Ino sexing fun!

[ladyluv]

So, I'm new to budgies. There's not much to go on for sexing young albinos/lutinos. Can anyone help? Not getting into breeding, just want to know for naming purposes. My guess is they are both female.

My lutino with flash on



Lutino with regular lighting



Albino with flash



Albino with regular lighting





They're both gorgeous, I adore them.

[ffiscool]

I have no idea, but I think they could be girls. Gorgeous

[Hezz]

What do the ceres look like in reality? Are they a uniform colour, or are they more pale/colourless around the nares? Photos really need to be crystal clear, and these are a little tooo close for me. I'm sitting of the fence; Marianne Marlow, you are better at this than I.

[ladyluv]

I have one pic in natural lighting, of the albino. As good as it gets in here. My apartment is really dark. This is in broad daylight a couple inches away from my sliding glass door.
This place is where houseplants come to die. We are all on vitamin D supplements lol

[Marianne Marlow]

I also think that they may be girls.

[ladyluv]

Excellent, much appreciated. I think so, too. I guess it doesn't really matter, as I'm not breeding, but I wanted some idea.

[Marianne Marlow]

Girls ceres in inos are very light pink with white nares(nostrils)
Boys would be a pinky, maybe very slightly lilac colour.

It's a very subtle difference, which is why it's hard to tell with photos!

[Hezz]

My first thought was both girls as well, and I tried to take no notice of the flash photos ... ... but then the last photo I had me thinking lutino = boy .... albino = girl ..... that is why I sat on the fence!

[ladyluv]

It's official! They're female! Lightning's nose went crusty brown this week.

[Hezz]

If they feel that way inclined, it will take you and your best army to stop them from laying. Some hens just can't help themselves, others couldn't give a damn. Egg binding isn't such an issue for younger hens but chronic egg laying is something to watch out for.

[ladyluv]

Well no eggs yet. If they do lay any, is it better to remove them or leave them?

[Hezz]

Best to leave them where they are and let the hen get bored with them. Dummy eggs are a great replacement if she becomes intent on having a brood.

You are better off trying to prevent them from laying in the first place, rather than after. Keep their daylight hours to under 12 hours, put them to bed in a separate room if possible so that they can sleep once it gets dark, or before, if your summer hours are long. Try to keep them trim and fit - abundance of food indicates breeding time.

[ladyluv]

Okay, dummy eggs. And would covering them at dark work? Because we dont really have any extra rooms. Small apartment.

[ladyluv]

Welp lutino [Lightning] is definitely female and the albino [Salty] is apparently male. Caught them mating on the 6th, which I am aware could be a same sex deal, but Salty has never had a brown cere in over a year, so I doubt it. And now we have 7 eggs thus far, first laid on xmas eve, latest laid today.

Here's some candling pics. Any of you more experienced folks think they look fertile?