If you have recently purchased a budgie, you may want to determine the gender. Learn what colors indicate that your parakeet is male or female. You can also watch the parakeet's behavior or listen to its voice to determine the sex of the bird. If you're still having trouble, remember that you can always consult a vet or bird breeder.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Using Color to Identify Gender
Step 1. Find the parakeet's cere
The cere is a fleshy covering located above the beak. The parakeet's nostrils are above the kettle (the parakeet's nostrils look like two deep holes) making it easy to find the kettle. Although most parakeets have a yellowish beak, the cere has a specific color depending on the sex of the bird.
Step 2. Identify the male parakeet
Most mating male parakeets have a bright blue or royal cere. Sometimes, the bright color of the cere can look like a bluish-purple color. This color will fade to a pale blue when the parakeet is not mating.
If you've identified your parakeet as male and his cere is turning brown, he may have a health problem
Step 3. Identify the female parakeet
Adult female parakeets are usually pale white or light brown in color. As the female parakeet becomes more fertile and ready to produce eggs, the bird's cere will have a darker or pinkish-brown color.
If the parakeet is fertile and ready to mate, you may also notice that the bird's cere will thicken and harden. The maximum thickness of the cere can reach 1 centimeter
Step 4. Consider the age of the parakeet
If the parakeet is less than 4 months old, it will be difficult to determine the sex using color. Before reaching 4 months of age, the colored areas indicating gender may change color regularly. This makes the process of determining the parakeet's sex accurately more difficult, but by no means impossible. If the parakeet has not molt, has dark round eyes, and has a line from the head to the cere, the parakeet is still under 4 months old.
If the parakeet is immature or less than 4 months old, this bird's cere is usually pink. The cere on the male parakeet will gradually change color to a purple color, and the female parakeet will continue to have a pink cere with white spots or turn completely white. If the parakeet is 8 to 12 months old, the cere is usually a bright pink or purple color, but will have a definite color by about 1 year of age
Step 5. Understand the difficulty of determining gender using color
Apart from changing color based on mating time, parakeet cere can change color for a variety of other reasons. The female parakeet has a hormonal imbalance which is indicated by a light blue color in her cere over a long period of time. Some parakeets have a genetic mutation that displays different colors of the cere. For parakeets of this breed, color is not a reliable indicator of gender.
For example, the albino parakeet has a pink cere, making it very difficult to identify the sex
Method 2 of 2: Identifying Gender Using Other Methods
Step 1. Listen to the sound of the parakeet
Male parakeets are known to be noisier than female parakeets. Male parakeets will squeak or chirp, and the duration of the chirps can be very long. Although female parakeets can make noises too, female parakeets sound like they are angry and not very rhythmic.
Male parakeets are also birds that learn quickly when taught to talk
Step 2. Watch your parakeet's behavior
Male parakeets usually nod and shake their heads up and down or tap their beaks against the cage. Male parakeets look more cheerful and agile. Female parakeets appear more aggressive when mating, or quiet and submissive when infertile.
You may notice that the male parakeet taps its beak on the female parakeet and regurgitates its food at the female. Do not worry. This is normal behavior when parakeets are mating
Step 3. Ask someone with knowledge of parakeets
When buying a parakeet from a breeder or a dealer, ask the parakeet's gender. You can also buy an affordable DNA test kit that can show the sex of the parakeet.
Don't forget that you can ask your vet to determine the sex of your pet parakeet. This method will be easier if the vet is experienced in handling birds
Tips
- If the parakeet is tame, you should not touch the parakeet's body. Allow the parakeet to perch on your finger or on a perch and inspect the cere carefully.
- Male parakeets usually have tines (something sharp) on their feet that are light blue in color while female parakeets have pink tines.
