# Sex of lutino



## the.puppeteer (May 19, 2009)

Hi!

I work at a local shelter and a lutino cockatiel was brought in by animal control after it was attacked by crows. 

I'm currently fostering her/him back to health. 

I know it's hard to sex lutinos but I was hoping you could help - I thought male at first as the beak is larger/rounder than a female that we have at the shelter (this is how you can sex kakariki which I own and was hoping it'd apply to cockatiels lol). The top of the tail is yellow with faint white bands - is this what people mean when they say the female will have yellow bars on her tail? I haven't seen the underside of her tail yet if that's where the barring is supposed to be like on the greys??

Here are some pictures.

Is the yellow on her face too faint for a male? (sorry about the blood on her head - I plan on giving her a dish to bathe in once she's all healed up):









If you squint or zoom in on the tail you can see the barring.









Thanks!


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## atvchick95 (Sep 17, 2007)

oh that poor poor baby 

She actually looks like a Lutino Pearl, Normally you can't see the bars that well, and when i looked back at the 1st pic there looks to be pearlings on her wings - her wings are more white and i'm seeing a deep yellow like her tail pearl going through it 

I could be wrong - as anything to do with a lutino most of the time is hard to tell not just the gender  

but i'm going with Female - Lutino Pearl


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## andalcam (Oct 31, 2008)

Oh poor baby!! I agree with atvchick95, she is Lutino Pearl and female. The barring on the tail says female and she has pearling on her wings and back.


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## the.puppeteer (May 19, 2009)

Thanks guys!

She has lots of tiny yellow spots throughout her white feathering, is this the pearl? I didn't think you could see it in the photo, well spotted.


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## huskymom (Jan 17, 2008)

definately Lutino Pearl.. while it can still be a male the odds favor a bit more towards a female...

whatever sex.. such a cutie.. he/she´ll heal in no time with your care


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## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

Aw, poor little girl/boy.  Crows are a pain.


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

Yes the barring would be like that tail barring of a gray. The only way this bird could be male is if it is under a year old. Males will have the same markings as females befopre they molt out their immature feathers. There should also be wing spots on the primary wing feathers. This is the first pic I ran across that showed some. They can vary in shape but a mature male won't have any!






this bird is Pied so only some of her primaries have spots


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## the.puppeteer (May 19, 2009)

Age is unknown as she's not banded and was found outside (no known owner).

Would the primaries still have spots on a lutino or would you not be able to see them since the feathers are white? (also I can't check under her wings for additional spots as both wings are missing all feathers on the underside)

Thanks for all the information guys I really appreciate it!


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

They should appear as yellow spots.


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## the.puppeteer (May 19, 2009)

Oh ok, I'll check tomorrow.


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

Good luck with her! They are hearty little guys. I'll hope for the best!


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

Ouch, poor baby. I would guess she is a girl as well


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## the.puppeteer (May 19, 2009)

She definitely has big yellow spots on her primaries - yay!

She's such a sweet heart - hates to get off my shoulder and hates when I leave the room even more. lol I'd keep her if I had the time and space for her but will enjoy her company while I do have her.  

Do tiels normally spend much time on the floor of their cage? She doesn't perch... ever... it seems weird. The cage isn't very big as it's only a temporary home but there are perches and toys and dishes that she doesn't even touch (I have a dish of seeds/pellets and one of water on the floor for her). I've even tried putting her up on the perches but she just hops right back down (or out onto me lol). If she's happy on the ground she's more than welcome to stay down there, the top just seems so empty and sad without something playing with the toys lol!


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Try hanging some millet spray high in the cage where it can't be reached from the floor. That might tempt her into climbing up!

She's been through a rough time and might feel less exposed down in the bottom. But she'll learn that she's safe in other places too.


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## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

She may feel more comfortable on the floor if she feels unsteady. Wouldn't be much of a fall if you're already on the floor!


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

What sized cage? preferrably with tiels you would prefer a cage that the length is more than the hieght.

If she is a young bird, possibly she was weaned out with the dishes on the floor of the cage.

Susanne


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## the.puppeteer (May 19, 2009)

She doesn't eat the millet spray that is on the ground so I don't think moving it higher will help lol. She also doesn't actually eat out of the dish - I have to sprinkle the seeds on the ground before she will even look at them (she eats the ones on the ground right NEXT to the dish but she wont touch them in the dish). She wouldn't touch broccoli or egg food (hard boiled egg mashed up, shell and all) and was afraid of the lettuce lol. She has to be the weirdest bird out there. 

The cage is only 17x17 but she spends most of her time at the front. I'll probably be bringing her back to the shelter next weekend when she's done her meds and she can go into the larger cage there. 

A few more pics of her:
Enjoying the sun.









You can see her pearls better in this pic.









And BAM she exploded! lol


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## atvchick95 (Sep 17, 2007)

alot of my tiels like being on the floor of their cages, I'll toss in cat balls on occasion and they'll play with them - almost like playing soccer  

but they also perch and destroy their toys they also love swings 

and will yell at us if we're moving them from one cage to another and Forget the swing - its a essential item they must have it lol


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