Gouldian beak color changing from Black to Red?

[Pukasand]

[quote="nixity"]Are we talking about adult or juveniles? [/quote
I am looking for any kind of information that will help me identify the sex of LGs... juveniles or adults.

[nixity]

With juveniles it is virtually impossible to tell unless your body colors can only be the result of a certain sex.

For example, if you pair a PB Yellow hen to a PB Normal male (no splits) you will only get dilute males and normal hens.
So you would know immediately that any normals from that clutch are inherently female.

Likewise, say you pair a PB DF Yellow Male to a PB Normal Female (no splits) - all females would be yellow, and all males would again be dilute.
So - at hatch, you would be able to visually tell which are boys and which are girls.
I love pairings like this because I can easily see my sex ratios immediately, rather than having to wait.

SOMETIMES normal male juveniles can be guessed because you see much darker breast and belly juvenile feathers on them - but this isn't always the case, especially since WB juvenile males will look much like their pb normal sisters in terms of juvenile/baby feathers. It's one of those things that is hit or miss..

Gouldians are a di-morphic species but with so many mutations sometimes it can be tricky (read: yellows and silvers).

So, normal gouldians are the easiest to sex.
A normal male gouldian will have a bright yellow belly, a much deeper, fuller mask with less black surrounding it (in the case of red and orange heads), and in the case of PB will have a deep luxurious purple color. They also will have two long tail spires that are present until they go into an annual molt, in which case these are usually the first feathers they lose, and the last feathers to come back in.

I could go into more detail about the other mutations but don't want to blab on and on unless you want me to.
Also, males sing and females do not.

[Pukasand]

Oh, that is great info. Tiff, thanks, and you just blab on all you like. I have to read a sentence, then re-read it, then rush to the birdroom and check the birds, come back and read again.. .. but I'm learning. I have a RH/PB/YB.. I think it's DF male, paired with a BH/PB/NB female. This is the pair with 6 chicks. Now as I check them, I see some that look like they are all yellow and some that look yellow but have black heads. So, all the 'all yellow' will be female, and all the BH will be dilute males? Is dilute the same a SF yellow? Am I close to being correct on this?

[nixity]

I have a RH/PB/YB.. I think it's DF male, paired with a BH/PB/NB female.

If he is purple breasted and visually bright yellow, he has to be DF. There are some varying degrees to the amount of yellow seen in Dilutes, but I have never seen one that would be out right mistaken for a yellow.

This is the pair with 6 chicks. Now as I check them, I see some that look like they are all yellow and some that look yellow but have black heads. So, all the 'all yellow' will be female, and all the BH will be dilute males? Is dilute the same a SF yellow? Am I close to being correct on this?

Are these babies fully moulted out yet, or are you looking at birds in juvenile feather? Unless your male is split for black head, you won't get any visually black head babies from this pair, but all of the males will be RH/BH.

A Dilute is defined as a SF Yellow male that also has a purple breast.

If he had a Lilac or White Breast, he would appear visually yellow, not dilute - and to make things easy, I just call these "SF Yellow Males."

[CandoAviary]

Oops...I was talking about adults.

[Pukasand]

The male (Dad) has a RH with a white ring around it, and a small white 'bib'. PB, yellow belly and very yellow back. So the dark heads I"m seeing in the chicks are actually RH /B. ?

These six chicks are about a week old. I"m looking at the color of the skin.

[Pukasand]

Oops...I was talking about adults.

Any information is good information, thanks, Candace.

[nixity]

The male (Dad) has a RH with a white ring around it, and a small white 'bib'. PB, yellow belly and very yellow back. So the dark heads I"m seeing in the chicks are actually RH /B. ?

These six chicks are about a week old. I"m looking at the color of the skin.

Most likely.. BH and RH babies look identical.. you can't tell the head color (without knowing the genetics) until they begin to molt :\

[Pukasand]

OIC, K, TY. I'll try a little patience ..