Male or female??

[hsmom]

[size=3]I am new to parakeets, having had mine a month or so. One is a blue, obviously a male, with a blue cere, but it's the other I'm curious about. I think it is a female ( I hope so), but I cannot be sure. I hope someone can help; here is a description of (her). very pale yellow with solid black eyes (there is no white ring around the outside); the bill is light orangey yellow and the cere is pink, and lightens to whitish around the nostrils; the cheek patches are white with a little very faint light grayish purple; there are a few very faint grayish patches on the "shoulders" at the top of the wings; there a a few pale grayish lines curving from the bottom of the eyes toward the cheek; low on the abdomen, extending past the feet toward the tail is a patch of very light aqua greenish and the same color is low on the back (this is mostly hidden by the wings); the long outer wing feathers and the tail feathers are white. Any ideas about whether this is a male or female. I've read in different places that some are harder to sex by looking because the cere is not tan or blue, and I think that's the reason I'm stumped. I was pretty sure this was a female, but the more I read about parakeets, the less sure I am. :?

[Monica]

It sounds like you have some sort of deep pied budgie for the aqua greenish spots. I do believe that you have a female budgie as the cere has just a bit of white. Males ceres are either blue (blue-ish purple), or pink. All female budgies that I know of will have white ceres that may turn tan/crusty brown. If you do want to possibly breed them then you better wait till they are both a year old.

[hsmom]

Thanks so much for your reply. Your answer was helpful. I am hoping to breed them later, but I have heard that chances are they will not breed unless there is a nesting box. Is that so or do I need to separate them until I am ready for breeding?

[Monica]

They must be atleast a year old before you breed them. A nestbox is required, yes. They may breed without a nestbox, but in order for you to have a higher chance of getting chicks and for those chicks to survive you must have a nestbox and nesting material. You do not have to separate them, as they must be compatable and except eachother as mates before they breed. Most parrots are like humans and prefer to pick out their own mates or get to know another bird to be a potential mate. Sometimes, two birds are pared up, and breed, however they may not be compatable mates if one of them kills the chicks or destroys the eggs (usually can be fixed with a different mate, unless the parent bird got a taste for destroying).

Check out *Feisty Feathers* for some good information on caring and breeding budgies.

[Bombzilla]

hi...i have the same Question as hsmom....i jus bought another pair of budgie jus for breeding....im not sure if dis one is a male or female. how u add pic from hard drive anyway?[/img][/url]

[parakeet567]

hey,

a good friend of mine told me that in a younge parrakeet (less than 1 year), the males have a blue or sort of pinkish (sort of pinkish blue, but more on the pink side) cere and the females will have a more whitish cere(but sometimes can be kinda blue). usually the if color of the cere by the nostril is white than it is probably a female. in older birds , the female will groww a brown cere when they are ready to breed. although it is hard to tell whether your bird is a male or female at a younge age you can still get a guess by the color of their cere.

i hope this will help you

[hsmom]

Thanks; I think I've decided that my beautiful yellow bird is indeed a female; I sure hope so - her name is Daisy!

[cezanne]

Breeding Budgies is not something you just want to jump into or "hope" that your birds will do...there are several things that probably won't but could go wrong that would make your experience rather unpleasant. Please be sure to educate yourself on the proper care and feeding of orphaned chicks and what to do if your hen binds.
Just a note, Budgies prefer no nesting material and most nest boxes built for Budgies will have a concave "dent" in the bottom for the eggs to rest. The hen will most likely throw out any nesting material you put in her box.
Good Luck!

[hsmom]

Cezanne, Thanks for your thoughts. Do you know of any sources where I can find information on handfeeding orphaned chicks, in the event I should need to. Links or resources about nesting boxes and material would also be appreciated. It's still several months before I would even consider allowing my birds to breed, because they are still young, but, I would like to know all I can about these beautiful birds. :)

[cezanne]

Lafebers has a great chick food that you can buy in bulk. It's really easy to use and comes with instructions. Here is the link: http://www.lafeber.com/Products/nutri-start.asp

Great Stuff! Have fun!