Boy or Girl?

[Ilse]

GOOD NEWS! We got the precious IRN! Apparently his name is Jake (which I love!) but... is he really a boy?

The owner said he isn't tame (that's fine), that he's 2 years old, and of course that he is a he. But I'm not so sure. Here's some pictures:

Looks like a girl right??? I wouldn't know what name to use if they're a girl... their gender doesn't matter but I'd just like to have a set name! I really do love Jake but if he's a girl... hmm...

What do you guys think?

 

[AutumnRain]

I found a great site that talks all about this here.
They basically say that the ring around the neck appears around 17 months of age if it's a male, but that it might take two full molts before it's completely visible. It also says that female Ringnecks can get a subtle ring around their necks too, although, of course theirs remains very subtle, unlike the male. Do you have any idea how many molts your Ringneck has gone through yet?

 

[Ilse]

I found a great site that talks all about this here.
They basically say that the ring around the neck appears around 17 months of age if it's a male, but that it might take two full molts before it's completely visible. It also says that female Ringnecks can get a subtle ring around their necks too, although, of course theirs remains very subtle, unlike the male. Do you have any idea how many molts your Ringneck has gone through yet?

No unfortunately, I don’t think the previous owner gave him too much attention so he probably wouldn’t know either...

 

[AutumnRain]

Okay, in that case, it did also say that the females will often start clucking and tilting their head back while slightly opening their wings once they reach maturity. This should begin around a year old, so if you've noticed that, then you have a female. Also, their eyes will pin too when clucking like that. They call it "displaying." The article also mentions that "Female Ringnecks are much stockier and have thicker feet and a wider stance when perching."

 

[AutumnRain]

Congratulations by the way!

 

[Davi]

Awww! Jake is BEAUTIFUL! I think if he turns out to be a female, "Jakelyn" might be a good girl name (although, in all honesty, I think it'd be cute to have a female parrot called Jake)

 

[Tiel Feathers]

Congratulations, what a cutie!Maybe Jackie if she’s a girl? Like @Davi though, I also think Jake can make a cute girls name!

 

[iamwhoiam]

Congrats. Jake is beautiful.

 

[Ilse]

I think I’ll just wait till his next molt and see if a ring starts to appear i dont really feel comfortable plucking a feather or clippings a toe nail at the moment for a DNA test! Do the rings usually start to appear when the first molt happens or is it the second? I just asked the previous owner about his molts, waiting for a response!

 

[Ilse]

So I just got a look at him, at the front of his neck the dark ring mark is really thick and noticeable, at the back of his neck there is a lighter green where pink should be but the dark ring isnt there. I just tried the mirror thing that some sites suggest, he seemed interested but he didn't lift his wings, at first he crouched but he ended up just going potty haha! He made a few clicking noises which may be the clucking, but he didn't tilt his head back and it was very inaudible. Honestly it sounded like someone smacking their lips, hmm

 

[Ilse]

 

[AutumnRain]

I think I’ll just wait till his next molt and see if a ring starts to appear i dont really feel comfortable plucking a feather or clippings a toe nail at the moment for a DNA test! Do the rings usually start to appear when the first molt happens or is it the second? I just asked the previous owner about his molts, waiting for a response!

The article made it sound like it depends on the parrot, because they said it could take up to two molts. This means it's possible that it could happen around the first molt.

An example of a similarity, would be my cockatiel. She's a different species, of course, but she is just barely under a year old. She didn't start her first major molt until recently, but some other cockatiels start molting at six months. As far as Ringnecks go, I'm thinking it may be similar and just depend on the bird.

 

[Ilse]

The article made it sound like it depends on the parrot, because they said it could take up to two molts. This means it's possible that it could happen around the first molt.

An example of a similarity, would be my cockatiel. She's a different species, of course, but she is just barely under a year old. She didn't start her first major molt until recently, but some other cockatiels start molting at six months. As far as Ringnecks go, I'm thinking it may be similar and just depend on the bird.

Yeah that's fair, I know pretty much everything just depends on the individual bird. It's just sooo hard to wait !

 

[AutumnRain]

I bet! Thankfully, with cockaties it's not usually too difficult to tell their gender, depending on the mutation. If that wasn't the case, I would have a hard time waiting to find out too.

 

[Ilse]

I have a quick question, can male ringnecks have a lighter ring before a black one? that's what Jake has, it isn't black but its a pretty dark grey/green kinda colour... or do the males just grow in a black one and that's it? I know it can take a while for it to come in but yeah do they, or CAN they have a dark but not black one first?

 

[AutumnRain]

To answer your question, I found this here: "The male of the species develops a ring around his neck, often starting to become apparent by about 17 months old. The thin black ring runs back from his throat, becoming thinner on the sides of the neck, where it runs into a light colored collar on the nape of his neck. The female may have a very pale ring, but it isn't a defined black line."

 

[Ilse]

To answer your question, I found this here: "The male of the species develops a ring around his neck, often starting to become apparent by about 17 months old. The thin black ring runs back from his throat, becoming thinner on the sides of the neck, where it runs into a light colored collar on the nape of his neck. The female may have a very pale ring, but it isn't a defined black line."

Hmm. He definitely has a dark ring that gets thinner at the sides and is really thick around his throat and he has a light green 'collar' instead of pink... He basically has all that except the ring isn't black (but it is dark) and the collar isn't pink, it's green.

 

[Ilse]

I’m sorry if this thread annoys anyone but I got some more, hopefully better pictures of his ring! Does anyone have an idea about the gender after seeing these? I still have no idea... I’m leaning towards not but I don’t know! Overall his feathers aren’t very bright, but his cheeks are lighter green if you can see. The pink part of his ring isn’t pink yet, it’s light green like his cheeks and his ring is dark but not completely black as you also can see. I’ve taken into account the things that may not apply to all birds like using a mirror, he clicked his beak a bit but didn’t move his head back or crouch or lift his wings, I’ve looked at his head shape too, sometimes it looks round, sometimes rectangular, majority of the time it looks rectangular. I can’t measure his tail for a few reasons, the main being that he’s untamed, but also because he’s scared of rulers! He lifted his wings and squawked and everything, I hadn’t to throw it away and show him I didn’t have it! I think it’s 17 - 18 cm though... thoughts? Thanks for the previous help too guys!

 

[AutumnRain]

That gray around his neck is darker than on the female Ringnecks I've seen online, and is his head more square or rounded? Females are said to have a more rounded head, and males are said to have a more square head. Also, it's hard to tell from the pictures, but I found a site that says the females have thicker feet, whereas the males have thinner feet. They have images here to illustrate this.

 

[Ilse]

That gray around his neck is darker than on the female Ringnecks I've seen online, and is his head more square or rounded? Females are said to have a more rounded head, and males are said to have a more square head. Also, it's hard to tell from the pictures, but I found a site that says the females have thicker feet, whereas the males have thinner feet. They have images here to illustrate this.

His head looks more square/rectangular, sometimes I've noticed it looking a bit round but that could just be the angle. With his feet, I'm not too sure. I don't know what's considered thick or stocky for ringnecks