiel is being hyperactive I think he wants to go outside too. I dont want him to make to feel like that so I ll be not letting the budgie go out the cage for 15-20 days too  :lovie 1: 

btw I didnt clip his wings yet, if I get in trouble about windows and doors in summer I want to consider wing clipping :cinnamon:

thanks  I ll be reading those guides , hope he is going to be just like my crazy budgie


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

But are the cages near each other? The whole point of quarantine is that the birds aren't near each other. Diseases can be airborne not just by contact. The 30 days is the recommended time to keep the birds apart from each other, not the time to keep them locked in the cage. That's not fair to the birds. They need to be in different rooms, where they can't see or be near or breathe the same air as the other.


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## Cloudmark (May 11, 2013)

The budgie is in the same room with the cockatiel , but there are 5-6 meters between them, they both are in diffrent cages, cocktailes cage is much bigger than the budgies. The budgie is all chirping and talking atm, and cockatiel can hear his sounds but cant see him, does this make problem? Cus I can change its(budgie) room, I can move him to my own room and look for him if thats better for cockatiel,

note: He started getting food from my hand, I am giving him sunflower seeds from my hand thats a good thing I think ,

http://i.imgur.com/f9lIuPQ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/RM1hGDN.jpg

:cinnamon:


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

That is good!

And yes move the budgie. Quarantine doesn't work if they're in the same room. Its pointless unless they are separated by more than just cages.


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## pep4uk (Aug 30, 2011)

Hhahahaha jingle bells how cute is that xx


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## Haimovfids (Sep 19, 2012)

roxy culver said:


> But are the cages near each other? The whole point of quarantine is that the birds aren't near each other. Diseases can be airborne not just by contact. The 30 days is the recommended time to keep the birds apart from each other, not the time to keep them locked in the cage. That's not fair to the birds. They need to be in different rooms, where they can't see or be near or breathe the same air as the other.


I don't get it if they are not allowed to be in the same room for 30 days then how will we just put them in together 
Won't that make the 30 day cycle pointless


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

Baruch, they should not be in the same room for 30 days to protect against disease. after 30 days, they can be in the same room to get to know eachother. but all NEW birds should not be put in the same room at all for at LEAST 30 days. that's what quarantine is. 


the new baby tiel is adorable, CloudMark  he is very young still so you won't know the gender for sure, but boys and girls are both great pets  you won't be disappointed even if "he" ends up being a girl.

looks like he is starting to trust you, taking treats from your hands through the bars. i would see if you can get him some different kinds of perches too. maybe some rope perches? they might feel better on his feet


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