Pepper/Cockatiel gender

[Azalea]

We took one of our dogs to a nice veterinarian yesterday (our dog needed her shots up-to-date). We got on the subject of our birds, and the vet thinks Pepper is actually female, because of the markings on his/her tail. Granted, you can never be sure with some color varieties.

Pepper whistles loudly about once a day, and makes "heart wings" while doing it...but I've read about the occasional female who imitates male behaviors (in this case, Kona).

We might have a test since we are curious. If "she" is a she, I wonder why Kona was more interested in Willow (female Budgie) than her?

[Loz]

Pepper's infrequent vocalising plus those markings under her tail tell me that she's a girl. Have you got a pic of her doing heart-wings?

The lack of interest in Pepper from Kona suggests to me a personality gap. Pepper just doesn't push Koba's button. I see such gaps between some of my male & female budgies.

Was Kona attracted to the budgie before Pepper arrived? However it arose, there's clearly a personality match up with the female budgie!

[Marianne Marlow]

I'm no expert in cockatiels, but would agree with loz about personalities. I have some boys that have never been interested in hens at all and only play with their boy mates.

Granted that none of my hens have ever liked eachother!!

I have 3 hens and 3 night time cages. I have to have one in each for bedtime or all h*ll breaks loose at night.

[Loz]

Mar 30, 2024 15:07:25 GMT Marianne Marlow said:

I'm no expert in cockatiels, but would agree with loz about personalities. I have some boys that have never been interested in hens at all and only play with their boy mates.

Granted that none of my hens have ever liked eachother!!

I have 3 hens and 3 night time cages. I have to have one in each for bedtime or all h*ll breaks loose at night.

I did wonder Marianne why you were so insistent upon who sleeps in which cage. Makes perfect sense now!

[Marianne Marlow]

Yes, this is the reason - the hens. Hens run my life.

Daisy and Iris were part of a gang of four (+2 boys) that came to us together in a tiny cage. If they are in a cage together at night they bicker for hours.

Ayla, despite her cuteness is a little terror that will pull at Iris wing/tail feathers.

Mar 30, 2024 15:23:28 GMT loz said:

Mar 30, 2024 15:07:25 GMT Marianne Marlow said:

I'm no expert in cockatiels, but would agree with loz about personalities. I have some boys that have never been interested in hens at all and only play with their boy mates.

Granted that none of my hens have ever liked eachother!!

I have 3 hens and 3 night time cages. I have to have one in each for bedtime or all h*ll breaks loose at night.

I did wonder Marianne why you were so insistent upon who sleeps in which cage. Makes perfect sense now!

[Loz]

Ayla is brave. I doubt that I'd ever pull Iris' tail.

[Azalea]

Mar 30, 2024 13:45:23 GMT loz said:

Pepper's infrequent vocalising plus those markings under her tail tell me that she's a girl. Have you got a pic of her doing heart-wings?

The lack of interest in Pepper from Kona suggests to me a personality gap. Pepper just doesn't push Koba's button. I see such gaps between some of my male & female budgies.

Was Kona attracted to the budgie before Pepper arrived? However it arose, there's clearly a personality match up with the female budgie!

I don't currently have a picture of the heart wings, but will try again. I've learned that if I want a bird to STOP doing anything, I should try to take a good picture of them doing it...they will often stop right away!

We had Kona and Pepper before all of the Budgies. Kona never showed any interest in Pepper, then he liked Willow when we got her. But now, Willow seems to favor Basil (male Budgie).

[Azalea]

Mar 30, 2024 15:07:25 GMT Marianne Marlow said:

I'm no expert in cockatiels, but would agree with loz about personalities. I have some boys that have never been interested in hens at all and only play with their boy mates.

Granted that none of my hens have ever liked eachother!!

I have 3 hens and 3 night time cages. I have to have one in each for bedtime or all h*ll breaks loose at night.

Thunder and Griffin are like that...they don't seem to be eager to impress either female (Willow, Violet). Topaz, however, seems to be the "third wheel" when Willow and Basil are "on dates" around the bird room.

[Marianne Marlow]

Iris is probably the mildest mannered of the three hens currently. I wouldn't want to get on Daisy's bad side though :-)

I have seen her directly barge boys off their perches.

Mar 30, 2024 15:43:52 GMT loz said:

Ayla is brave. I doubt that I'd ever pull Iris' tail.

[Marianne Marlow]

"you talkin' about me Copper?"

[Ira]

Currently Haru shows no particular interest in either of the boys, nor they in her.

Marianne Marlow I occasionally see a budgie get jetisoned off of a swing by another!

[Azalea]

Mar 30, 2024 17:13:12 GMT Marianne Marlow said:

"you talkin' about me Copper?"

Such beautiful birds.

[Hezz]

Azalea, I would definitely get a DNA test done on your potential hen. Cockatiels are known to be prone to egg binding and knowing gender can help be proactive in addressing potential problems. This is what I would do, to remove any confusion.

[Azalea]

I think we will, Hezz. Pepper is a dignified, elegant bird. If "she" is female, she will probably want to be addressed as "Madame" or "Ma'am".