Some birds gender is easy to know by visually looking at them. The Eclectus Parrot shown above is an example of an easy visual way to know what gender it is. Males are mainly green & females are mainly red in color. An adult parakeet is sexed by looking at the cere which is at the top of the beak & looks like nostrils (round opening). The female’s cere is brown. sometimes bumpy (mating season) & a males is blue. These days we have more color mutations & sometimes the gender is not so easy to identify. A normal grey Cockatiel male has bright yellow cheeks & males are usually more vocal & have a broader range of sounds they can make. Females tend to be quieter
There are more & more mutations of Cockatiels these days & sometimes gender can be known by the genetic makeup of both parents. I remember back in my bird club days we would have speakers come into meetings & I can recall this being spoken about. Some of our members could figure out what genders the babies were by the genetics of the parent birds.
There are so many breeds of domestic birds out there & some are breeders & some are just loved pets. Bird breeders need to know the gender of their birds because they want to set them up as breeders. Birds that are some of the best breeders are not tame, tame birds tend to want to be near their owners so less interest in reproducing & raising young.
I am an Amazon Parrot fan & these birds can’t have their gender be known just by looking at them. There are a few ways to know whether your bird is a male or female. Obviously if your bird lays an egg it is a female.
There are more proven scientific ways to know gender such as sexing thru DNA or there is surgical sexing. DNA is done by pulling feathers from the root & sending them in, or trim a nail just short enough to bleed a little & you can dab that on the card they send to you . I have done this with a company called Pollygene . You order a kit & then once collected the needed data you send it in, These kits run about $13-$34 depending on where you get it from. It could be a neat gift for a bird lover in your family. You can have your avian Vet do the test, that will run $50- 200 or more.
There also is surgical sexing done my the most renowned Vet Dr Scott McDonald, which is a household name to anyone who has been in the bird world for any real amount of time. Dr McDonald travels all over the world sexing birds for individuals, zoos, etc… He works with a # of other exotic species as well, helping Zoos to be able to help breeding of some species that the number are getting less & less. We are blessed to have Dr McDonald a resident of the Chicago suburbs. He has surgically sexed some of my own personal birds & birds in the rescue as well. It has been a long time, but still think the price is under $25 for many breeds of birds. Dr McDonald is such a pro it only takes him a few mins & this is done under monitored gas & then he tattoos under the wing (right for males & left wing for females). So if he comes across a bird in the future he knows it was one he already has sexed. I have watched the procedure quite a few times in the past & still am amazed how expertly it is done & he monitors every bird & they aren’t allowed to leave till he feels they are safely awake & ready to go home (15-40 mins average if I recall).
What are some reasons some people may want to know if their bird is a female or a male.
- If you want to breed birds & there is no way to tell gender visually. Please leave breeding to those with experience or research & speak with experts before you attempt it.
- You don’t want to risk breeding , so you want to know gender, so the same gendered birds can be caged together.
- In rescue we didn’t promote breeding nor wanted adopters to breed any pets, so only wanted to adopted the same gender pets to them. Examples: 2 female parakeets or 2 male Finches.
- You are curious & just want to know if your bird is a male or a female.
I hope you found this interesting & if you have any questions or an idea for a post, feel free to let me know. My blog email is echoinggreatpetcare@gmail.com I would appreciate it if you would help me get the word out about my blog. There are several ways you can help: visit my blog often, tell your family & friends on your social media sites. Click the like button at the bottom of the page, Comment on a post, subscribe to my blog( you will just get an email when I publish a new post). My goal is to help as many pet owners as possible to help their pets to Thrive & not just survive. Thank you for reading, Debbie
Echoing Great Pet Care 