FINCHforum

OK start with the bad news. My RH female gouldian, and BH male that were under the weather, just werent getting any better in my care.

So I contacted the breeder, and she told me to bring them in and she will treat them. I could exchange them for another Gouldian pair. Well I didnt really want to go down that road. ( still have my male RH WB YB/BB sf, and female YH PB GB and am happy with just one gouldian pair now) I know they will be given the right meds over there so Im happy about that.

So I asked if I could trade for equal value. I decided on some Java's.
I wanted a M/F pair. She tried to sex them, she had cinnamons, whites, and reg. For trade the regulars were at the same price range as the gouldians. Which is fine with me cause I like the look of the reg Javas

Anyways she thinks that the one with the red band is a female. The one with out a band she said she cant be sure, his beak is a tiny bit larger on top than the females, she said it could possibly be a young male. But if he doesnt sing after a month and/or no nesting is going on between the two, then to bring the unbanded one back for trade for a different male.

I tried to get some pics of me holding them, but my kids are too young to use the camera. SO I had to just takes some pics in the cage.
Here they are kids named them "Batman" and "Ruby" The pics of in the cage the red banded "female" is in the back, "male" in the front

Maybe someone with more Java experience can tell me the sexes. Ill try and get better pics when husband gets home.
Maybe I can find songs of the male finch to entice them to "sing" lol

Looks like male and femal to me The V of the top beak when viewed from above will always be more pointed in the hen. Also hers beak will be longer and pointier.
The males will have a broader V and his beak is shorter but wider. Also the more he comes into breeding condition the more bulbous the ridge is. Beautiful pair!!!! My normal mutation pair are on eggs now

Oh really?!?! Yaay!
You dont know how long it took to try and find a male out of the regulars! I think he was the only male out of about 7 females.
Oh I hope he is a male then.

Yes the red banded one must be a female. Her beak is very pointed and slimmer in comparison to the other ones. You can see that from top view on the first pic.

So when male comes into breeding condition, his beak will be more bulbous on top? I have no idea how old this male is, she just told me she thinks hes a young male and hasnt gotten the bulbing yet.
What does a male Javas song sound like? Females?

*I also wanted to ad, they have a bit of which patch feathers under their beaks (chin area), is this normal in regular Javas, or is there some other mutation in their gene?

The male is definaelty in the front but the one in the back is questionable at the angle it is

this site is excellent on sexing....loo at each birds profile
http://www.javafinch.com/sex/sexndx.html

the best way to do this is hold each on, compare profie, the top ridge (males will have a buldge) in the top beak closest to the nares, the eye rings, the underside of the bottom beak. That way you will be sure, use the guide, this gentleman that owns the site is one of what I consider a guru in javas!

I have never found the size of the ridge to be certain indicators unless you have a mature male and he is in breeding condition, young males will resemble hens. As the male reaches peak breeding condition his beak usually becomes more bulbous and brighter/deeper red to impress the female and to show the other males he has the largest beak... much like Deer grow antlers every year... the bigger the antler, the more impressed the doe and the more likely he will win the beak sword fights with the other males.
Eye rings can also be different within the birds genetics and age. some hens have bright and large eye rings while older birds tend to fade in color.
Best to go by top view and of course by song. I can also tell by the way they interact... males and females will quickly pair up and follow one another around the cage... males will bicker , especially if there is a hen in the cage.

Ive heard a noise....well only from the unbanded one. Not much so far but what I heard sounds a little like C3-PO from Star Wars
It didnt last very long just little bits here and there. They are still new and havent moved around too much, just had a few bites of millet spray and went back to their perch.

Dee did she give you an age on them? I raised them years ago...you'll enjoy them, they can be quiet comical as well.

I had a breeder down by me that had mutations, he was great with them. I could go in and spot sex the birds, pick out what I wanted, I loved them. His birds were wonderful. Eventually I would like to go back to him to get a couple of pairs...they can be as entertaining than zebras.

Dee, go to this site, scroll down to the javas...make sure your volume is up and play it for the birds a couple of times see who answers and calls back.

http://www.javafinch.com/sex/sexndx.html

try this one to off the java site...

http://www.javafinch.com/cock/cock.html

PrettyBird wrote: Not much so far but what I heard sounds a little like C3-PO from Star Wars

That is exactly what my Husband said when he heard mine sing.... it is the coolest sound Customers in the store will always ask...What was that? I say it's the Java's shooting their space guns

Wait till the courting starts and the dance they do it is to cute, funny...we used to love watching them! Give him some Timothy grass a few pieces with the seed head on, he will dance with it in his beak...one male was hysterical!

I like them, didn't know they had so much personality. very cool!

cindy wrote:Dee, go to this site, scroll down to the javas...make sure your volume is up and play it for the birds a couple of times see who answers and calls back.

http://www.javafinch.com/sex/sexndx.html

Thanks Cindy I will check it out

CandoAviary wrote:

PrettyBird wrote: Not much so far but what I heard sounds a little like C3-PO from Star Wars

That is exactly what my Husband said when he heard mine sing.... it is the coolest sound Customers in the store will always ask...What was that? I say it's the Java's shooting their space guns

Haha! yes totally sounds like that eh? As Im typing the unbanded one "male" is making that sound again..They are still a bit shy, but I think they are starting to loosen up. Time will tell what I have!

cindy wrote:Wait till the courting starts and the dance they do it is to cute, funny...we used to love watching them! Give him some Timothy grass a few pieces with the seed head on, he will dance with it in his beak...one male was hysterical!

cant wait unbanded "male" is moving around makign noise now, going to watch and play the clip see what happens...

P.S. Do females make any sound at all? The red banded "female" hasnt made a peep, and is very stone like atm lol