Maisie and Igor

[lexied]

Hi All,

We inherited Maisie (blue) when my mother in law passed away. She's about a year old and my MIL was told she was female
 We got Igor (green) as a friend for her a few weeks ago and were told Igor was too young to tell. Igor seems a very boyish name so I'm hoping we've chosen right😁 is anyone able to tell? In hindsight,  I wonder if we were correctly told Maisie is a girl? Thanks in advance for any comments.

[ffiscool]

Welcome. I think Maisie is a girl, the photo of Igor is not that clear, to me.

Others will advise.

[Morgan]

Maisie looks like she has a crusty tan cere - so hen for sure.

At a year old a normal male would have a dark blue cere by now. With some color mutations a male will keep a pink cere, but not in Maisie’s case.

Igor I think is a boy, I don’t see any white around the nostrils. But the photos are a bit blurry for me.

[Hezz]

I think you have got the names right; Maisie is definitely a hen, looks like just about to come into breeding season, I’m guessing for the first time. Igor’s photo is a bit out of focus but does appear to be a male.

[Marianne Marlow]

I'm unsure about Igor, is the cere purple or light blue?

[lexied]

Oct 11, 2021 13:15:43 GMT Marianne Marlow said:

I'm unsure about Igor, is the cere purple or light blue?

Thanks everyone, Maisie seems to like getting her photo taken more than Igor!


Marianne I'd say it's more purple than blue.

Hezz's comment about Maisie looking like she's coming into breeding season to the pet shop assured me that if Igor was a boy there wouldn't be any babies unless we made the conditions right, but is there anything I should be watching out for?

We had budgies when I was growing up, but all male so this is new to me 🥺

Thanks

[Marianne Marlow]

If it's purple then he's a boy.

Yes, make sure there are no dark corners, no nest boxes, happy huts, coconuts, you get the idea.

Oct 11, 2021 13:41:47 GMT lexied said:

Oct 11, 2021 13:15:43 GMT Marianne Marlow said:

I'm unsure about Igor, is the cere purple or light blue?

Thanks everyone, Maisie seems to like getting her photo taken more than Igor!


Marianne I'd say it's more purple than blue.

Hezz's comment about Maisie looking like she's coming into breeding season to the pet shop assured me that if Igor was a boy there wouldn't be any babies unless we made the conditions right, but is there anything I should be watching out for?

We had budgies when I was growing up, but all male so this is new to me 🥺

Thanks

[lexied]

Oct 11, 2021 13:45:40 GMT Marianne Marlow said:

If it's purple then he's a boy.

Yes, make sure there are no dark corners, no nest boxes, happy huts, coconuts, you get the idea.

Oct 11, 2021 13:41:47 GMT lexied said:

Thanks everyone, Maisie seems to like getting her photo taken more than Igor!


Marianne I'd say it's more purple than blue.

Hezz's comment about Maisie looking like she's coming into breeding season to the pet shop assured me that if Igor was a boy there wouldn't be any babies unless we made the conditions right, but is there anything I should be watching out for?

We had budgies when I was growing up, but all male so this is new to me 🥺

Thanks

Thank you, I think I'm OK, but I'll have a close look/think and make sure there are no wee neuks or crannies!

[Hezz]

Just because she is coming into breeding season doesn’t necessarily mean she will be wanting to breed. It generally is decided by the hen whether that happens or not. If you see her trying to tunnel into things it might be wise to remove whatever it is that she is interested in. If she doesn’t find anything acceptable, generally she will give up trying to make a nest.

[Morgan]

Just in case you have a stubborn hen though, limiting all light (daylight and ambient house-light) to fewer than 12 hours can also snap her out of being broody. Rearranging her cage, moving the cage to a different location, etc. also works. Anything to make her think twice about being able to “settle down”.

But first just see how she is, all that might not even be necessary. Just a good to know, just in case.