In most cases, you can identify whether a cockatiel is male or female at 6 to 9 months since they are maturing into adults. However, identifying the sex of a cockatiel can be quite tricky, especially when you do not know how to check them out.
Here are eight tips you can use to tell if a cockatiel is male or female:
1. Body Plumage
The body plumage can help you identify the sex of the cockatiel after molting. Here are some of the differences:
1. Male pearl cockatiels lose their white dots after molting, while females retain the coloration. This helps you know whether the pearl cockatiel is male or female without straining.
2. There are faint yellow spots on the underside of the wings of some females, while male cockatiels lack these markings.
3. In the case of gray cockatiels, males usually have a darker shade of gray feathers, while females have faint gray shades.
2. Use a Mirror
You can use a mirror to determine the gender of your cockatiel. When a mirror is placed in front of a male cockatiel, it is most likely to look at itself, smug and calling. On the other hand, female cockatiels do not like staring at themselves in the mirror and therefore lose interest immediately.
3.Tail Colorations
After the first molt, cockatiels develop a different marking on their tails. Usually, female cockatiels have alternating stripes on their tails with various patterns, such as gray and white, light and dark gray, yellow and gray, etc.
4. Vocalization
Male cockatiels are usually talkative and spend most of their time whistling and mimicking voices, while females are typically quiet and hiss more often than males.
Male cockatiels are usually loud to attract females towards them.
5. Facial Appearance
Cockatiels’ faces change after their first molt. Male cockatiels usually have a yellow face with bright orange patches on the cheeks. In contrast, female cockatiels have light orange patches, and their facials are usually never luminous like those of males.
5. Courtship Rituals
Once the cockatiels mature enough, you will notice their courtship behavior. Male cockatiels are always active since they want to persuade females; hence, they do the following:
- Lifting the wing tips away from its body. These wing tips usually form a heart shape to attract females.
- Tapping their beaks loudly on objects to seek attention from the female cockatiels.
- Whistling more often.
On the other hand, females are usually submissive and display the following characteristics:
- Peeping quietly with its tail highly lifted.
- Feeding the male cockatiel to show its interest.
6. Egg Laying
Female cockatiels usually lay eggs during their breeding phase. If you want to know if the cockatiels are female or male, ensure to do the following to distinguish their gender, especially when there are many cockatiels in one place:
1. Separate the birds and put them in different cages to see which will lay eggs.
2. Install cameras to monitor the cockatiel’s behavior and know the egg-laying ones.
7. Width of the Hips
Female cockatiels somehow have wider hips than male cockatiels. However, using this method can be tricky; hence, your avian vet can check them out.
8. General Attitude
Female cockatiels are usually shy, quiet, reserved, and timid. On the other hand, male cockatiels are generally outgoing, expressive, direct, and like strutting.
Furthermore, male cockatiels are usually defensive and aggressive when faced with a problem, while females choose to fly away rather than defend themselves.
How Can You Tell If an Albino Cockatiel Is Male or Female?
Albino cockatiels are the easiest species to identify by their gender. Male albino cockatiels usually have a white or yellow face with zero spots and bars.
Conversely, females will have gray or brown faces with lighter patches on their cheeks. Females also have marks at the ends of their tails.
How to Identify Male and Female Lutino Cockatiel
Female Lutino cockatiels usually have yellow spots on their feathers and a yellow-on-cream pattern on their tails, while male Lutino cockatiels do not have any of these colors or spots; hence, they have a plain color.
Are All White Cockatiels Female?
No, not all white cockatiels are female. There are also male cockatiels of the same color, but they tend to have whiter heads than their female counterparts.
So, How do you tell if a white cockatiel is female?
A white cockatiel is usually a female when its head is somehow less white and more grayish. Besides, they typically have markings underneath their tails. They are also very shy, quiet, and timid.
Checking out the sex of your cockatiel using the color can be misleading; hence, visit the avian vet to help you.
What Are Female Cockatiels Like?
Female cockatiels are the most reserved, shy, and quiet birds. They usually hate trouble and fly away to keep themselves safe. Do Female Cockatiels Talk?
Yes, female cockatiels usually talk, but not that much like males. They typically make only one call and never mimic the sounds of music, objects, or their owners. They are less talkative, as that is their nature.
They avoid aggression and are always submissive to their male counterparts. In terms of color, they typically have lighter coloring than male cockatiels.
What Colour Is a Male Cockatiel?
Whiteface male cockatiels usually retain their bright, pure white color. Male cockatiels usually lose the white bars found on their tails immediately after their first molt.
Other male cockatiels typically have yellow faces with bright orange patches on their cheeks.
Do Male Cockatiels Cuddle?
Yes, male cockatiels usually cuddle for bonding and showing affection. Male cockatiels generally love being petted by their owners and partners.
Moreover, male cockatiels usually cuddle their females during courtship to direct their attention, affection, and bonding.
Do Boy Cockatiels Talk?
Boy cockatiels usually talk. They are always loud in terms of their vocalizations to seek attention from female cockatiels.
Furthermore, they make the best company since they talk and mimic the sounds of music, people, and objects.
How to Tell Baby Cockatiel Gender
Determining the gender of a baby cockatiel can be quite tricky. In most cases, they usually show a difference six to nine months after their molting phase.
However, you can use a DNA test from your avian vet to help you know the gender.
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