FINCHforum

I'm new to the breed and have these 2 birds bought from a pet shop. Sexed as male and female (I intend to breed) but now after 3 weeks of owning them I beleive I have 2 females. I've Googled and understand it's hard to differentiate but perhaps the more trained eye can confirm for me please...






To mention, there has been no singing just the little whisp noises the females make. I did add a nest but neither took any interest so I've taken it off now. I think the silver one has just finished a molt as there are lots of new pin feathers coming through. I'm not sure of their usual molt schedule or if they breed at a particular time of the year?

Many thanks.

Animalzoo

Hi Sue,

From looking at this site, my guess would be that the dark headed one is a male, and the light headed one is a female. However, I don't have Javas, so I can't really say.

If I were you, I would ask Cindy (she's got a whole flock of them, if I remember correctly ) and may be able to give you more information.

Good luck.

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&source=w ... uXx5bFgApA

Check out this site.

Dark bird looks like a male and the light bird looks like a female.

Animalzoo I am no expert on Javas ,(well i don't consider my self an expert on any bird so far so yeah xD)
Try putting a few nest boxes inside so that they choose the one they like more , they wont always settle down for one nest if you put it in, also put some nesting material in the nest just to start it of and also put it on the ground , they should investigate what it is and hop right in the nest ..
I have checked one site for you and found this out ..
They are hard to tell but when you look closely you can look at their beak for example , the male as far as I can tell has a bit darker beak and eye ring , so I believe the whiter one would be a male and the black one is a female .
Also check the under side of their beaks , the males beak is much wider then the hens ..
Another method is checking where is the eye compared to where the line when they close their beaks is showing , the males eye just stands on that line while the female has it a bit lower ..
by that means both of your javas are males.


Here is the site I checked :
http://www.sjdjavas.co.uk/sexing.htm

lovezebs Sam007 StodOne

Thank you guys. I'm so unsure. I also thought the black one was male and silver female but then shifting to both female.

I'm going to wait for them to go into a larger cage so that I will have the room to add a few different nest types and locations. The nest I added before had some nesting material inside but they were not interested in the slightest. I'm not convinced they are in breeding condition seeing as the silver one has pin feathers coming through so I'll let them finish the molt and then try again in a month.

Perhaps it'll just require the purchase of a few more little Javas

Do they nest on the floor then? (sorry as in nest box on the floor)

Hopefully Cindy will be able to help?!!

Animalzoo I am not sure if they nest on the ground , I doubt so ..
I think that all finches prefer the nest box to be as high as possible , it makes them feel more secure .
Although as I said I have no clue about Java's so yeah don't trust me on this one :/

me to i think that the dark one is a male , compare his beak to the white one it 's more impresive (first picture we can see the beak is more bigand goes up to the front)
try to separate them in to 2 different cage where they can see each one other , male should start singing and parade

debbie276

I've read through a lot of Java articles similar to this one. Points to consider, that article describes they are best bred in colonies to stimulate each other. We are about to vacate a large flight cage that we have be housing our spare non breeding budgies, they're heading outside to the aviary so I can dress up this cage with nest boxes and have tons of space.

I've also read it's easier to sex in larger groups. Looks like I may be getting more ....anyone surprised

...also I was just curious if anyone had any of their own and had any experience with sexing. I can Google till I'm blue in the face but sexing mine has boggled me.

It was hard at first for me till I had a male and female side by side. The eyes were much more swollen on the male and the beak had a definite bulge where it meets the feathers.

Thanks debbie276
I'm lacking in breeders here. Few and far between and even few pet shops sell them. It's nice to learn a new breed but slow going. Something exotic again and easy to keep

I have close to 3 dozen, several mutations... they breed well in either cages by pair or aviary. Personally I breed pairs in indivual cages to keep bloodline pure and to keep track of mutation combinations.

They do not breed on the floor, the box when breeding in a cage is best mounted outside high. I have one pair the box is mounted inside the cage up high. All mine breed readily in cages, when not breeding they are free flighted in an walk in aviary. Some if use to a cage and not accepting of the larger space were givena cage. They became stressed in the walkin.

Colony breeding mount boxes, more boxes than you have pairs all at the same height....be watchful since javas can get very terriorial and can actually get very physical with each other especially when it comes to breeding and territory.

Additional visual aid for sexing.... Fawn javas can be sexed once fully colored out, males have a dark chocolate cap, hens have a faded dark cap.

Eye ring... males will have a puffy red ring, hens tend to be lighter and not as puffy.

I personally would take both birds out and put them side by side using the guide below to help compare what you are seeing. The underside of the lower bill on males will bulge and is wider, hens are more slender. If it helps take pictures and post here.

Animalzoo (I believe that) They are best bred in colonies because they will have more females to choose from , thus making the bonding process shorter .
Also what Cindy meant by nest boxes being high and outside is probably something like this , preferably a closed one with one hole , not like my cup