[jennifer.pacella]

Hi everyone I just bought my first cockatiel today. He's grey with white spots so I think he's a pied. I don't even know if he, is a he. His name is Bekham....Anywho, I've had cockatiels when I was a kid... but now my question to everyone is.... maybe in the future I would like to get more cockatiels.... how would I go about possible aggression, breeding??? Or should I just keep them all in separate cages? Cuz honestly I don't want them to breed.. bekham is now my babyboy and I don't want him to think when I get the others that they're taking his place. I don't want him to be territorial..... maybe some suggestions??????
Or should I just stick with him for the next 25 years????? lmao

 

[tielfan]

Your best bet is to get to know your new bird first and see how much you enjoy bird ownership before you think about getting more. You can learn a lot about the problems and joys of multiple birds just by hanging around message boards and reading what other people have to say.

There's no way to predict whether any two (or more) birds will get along with each other. Maybe they will and maybe they won't. Birds WILL be territorial because that's their instinct, but with a careful introduction you can sometimes avoid setting off this instinct. The surest way to avoid breeding is to have all same-sex birds, although you might still see some sexual behavior and if you have hens they might lay infertile eggs.

 

[jennifer.pacella]

how do i sex a cockatiel????

 

[kimmikefids]

you can't visually sex a pied....greys if after they are about a year old they have spots on the feathers on the underside of the wing and banded feathers on their tails its a female...if not its a male....i believe its the same with lutinos and white faces tho i could be wrong.....tho the lutinos are very hard to see as they are yellow marking on white.....all greys, lutinos and white faces have the spots and banding as a young tiel but males lose them after a few moults....with pearls males lose their pearl feathers after a few moults...im not quite sure if its any different with cinnamons or if they are the same as greys, lutinos and white faces..........the best way is to do a dna test...either by mail or visit a vet....they either take blood or a feather to test and you are certain then.....

 

[sweetrsue]

It all depends on the age of your bird. It's not always impossible to visually sex pieds. It depends on which feathers are normal. I have a couple of Cinnamon Whiteface Pieds and they still have a few normal colored primary wing feathers. They are mature females and you can see the wingspots. If it has normally colored tailfeathers they would be barred if it is a hen. Still it depends on the age of the bird. If it is under 6 months a male will look like a hen. Cinnamons are the same as grays with regard to wingspots and tailbars. The only difference between the two mutations is the color the melanin produces. gray as opposed to tan.