# 6 month pearl WF male? Can you tell?



## Brendainnj (Oct 11, 2012)

Hi, can anyone tell if this is a male? The current owner says that the Bird store where he purchased it was almost certain (at 12 weeks) that the bird was male, based on his mutation coloring....I'm not sure if they meant the bird's parents or what. 

The bird is 6 months old, and he says he doesn't sing or whistle but says that he hasn't tried to teach the bird to whistle either....

Our Lutino female recently passed - when we got her the breeder was almost certain she was a "he". She became a chronic egg-layer. I'm hoping to avoid any more issues with that so I really want this to be a male - it's gorgeous. (although I know he'll lose his pearls) I thought the WF is supposed to be more defined in the male...?

Thank you!!


----------



## chefontheloose (Dec 11, 2016)

This is my WF pearl female. Very similar. Not sure on her age. At least 2 years old.









Sent from my SM-N915G using Tapatalk


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

At this age you won't be able to tell gender. Not unless you know what the parents are and even then the only for sure way to know is if mom isn't pearl (which would make this baby a girl.) Baby looks to be a wf cinnamon pearl. You can wait until the baby molts to see if it loses its pearls OR you can do a DNA test by plucking a couple chest feathers and sending them in. All babies look female for the first couple months, that's why it's face isn't very white yet. If male, once the pearls molt out, the baby will look like a wf cinnamon male and have a bright white face.


----------



## kr90au (Aug 4, 2016)

If you cant tell by mutations, their behavior is a pretty fair indicator. Males are more outgoing / curious / on alert

Females will "nibble angry" if you take them away from somewhere they wanted to be and I've only ever seen females do it.

Females like to claim their territory and will bow their head, spread their wings, and shake their head from side to side like a nut.

Females usually keep their facial feathers fluffed out around their beak and have a more relaxed look to their eyes.

And of course females only really chirp and contact call, nothing else.


----------



## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

> Females will "nibble angry" if you take them away from somewhere they wanted to be and I've only ever seen females do it.


I've had males do this so it's not just a female behavior. My males were actually more nippy than my hens, especially when they hit the one year mark.



> Females like to claim their territory and will bow their head, spread their wings, and shake their head from side to side like a nut.


Males do this too. It's called bat wings and it's not gender specific. 

Gender specific traits to look for are more vocalization in males, although not always, there are some hens that can sing. Beak banging on perches or cage bars is a male behavior used to attract females. And obviously, when your baby molts, if he loses the pearls, he's a boy. If he keeps them he's a girl.


----------



## Lore (Dec 5, 2016)

The only way to know it for sure would be to have the bird's DNA checked. I don't know where you're from, but over here in Europe there's a company that checks your bird's DNA for about 5 euros (about the same amount in USD) excluding shipping costs for the feathers you send them. It takes about 2-3 weeks for them to email you the results after receiving the feathers.

It was the only way I could know for sure that my tiel Puck was a male, as his current look would suggest he is female, but his behaviour is more like a male's. (I'm curious to find out how much his colours change when he gets his first molt)


----------

