[ZeishaFeathers]

Hiii guys! I needed some help regarding gender identification of my cockatiel Eve (grey, 7.5 months).
I am aware that you can’t really guess the gender up until their first molt but Eve has gone through a small molt, I think. I saw alot of feathers in her cage and also her feathers were all over the room she was. The process went on till a week or more. It has stopped now. I am assuming it’s a female since nothing really changed but she’s also getting alot of yellow colour around her beak so I am confused. Do they get their colours right after the first molt or it still takes some time? I am attaching her images so you can have a look. I clicked them just now:

 

[ZeishaFeathers]

Oh my gosh! Your cockatiel is such an adorable little baby! <3
And yes, I’ve heard about wing spot sexing but I am not really sure how that works? How do you check that?

 

[ZeishaFeathers]

Thank you! Yours is very adorable, too! Just look at the underside of the wings. If the spots are along the whole length of the wing, it should be a female. If the spots are only halfway on the wings (farthest feathers from the body), it should be a male. If you’re willing to send pictures of the underside of his/her wings, I could try determine what he/she is for you.

I’ll try to take her pictures and send soon!! She won’t let me check haha. I’ll still try. Evee hates her fathers being touched so I’ll try to take a picture when she’s up from a nap and stretching

 

[ZeishaFeathers]

Okay, sounds good. If it's too much of a hassle, you don't have to, then. I don't want to cause her to hate you for touching her wings.

Yes, I wouldn’t wanna stress her out too much as well. She’s usually very cuddly so might as well check that time! Or once she wakes up in the morning and stretches but I’ll definitely let you know! If I can’t capture an image, I’ll check and let you know the spots look like!

 

[ZeishaFeathers]

Okay, sounds good. If it's too much of a hassle, you don't have to, then. I don't want to cause her to hate you for touching her wings.

Hiii!! I managed to take a picture. Fortunately she didn’t fret much and I managed to capture an image. Here is how it looks:

 

[ZeishaFeathers]

Okay, so based on the amount of spots on the wing, it would appear to be a male. Although, in saying that, I had a 5 week old DNA'd female grey cockatiel that appeared to be a male due to her wing spots. I don't know if you've read Susanne Russo's book, but it's helped me out so much. I'll insert a few screenshots I took from the book so you know what I'm talking about. The first four pictures are of the 5-week old cockatiel that I had, and the last four are of the screenshots. I hope that helps you to determine what yours is! 😊 View attachment 96449 View attachment 96450 View attachment 96451 View attachment 96452 View attachment 96453 View attachment 96454 View attachment 96455

Oh yes, I’ve read and seen these!! Thank you so much. Noting everything, I still think it’s a female tho. Considering she went through small molt and nothing changed. Also her behaviour is so much like a female. She doesn’t scream much (although now she has started to for treats) but other than that not so much. No whistles. Not even close to whistles. She doesn’t react to mirrors at all, it doesn’t entertain her. She’s super cuddly. She reacts to male cockatiel voice on YouTube but again, not a very grand reaction. She just pays more attention to it. She’s very particular about her people too. What do you think so far? Also considering her age? Is it too early to determine?

Okay, so based on the amount of spots on the wing, it would appear to be a male. Although, in saying that, I had a 5 week old DNA'd female grey cockatiel that appeared to be a male due to her wing spots. I don't know if you've read Susanne Russo's book, but it's helped me out so much. I'll insert a few screenshots I took from the book so you know what I'm talking about. The first four pictures are of the 5-week old cockatiel that I had, and the last four are of the screenshots. I hope that helps you to determine what yours is! 😊 View attachment 96449 View attachment 96450 View attachment 96451 View attachment 96452 View attachment 96453 View attachment 96454 View attachment 96455

 

[ZeishaFeathers]

Yes, I would definitely say she is a female. At her age, if she were a male, she would have been molting in her solid grey tail feathers, and she should have splotchy yellow feathers on her face. Since she doesn't, my guess is she is a female. Also, I had another DNA'd female grey cockatiel (different bird from the pictures above) who had more yellow on her face than her DNA'd brother. The first two pictures are the male and the last two are the female. Hopefully, that will help to show the difference of molting face feathers (the male in the first pictures I showed) from just the normal yellow feathers on a face (not molting). 😉 😊 View attachment 96456 View attachment 96457 View attachment 96458 View attachment 96459

Aah, yes I see it!! Eve is so much like the last two pictures you shared after the small molt, which is also the reason I began doubting her gender. (The yellowness on her face now) I definitely think it’s a female. However, were the behavior of your cockatiels same or different for both genders at this age? Around 7.5 months? Do you think she’s still busy being a baby or she is actually showing gender behaviours? I wanted to know in reference with your birds, since you had quite a few! Also, thank you so much for the replies!!!

 

[ZeishaFeathers]

You’re very much welcome! 😊. I actually breed cockatiels, and they usually go to their new homes around 2 to 3 months old so I don’t know their behaviours at that age, unfortunately. That brother and sister did have different characters though. The male was more independent and not as cuddly whereas the female was so sweet. I could rub her head, and she even fell asleep in my hand when she was young. 🥰 View attachment 96460 View attachment 96461

Oh gosh this is so adorable!!! Eve is exactly this way. She so cuddly and demands for scritches 24/7. She snuggles in my neck and naps everyday and wants me to rub her head always! I’ve heard Females have a more affectionate personality than males so I am assuming it is indeed a female. my brother has a 8 month old male and he is a complete different personality. He’s not so affectionate but likes scritches now then and is also super loud unlike Eve. That’s what made me question if behaviour can determine their gender in early stages. I think it does, still not sure. I am assuming her to be a female for now haha. Also, I forgot to mention, she tends make this small squeak sounds when I have my hand over her or back. I have a video of her doing that I’ll share that. Maybe that is a female behaviour too??

 

[ZeishaFeathers]

Looks like a male. The color of the spot is pronounced. Is it singing or peeping at all? I have (2). Lou and Jingles. Lou is very noisy now. Peeps and whistles. View attachment 96462 View attachment 96462

First of all, your cockatiels are beautiful!!! <3
So, Eve doesn’t whistle at all. She squeals a lot though, especially when she wants attention or food, other than I’ve not yet heard her do anything close to whistling I guess. I found this video on YouTube which is how exactly she sounds. Those are the only sounds she makes.

Female Cockatiel Calling Sound #cockatiel #birds

Cockatiel sound cockatiel calling sounds female cockatiel bird

youtube.com

Wing spotting however, looks like a male. So I am confused. Could I ask some behavioural traits of Jingles compared to Lou? Like difference between their behaviours? Maybe that would help

 

[ZeishaFeathers]

I think behaviour can play a role in determining their gender but not all the time. I’ve had very vocal females and very quiet males so it’s hit or miss. That squeaking sound could possibly be her wanting to mate. If she’s crouching down when you pet her back, that’s most likely it and I wouldn’t pet her back then because it might encourage her to want to mate. By what you’ve all said, I’m fairly certain Eve is a female. 😊

Yeah, I’ve heard the mating behavior and I don’t encourage it at all. It was when I was petting her head and stroking her because of which I accidentally pet her back, which I avoid. I thought about it being a mating behaviour but then considering her age, isn’t it too early for her to show this behaviour?