Rebecca Jones's Diary - Spinster and Lunatic ([info]beckybecbec) wrote in [info]cockatiels,
@ 2004-12-01 08:20:00
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Current mood: excited

Newbie Alert.
Good Morning!

I am just BRAND NEW to this community.
I have recently aquired a (now 8 week old) predominatly yellow cockatiel that I have named Zest.

My 15yr old cousin's male and female started making a family so I bought one off her... so far they have had 8 chicks this season. I think he is a boy. Whats the easiest way to tell?

He's been hand raised and fed from 2 weeks and with me since he was four weeks.
He's quite active and has a really busy cage with lots treats and toys. Whenever I am home he is annoying me on my desk trying to get under my fingers for a scratch or playing with his foot toys on my desk.

He almost wolf whistles... Im trying out Pop Goes the Weazel and soon some actual words (Mum is a sexy biatch is on the cards) ;)

Currently he is on top of his cage over looking Bardon (if anyone here knows Brisbane) chewing on some native wild flowers (a species of the bottle brush).

I've read through the rules... I hope I dont get critasized (sp?) too much :)

Be nice to me :)


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[info]pinkbrown
2004-11-30 10:34 pm UTC (link)
Zest...I like it! From what I know, it's hard to tell the sex of the bird. I had the people at the bird store tell me what mine is. And my bird Tweety also wolf whistles! After practicing for a really long time, she has it perfectly now =)

Congrats on your new baby bird =)

Can't wait to see some pics!

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[info]beckybecbec
2004-11-30 10:36 pm UTC (link)
When I wolf whistle he does reply as a whistle but not a chirp now a dyas.

I'll upload some pics when I figure out how to do it from my isp.

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[info]ltdead
2004-11-30 11:27 pm UTC (link)
At 8 weeks the only way to tell sex is by behavior. All baby birds look like little girls, after all. (Once Zest goes into his first molt, then his coloring will change if he`s a boy).
Whistling and singing is usually a pretty good indicator of being a male, so is any attempts at mimicry. Girls generally neither talk nor wolf-whistle, though there are a few exceptions.

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[info]beckybecbec
2004-11-30 11:29 pm UTC (link)
Thanks for the info ltdead :)

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[info]miss_arnah
2004-11-30 11:55 pm UTC (link)
Hi!!

Im from Brisbane too :)

Welcome to the community!

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[info]beckybecbec
2004-11-30 11:58 pm UTC (link)
Yay! :))

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[info]bronzemistral
2004-12-01 01:24 am UTC (link)
Welcome to the community! S/he sounds like a really pretty bird..what were the mutations of the parents? Zest sounds like a fallow to me :)

Yes, it is too hard to sex the birdy right now...you'll have to wait until the baby feathers are replaced with adult ones! I'm not too sure if there are any tricks to sexing fallows either, assuming s/he is a fallow of course. Keep us posted! :)

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[info]ltdead
2004-12-01 04:09 am UTC (link)
More likely it`s a lutino then a fallow, fallows are pretty rare...
If it is a lutino there is very little noticeable change in coloring when they molt. Once the new tail feathers grow in, though, holding Zest up in front of a light to get a good look at his tail feathers will tell you the sex, though. Females will have faint stripes when the light shines through, males won`t. The more yellow Zest has, the easier it`ll be to see stripes (if they`re there).

I`m not sure about fallows, as they`re so uncommon. It`s possible fallow males get brighter faces, like most mutations, or the mutation may be more like the lutino mutation where there`s very little change... I`m not sure. To be honest, I don`t think I`ve ever seen a fallow. Just my little blind lutino-cinnamon that confused me into thinking that he was a fallow for a bit.

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