| ORIGINAL BOOK REVIEW by Dr. Rainer R. Erhardt "Well, there is help on the horizon and anyone seriously interested in color genetics should take a look at Linda Rubin's book: COCKATIEL GENETICS MADE EASY! Though this book is primarily directed to breeders of cockatiel mutations, there is enough information in this little volume to teach anyone the secrets of dealing with recessive, sex-linked, and dominant mutations..." ACBM, Vol. 65, No.12 CLICK TO READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW! 112 pages, 15 chapters, glossary & more! |
Copyright 2006 Linda S. Rubin
| Multiple Bird Households by Linda S. Rubin |
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| SEXING COCKATIELS BY COLOR & BEHAVIOR Copyright © 2007 LINDA S. RUBIN CF Genetics Consultant/Panel Judge www.CockatielsPlusParrots.com Selected Q&A's "From My Mailbox" Q. Could you please provide some indicators to help tell the sexes of my birds? I have been told the behavior between males and females are very different. I have a 10-month old hen, which has laid eggs in the past. I did think that she was a male because she kept hanging upside down and showing me her full wingspan, which is very beautiful. It wasn’t until she laid eggs and I spoke to a breeder that I was told wingspan behavior was what the hens did. The reason I would like to know her sex is that I have purchased a 9- week-old cock bird, (which is what I had been told) only he spread his wings in front of the hen. He didn’t hang upside down, he just lowered his head and spread out his wings, it was only for a couple of seconds. I have tried to tell myself that he lost his footing on the cage top and the wing spreading was an accident. The older bird has been showing her wings off to the new bird quite a lot, I took that as a sign that the new cockatiel must be male, but when he did it today, I was hoping he was just copying because he doesn’t know what else to do. They some times have beak fights, not bad ones, just “I'm the boss,” kind of squabbling and spend a good deal of time flying madly after one another. Is there any behavior that will tell what sex my birds are? A. Cockatiels open up their wings for a variety of reasons and that can include loosing their footing and regaining balance. It can also include guarding their eggs or nesting site from intruders and predators, requesting a bath, shifting a recalcitrant feather back into alignment, or any number of behavioral reactions. It is normal behavior for cockatiels (and many parrots) to hang upside down spreading out their wings in hope of catching raindrops during a downpour or an attempt to cover the nest entrance hole from potential intruders. However, your young cockatiel may be spreading its wings open for a different reason. The behavior you describe may be seen when a cockatiel is: 1. Threatened, such as when the behavior is accompanied by a loud "hiss" 2. Unsure of itself, an avian equivalent to being shy as to its place in relationship to the pecking order 3. Exercising, e.g., getting ready to take off in flight, or literally taking off as a defense as known in the “fight or flight syndrome,” where escape is easier than confrontation 4. Illustrating submissive behavior to a more dominant bird in order to avoid a fight 5. Competing in the dominance hierarchy - part of a mock battle to become the "alpha" bird within the flock. Here, the latter sounds more plausible and your new bird may be attempting to become the "alpha bird" within your two-bird flock. This type of behavior, with attacks, battles, and "feistiness," can be either an aggressive or a defensive posturing designed to intimidate or exert dominance toward you or another bird. The behavior can also be used by the "beta" bird (second in the hierarchy), as an entreaty, with the goal of escaping you or another bird. If your young cockatiel is a male, you can expect it to continue to fight for the top position in the hierarchy as it matures. Because your older cockatiel laid eggs, we know she is a hen. However, you did not state the color of your young bird, so sexing according to color might vary depending upon the color mutations. SEXING BY VISUAL CUES In colors that are sexually dimorphic where we can see the visual differences, such as in Normal Grey, Cinnamon, Pearl, Recessive Silver, Whiteface, Fallow, Dominant Silver, etc., males will begin their baby and juvenile molts at 4 to 6 months of age, where they will start to acquire their full yellow facemask (or white facemask in Whiteface mutations). The facemask should be complete by their first adult molt at 12 months of age. Males will also lose the yellow or white under-wing spots on flight feathers and under-tail barrings beneath the tail, which all young and immature cockatiels carry. Additionally, young males demonstrate more aggressive behavior (e.g., biting, nipping, hissing, attacking, etc.) as they reach maturity where hormone levels rise. This is usually a temporary period lasting some months or until they breed and/or hormone levels return to normal. SEXING BY BEHAVIORIAL CUES In monomorphic color mutations where we typically cannot sex cockatiels visually through their appearance - such as in Lutinos, Pieds, Whiteface Lutino (Albino), etc. - we must go by behavioral cues. As a young male cockatiel matures, it begins to exhibit male behaviors such as singling (warbling a series of notes) and courtship displays including hopping, strutting, opening the shoulders at the wing joint while bowing, and tapping objects rapidly with the beak. Females are more sedate compared to males and voice a two-syllable call note (e.g., "eek- eek"). As females mature, they become broody and may show interest in nesting activities such as looking for a place (any place!) to lay a clutch of eggs and tearing up paper at the bottom of their cage. They will also solicit breeding by squatting on a perch or flat surface while trembling their wings, pointing their tails up in the air and emitting a piteous “crying” sound to invite a male (or bonded human partner) to breed with them. OTHER INFORMATIVE SEXING ARTICLES If you have further questions on behavior and sexing, you may want to read the articles contained on: “Determining Age and Gender in Young Normal Greys,” "Gender Identification of Pieds," "Description and Gender Identification of Cinnamons," and “Sex-linked inheritance on Gender Identification.” |
| SEXING COCKATIELS BY COLOR & BEHAVIOR Copyright © 2007Linda S. Rubin All Rights Reserved |
| c.2005 Linda S. Rubin Click on image to enlarge |
