Gender of adult birds is not difficult to determine, but usually we buy from the breeder of the chicks. They get used to hands more easily and adapt more quickly to changing conditions. But guessing the sex of babies under the age of three months can be quite problematic. How to distinguish a baby budgie from a girl? This will be discussed today.
External differences
Of course, in the first place it is worth focusing on the appearance of the chick you like. Please note that until he is three weeks old, gender differences still do not appear. From this age, a specialist can distinguish between males and females upon careful examination. At the age of a parrot from three weeks to three months, sex can be determined by the uniformity of the color of the upper part of the beak. The peculiarity of females is the presence of white circles near the nostrils. In males they are absent, and the color is uniform.
Only in the fourth month of life does the most reliable sign begin to appear: the color of the wax on the beak. It has different colors in both sexes. At a young age, males have pink with a blue tint, and after reaching four months it becomes bright blue. In females, the wax is white, with a cream, pink, gray or bluish tint. With age, it becomes beige or brown. Now you know how to distinguish a boy budgerigar from a girl. Experienced breeders, the help of which is the easiest to resort to, in the matter of determining the gender of a bird, pay attention to the shape of the head. In females, it is slightly pointed, in males, on the contrary, the crown is wide.
Behavioral Features
Once at home, you can observe the nature and behavior of your bird, this is another way to distinguish a budgie from a girl. Do not forget about the features of the adaptation period, which the parrot can spend in the far corner of the cage, carefully watching what is happening around. Having settled in your home, the bird will begin to show some of its characteristic features.
So, females are calmer and more homely. They will be happy to clean the cage, and especially in the installed nest. All that, in their opinion, is superfluous, will be thrown out of the cell. Males are more sociable and active, they are the biggest fans of jumping, tweeting, singing along to the included music, shouting at the hosts when they are talking, in general, to draw attention to their person. They are more capable of onomatopoeia, although females can learn a few words.
It happens that a pet needs to be caught when he is not at all hungry for communication. At such a moment, the females bite quite hard, sometimes up to blood. The attack of the male is more often demonstrative, and the bites themselves are almost painless. By these features, you can understand who your budgerigar is: a boy or a girl.
Bird age
The younger your pet, the easier the adaptation will be and the more trusting your relationship will be. In addition, the less the parrot was among his brethren, the greater the chance that he will begin to imitate the speech of a person, and therefore speak. Not always the sellers will give you reliable information about the age, most likely, wishing to sell, they will call all the birds young. Pay attention to the eyes: in a young parrot they are black, and with age, white rings appear around. The most popular age for sale is 2-3 months, at this time the wavy black pattern on the back is very distinct, in mature birds it is almost indistinguishable.
If you dream of a talking bird, then choose a breeder who has young budgies on sale. Boy or girl - everyone decides who to choose, but it is better to buy a male, and if in the future you decide to go in for breeding, take him a couple.
Will he speak or not?
If your bird is 1.5-2 months old, start regular classes. To do this, every day (about 15 minutes) pronounce phrases that she should remember. It is important that they are emotionally colored, highlight phrases with intonation, it is these exclamations that the parrot remembers best. After all, often it reproduces precisely enthusiasm or curses, so watch your speech.
Talking parrots (budgies) are not uncommon, and yours may very well begin to utter a few words or phrases. There are individuals who can learn whole poems or songs, this happens when the talent of a parrot and the perseverance of the owner are combined. Is it possible to buy a couple for a talking pet? In this case, the need to communicate with a person will disappear from him, and he will increasingly speak the bird language.
Brief conclusions
Thinking how to distinguish a budgerigar-boy from a girl? You can resort to the following methods:
- Consider the color of the wax on the beak: blue shades are characteristic for males, gray, beige and brown for females.
- Observe the behavior: females are usually more calm and economic.
Will the bird speak? The young male has more opportunities for this, provided you regularly communicate and engage with him.