# Visually Sexing Baby Chick by Head Shape



## Eileen (Mar 11, 2011)

I was reading this thread about visually sexing a baby chick by the shape of their head:

http://www.talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=11862

The thread was closed, but I also saw this article by Julie Allen and thought I would share. I thought this was interesting:

http://www.cockatiels.org/documents/visually_sexing_of_baby_cockatie.htm


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## lperry82 (Aug 2, 2010)

I say my Lucky and Taco are the same and Buttercup and cookie are the same 
so i don't think it works that way


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

I wouldn’t sex by head shape, it doesn’t work that way. While (like I said in that thread) Theo and Charlie have different shaped heads, several of my other Cockatiels have the same shaped heads, a mix of males and females.

It is like people that say you can sex Cockatiels by  feeling the pelvic region, a females will be more apart than males, this too is untrue.


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## Eileen (Mar 11, 2011)

The article by Julie Allen talks about sexing chicks (babies), not adult birds.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

sounds as sketchy as when i looked up ways to visually tell a lovebirds gender!!! i got one person saying to tie a nail onto a string and let it swing pendulum style over the lovebirds pelvis and if it spins in a circle its one gender and if it swings side to side its the other... i laughed so hard at this. i think the head shape thing is the same. just makes no sense. not to be rude, though. cockatiels are individuals and have their own traits.


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## Eileen (Mar 11, 2011)

Yeah, I agree. Your comment about the nail is stupid.


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

apparently the person was a breeder and it works every time... i wonder how well it really works lol


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

My adult males generally have broader heads than the females. Shodu's skull is so narrow that "Zippy the pinhead" is one of her nicknames. Meanwhile Vlad has a big fat head that's fun to kiss. I've never noticed any difference in the babies, not that I was paying attention.


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## Eileen (Mar 11, 2011)

She is a breeder and while she admits it certainly isn't scientific, it works for her. She also says that if she has a male whose head is shaped more like a female, she doesn’t use it for breeding. I think it is interesting, and while it isn't scientific, there have been all kinds of discoveries that people have stumbled upon by mistake. I mean, if we didn't have open minded people, we might still think the world is flat. 

I think there are definately visual indicators of sex in cockatiels, just like there are in most species. I have also been reading srtiel's thread on wing spot sexing. 

http://www.talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=18307


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