FINCHforum

how do you guestimate age of a bird ?

This would be interesting, as without a closed year band, I have no way of guessing the age of a bird.

On gouldians, you "might" be able to guess if they are about 1 year old, if they are white breast and you see some purple in the white feathers. Then I might say a dirty 1st year molt, as they clean up to a nice white after that.

Clean, scale free, legs and feet usually indicate a young bird. Other than that, a bird in optimal condition should look bright and healthy regardless of age. Bob

As Bob said, one way (though not foolproof) is to check the feet and legs. As birds age, their legs often start to look scaley amd rough, while young birds will have nice smooth-looking legs and feet. As I said, this is not foolproof, and all it tells you is that the bird is probably not old.

608duj other than what was mentioned I really don't think there is any definite way to tell. You can of course judge by the birds skills.. whether it's seems to have certain experiences especially when it comes to breeding and parenting, whether it seems to be going through a hormonal teenage phase, whether or not it seems to be more laid back and mellow may indicate an older age.. but this can also vary based on the species and the personality of the bird itself. Other than that as far as I know there really is no definite way to determine age just by visually examining the bird outside of the appearance of their legs and the condition of their feathers.