# is my cockatiel Crystal male or female?



## Nikolais (Jan 13, 2013)

Hi my name is Nikolais and i have crystal my cockatiel for 4 days allthought i named her crystal i'm not sure if it is a male or a female it is sooo quiet just some whistles when my love bird is out of the cage playing with me or when he mimics her voise... it was alone in the pet shops cage and i bought it thinking that i was going to get an atherone to breed them.. at the shop they told me that it is 6 months old and that it is a 100% male but it seems to me like a female... the cage of the photos is old and i put her there for like 2 hours and then i bot a newone i didn't had time to take new photos tho... i would apriciate any opinion... thanks in advance...


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

Looks like you may have a male… have a close look and you will see that some of the inside of the tail feathers are a solid grey color. Both males and females have the barring on the inside of their tail feathers up until they go through their first molt (usually around 6 months old) and the males will lose the barring, and the females keep the barring. 

Here is an illustration to show you what I mean:










From here: http://s525.photobucket.com/albums/...py.jpg&currenttag=Normal grey male and female


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

It's a lovely bird, my guess is female since it's already six months old and has barring on her tail. I am glad you bought her a new cage, that old cage is rusty and needs to go She could also use a cuttlebone and toys


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## xoxsarahxox (Dec 13, 2010)

Crystal is cute! Im thinking boy as well because of the solid tail feathers, but you will know for sure when he goes through his first molt like Renae wrote. 

Some male behaviours are heart wings, whistling, and beak banging. 

Also please read through the sticky library, Breeding and Genetics section to see all of the hard work and preparation invloved with breeding cockatiels, http://talkcockatiels.com/forumdisplay.php?f=33.


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## Nikolais (Jan 13, 2013)

thank you guys for the answers but what if it has been throught the first molt when it was at the pet shop? i can't know that! and the other think that confuses me is that the bird is realy quiet and it's not doing any of the male behaviours heart wings, whistling, and beak banging... but wait a minute when you say heart wings you mean to put the wings in a position like is ready to fly but not completly open? cus when i put a cockatiel natural sounds video on you tube it is doing that and it whistels a lot but only then the rest of the day it stands there whatching us quietly... at the pet shop they told me that there where 6 of them in that cage but they sold all the others.. and left thisone alone is it bad now that it is alone? maby it feels lonely that's why it is so quiet.. pfffffff i don't know


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## marcello.capone (Jan 9, 2013)

Looks like a cute little girl to me. It is hard to tell when they are young. If she starts putting her bum in the air and chirping softly, then that is a sure sign. Female tiels seem quieter, more demure than males and are unlikely to talk.

We thought Tina was a male (aka Trevor) until she laid her first clutch of eggs.


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## Nikolais (Jan 13, 2013)

well Crystal is not doing anything all day just cleaning ''her'' self and going from perch to perch eating a lot and drinking of course! she doesn't touch the toys or the mirror...once in awhile she makes a soft whistel.. and make my lovebird go crazy for hours and thats all.... on her ring is writen 6 12 sl.... sl for sure is the name of the breeder i know him 6 and 12 month and year? it makes sense cuz they told me she is 6 months old so maybe they missed some days and now the bird is 6 and a half souldn't it gone throu the first molt already? my love bird is 3 months old and it started losing some feathers 1 week ago or it is defrend for lovebirds?


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## Nikolais (Jan 13, 2013)

omg Crysta is attaking the mirror making a strange noise like chhhhhhhhhhh..it seems like he /she doesn't want another tiel in there...


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## subhasis roy (Dec 21, 2012)

it looks like a female to me...wait for some more days give the bird to settle in the new environment first.Then he/she will start acting normally day by day.


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## nassrah (Feb 27, 2012)

Judging by the pictures,your Crystal is a lovely little girl.Give her time to settle,and then maybe it will be easier for you to find out.I was just thinking-Why not send a few feathers to a DNA testing-that would be the best way to sex your bird.Where are you based


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## nassrah (Feb 27, 2012)

OH,and before I forget-Congratulations for bringing Crystal into your life and looking after her properly.X x


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## Nikolais (Jan 13, 2013)

i'm living in an island named corfu in greece and here the vet that i asked for the dna test told me that the don't have the equipment to do that and that's going to cost me alot to send it in uk or germany to do the test... that's why i haven't done that...but any way i'm not in a hurry i'll wait for him/her to settle in his/her new house.... it is acting like girls do thought standing all day long infront of the mirror...and playing with the bell...


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