What gender is this budgie?

[lovezebs]

Sheather
Heehee... The odd couple. They do say that opposites attract, and so...

[Finnie]

Dylan, it occurred to me when you wrote that Sunny has lost weight since he/she has been mourning her recent mate, I hope you are keeping her in quarantine for a while. There is a possibility that whatever the other bird died from could be affecting Sunny. The other bird may have died from natural causes, but it never hurts to be cautious.

It might be hard to figure out Sunny's gender. There are some conditions that a male can get that affect his hormones and cause him to appear female. Being an older bird, maybe that is the case with him.

An older hen may stop going through cycles, so you might not be able to go by waiting for the cere to turn brown on this one. In fact, if it were a male with testicular issues, he could get a brown crusty cere anyway.

Who knows, maybe if it is an older bird with hormonal issues, then its gender might not matter or upset the balance in your flock. Maybe your guys won't fight over an old hen if they think it's a male, lol!

He's very pretty- I love that bright neon look! I saw a budgie almost just like him, only without the opaline, at Petsmart the other day. It was doing acrobatics in the flight cage, and I had a hard time not bringing him home. Such a pretty color combination.

[Sheather]

Finnie - Sunny's most recent mate was apparently 13 when he passed last month. He died of old age. I was shown pictures of Sunny and he and their set-up and they seemed very well cared for, with a huge cage and tons of toys in her sun room. Sunny so far is so playful and sweet and eats well, which her owner tells me is completely opposite to how she had been doing by herself in her care. She doesn't look thin to me, but her owner said she looked so. I think she'll be just fine once she settles in.

[MiaCarter]

I think I stick by my original guess of male due to the smoothness and the cere and the color.
I've seen some males with a light blue like this (males with more pastel colorations and lighter complexions).
The females that I've seen with a bluish cere were more ice blue with a purple-ish tinge.
The legs also seem to have a bluish tinge too.

But on the flip side, the smaller size is suggestive of female.

Perhaps you can determine by behavior?
Especially since she's not settled in yet. Whereas once they settle in with a mate, it seems like one will take on a male role and one will take on a more female role, making it tough to determine gender.

But whatever the case s/he is lovely!
Poor kid sounds like s/he's had a tough go of it lately. Budgies tend to bond so tightly to a mate. Few things are sadder than a broken birdie heart!

Are you going to keep him/her?

I'd love another budgie pair once I get my bird room all re-done and my current pair tamed.
They are just the happiest little creatures ever!
I saw some lovelies at the pet store the other day and I was so tempted! There were some gorgeous ice blues and lavenders (one with yellowish wings, who was cool), both which I've always adored. I think they would make a pretty pairing.

[Sheather]

MiaCarter Yep! S/he is definitely part of the family. I didn't quarantine him/her - my decision, I know others may feel differently - because s/he was not with any other birds and from what I could tell looked in very good health. S/he's made fast friends already - with Arthur and Alex.



My green-based birds seem to be exhibiting a noticeable racist tendency towards the odd-man out and his strange blue coloration.

[MiaCarter]

Aw, poor blue birdie!
That's sad! I hope new bird makes friends with blue boy!

That's great that s/he's getting along with Alex and Arthur!
Budgies always make me nervous when it comes to integration as they tend to be rather bold like zebras. So when you end up with one who's shy, the others' boldness can result in "back off!" aggression.

Any additional insight on hir gender now that you've had a chance to observe a bit more?

[Sheather]

So far, all four of the budgies are very laid back and playful. Arthur and Alex were extremely excited to meet Sunny and invited him/her right away to play with them - while Sydney looked on from a distance. Nobody is aggressing or dominating anybody and seems good - so far.

[lovezebs]

Sheather
Oh darn. So now you have three who like each other, and poor Syd, is still lonesome.
Could you put Syd and Sunny somewhere together, away from the other two, so that they would have a chance to bond together?

~Elana~

[Finnie]

Sheather
Oh darn. So now you have three who like each other, and poor Syd, is still lonesome.
Could you put Syd and Sunny somewhere together, away from the other two, so that they would have a chance to bond together?

~Elana~

That's kind of what I was thinking too.

It's kind of like the low man on the totem pole knows the others won't even give him a chance with the new kid on the block.

You'll have to evaluate how things go when the newness wears off, and the flock establishes a new pecking order. Enjoy!

[Zebrafincher]

Your budgie I would say is male.

Kind Regards

Zebrafincher

[NRJ]

Hi I think a female, i have never seen a male with such light cere color, the best indication i would say is behavior.

[Sheather]

Lovezebs MiaCarter She would seem a certain female; she's picked a boyfriend and now the two are as of today already doing some home improvements to an itty-bitty, but apparently perfect little birdhouse....



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[Finnie]

Lovezebs MiaCarter She would seem a certain female; she's picked a boyfriend and now the two are as of today already doing some home improvements to an itty-bitty, but apparently perfect little birdhouse....

[ http://i.imgur.com/FdiUWSx.jpg ]

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That's cute, but if you don't want budgie babies, I would remove it. (And anything else they might decide to nest in.) At Sunny's age, if she were encouraged to lay eggs, she has a higher chance of egg-binding, too.

[Sheather]

I can't remove it until the Java's (foster) chicks fledge, or I worry they might try and mess with their nestbox. If this little nest occupies them until then, that's good.

[Sheather]

Sunny and Alex had to be confined this week much to their and my dismay. Sunny's cere turned crusty tan virtually overnight - breeding condition! - and she began to intrude uncomfortably close to the nests of society finch chicks for comfort, scoping out their digs, while her male became at once aggressively defensive of their little bird house.

Not sure where to move the pair now. I'm not sure how long they'll need to stay separate, but it might best if I always keep them apart. I want to let them free-fly somewhere at least some of the time, then, but I don't have a lot of free space elsewhere in the apartment, and the matter is complicated because as aviary birds they do not want to be in a cage and do not go back to one on their own accord to sleep and they aren't hand-tame and handleable like Gracie the cockatiel, the one bird who does get free-roam of the house because he's easy to control. But I feel so bad if they have to stay locked up now...

Might have been a mistake to get Sunny. Alex loves her, but a hen has really complicated matters. Our male-male pair of Arthur and Sydney in the bird room are the sweetest and most gentle animals ever, Alex was always feisty but never aggressive until he got a lady friend.

Mrm...