How to determine the sex of a parrot?

Parrots are very popular pets. These are cheerful cheerful birds that will never let their master get bored. Caring for a parrot is not so simple, however, determining the sex of the animal is even more difficult. Most often, in pet stores, sellers have no idea what gender the parrot is, but they do not consider it important, especially if the buyer takes only one bird.

Knowing the gender of the bird is necessary if the owner plans to breed parrots. Do not rely on the opinion of the seller from the pet store: he can sell two girls or two boys with a clear conscience, and the owner will wait in vain for posterity. And even if the potential breeder is lucky, and the cubs still appear, in the future he will have to deal with the sale of parrots. As a rule, the gender of the future animal is important to many buyers, and here the ability to distinguish between boys and girls will come in handy again. There are reverse situations. Perhaps the owner does not need any chicks at all, and he prefers to be the master of two male friends.

If you do not know the sex of parrots, then it is impossible to give the birds a suitable name. Of course, it is allowed to call a feathered friend a neutral nickname - Sasha, Bird, Ass - and yet it would be more correct to choose a nickname by gender. Often the floor of a parrot needs to be known in order to understand how to behave with a bird. For example, females are considered less tame. And if the owner purposefully buys a girl, then she will not annoy her again, trying to accustom her hands.

Different types of parrots allow us to distinguish males and females in color.For example, the sex of a budgie can be determined from 1.5 months by the nose. On the beak of the beak at the indicated age, the guys have a blue or purple tint, and after another 4.5 months the nose becomes bluish. In females, this part of the body is pale pink, but gradually acquires a brown hue. During stressful situations or during molting, the waxwort temporarily turns blue in females. Look at the coloring of the legs. In boys they are bluish, and in girls pink. The wavy guy himself has a more juicy and colorful plumage, on his back you can see a curvy decoration.

It is more difficult for a Corella parrot to determine sex. Specialists are able to distinguish males and females already when the birds reach the age of four months, but most often it becomes possible to determine the sex more accurately only by the age of one. In the boys of Corellus, the crest is thin and neat, while their lovers have a crest wide from the very base. In the male crest, you can count 2-3 long feathers with a greenish tint, and in the female tuft consists of six shorter feathers of the same color. After molting, the plumage of the male acquires a bright saturated color, the head turns yellowish. The boys have bright red cheeks, and their body color is pure steel. Girls have a dimmer plumage, and brown and yellow spots can be seen on the gray body, the same blotches are also observed on the inside of the wing.

The sex of the corrella by the above signs can be determined if a bird of natural color is bought. When crossing, pets of very different colors are obtained, which complicates the determination of sex. In this case, you can pay attention to the structure of the animal’s body. On the back of the girls you can see a small hump, while on the boys it is not. But the guys have a flat back and sharp wings with a pronounced color. If the bird is relaxed, and at this moment takes a rounded shape, then this is probably a female. The male Corella during rest is distinguished by a slender and fit figure. In females on the abdomen, one can find a vertical parting, which males do not have. Look also at the shape of the tail: for boys a narrow and long neat tail is characteristic, for girls a wide and somewhat messy one.

In lovebird parrots, it is almost impossible to determine the sex, but looking closely at the male, you can see a more elongated head shape and a low frontal part. The girl’s head is more rounded. Pay attention to the pelvic part. Touch the belly of the parrot and feel the rounded bones resembling matches.

The color of the plumage and other external signs help to know the gender, if you study the specific variety well. By behavior, a bird of any breed can be distinguished from male to female. So, girls are usually calmer, like to take a nap, relax, it is difficult to interest them with a mirror, a bell and other toys. They do not like to sit on their hands, they get annoyed when the owner tries to stroke or scratch, they can bite the owner by the finger up to the blood. Ladies do not react to human conversation, are poorly trained and are considered more wild and aggressive. In nature, the females hollow out the hollows in which the chicks are raised, therefore, in their genes there is a constant desire to nibble something, for example, a cage or a perch.

Boys are usually more good natured. They are easily accustomed to hands, love to play, twitter, they like to communicate with their reflection in the mirror. Males respond well to the human voice and prefer to always maintain a conversation. If he is speaking, then the guy will begin to repeat the words faster than his partner. These are contact tame animals that are happy to sit in the hands of the owner.

You can distinguish between a boy and a girl by observing the behavior of a couple. Males often put their foot on their cage neighbor. If the boy and girl are kept together, then the guy will feed his girlfriend, spewing food in her beak. During intercourse, boys are always on top, and girls on the bottom. Often in the behavior of the male, you can observe an imitation of sexual intercourse with other objects. Some ladies are also characterized by similar behavior, but not so often. In most species during the mating season, it is the male who tries to attract the attention of his beloved. He dances, demonstrates the beauty of plumage and his vocal abilities.

You can determine the sex of a feathered pet by his manner of sitting. For example, girls sit on a perch with their legs wide apart, as if laying an abdomen on the pole. Boys usually move their paws tightly while sitting. This sign can be observed when the parrot reaches the age of one.

Both the color of the plumage and the behavior of birds can only indirectly indicate gender. In the process of selection, parrots often lose some external signs and acquire new ones. More and more coloring books come into being, and sex determination is much more complicated. Behavior of birds is also not a true indicator, a lot depends on temperament and living conditions. With poor care and minimal communication, the male can become dreary or aggressive, although usually this behavior is typical for the female. Below are more accurate methods for determining sex.

• If the owner found a testicle in the cage containing one individual, the question is removed. This is a 100% guarantee that the owner has got a female. Naturally, the testicle is not fertilized, and the offspring do not make sense to wait. Sex determination is difficult if a cage contains a pair of birds, and it becomes unclear which of them laid the egg. To determine the lady, you can seat the parrots in separate cages and wait for the next addition or put a video camera on next to the cage and view the recordings when a new testicle appears.
• Another reliable way to find out the sex of the pet in advance is to buy it from the breeder, and not at the bird market or pet store. Usually, those who breed birds can determine the sex when the parrot reaches four months of age. Currently, even in small towns there are people involved in breeding parrots. Try to find one of these in your locality and get a boy or girl from him.
• The veterinarian will help you find out the gender of the bird more precisely. Take the animal to a specialist. He will not only examine the plumage of the pet in more detail and examine other sexual characteristics, but will also advise the owner on issues of feeding, vitamin supplements, and maintenance.
• The most accurate method for determining the sex of a bird is to conduct a DNA test. As the test material, the blood of the animal is suitable, washing off from the cloaca or several feathers. Not everywhere there is a special laboratory where such tests are carried out, but many veterinary clinics offer this service by sending material for examination to a laboratory in another city.

You can learn more about how to determine the sex of a budgie from the next video.