atvchick95
Biking along the boulevard
Budgies are one of the easiest birds to tell it's gender When of age you can look at them and tell a male from a female .
The ceres of young budgies under 8-12 months are all about the same: a bright pink or violet color. As the budgie sexually matures, the cere changes according to the budgie's sex.
how this is done is by the color of their cere(the fleshy part above the beak where the nostrils are)
Males of normal mutations will have a blue cere
Females have a white cere, that turns brown, crusty looking, to a chocolate brown color (these 3 are known as "breeding condition cere", young females sometimes have a white cere with a tinge of blue and because of the blue they're often told are males when this isn't true
Males of these mutations will not have blue ceres when mature they will stay translucent pink lutino, albino, recessive pied,Dark eyed clear,lacewing & Fallow
If your budgie is less than one year old, the above rules are not applicable. The cere usually begins to change before one year of age but appears relatively ambiguous. A younger budgie's cere can appear to be changing towards one sex and then change the other way upon full sexual maturity at one year of ageThe ceres of young budgies under 8-12 months are all about the same: a bright pink or violet color. As the budgie sexually matures, the cere changes according to the budgie's sex.
how this is done is by the color of their cere(the fleshy part above the beak where the nostrils are)
Males of normal mutations will have a blue cere
Females have a white cere, that turns brown, crusty looking, to a chocolate brown color (these 3 are known as "breeding condition cere", young females sometimes have a white cere with a tinge of blue and because of the blue they're often told are males when this isn't true
Males of these mutations will not have blue ceres when mature they will stay translucent pink lutino, albino, recessive pied,Dark eyed clear,lacewing & Fallow
Here are some examples
How to tell the age of your budgie
from www.budgieplace.com
1.) CAP FEATHERS - In most varieties, young budgies will have bars on their head all the way down to the cere. At about 3-4 months of age, a budgie will go through its first molt, and the top feathers on the head will be replaced and will no longer be striped. So a budgie with stripes down to the cere has not gone through its first molt and is less than 3-4 months old. A budgie with a white or yellow cap (depending on color variety) has gone through its first molt and is therefore older than 3-4 months.
Exceptions: Lutino, Albino , Recessive Pied These varieties do not have normal feather markings and therefore this age test cannot be applied to them.
Examples:
from www.budgieplace.com
1.) CAP FEATHERS - In most varieties, young budgies will have bars on their head all the way down to the cere. At about 3-4 months of age, a budgie will go through its first molt, and the top feathers on the head will be replaced and will no longer be striped. So a budgie with stripes down to the cere has not gone through its first molt and is less than 3-4 months old. A budgie with a white or yellow cap (depending on color variety) has gone through its first molt and is therefore older than 3-4 months.
Exceptions: Lutino, Albino , Recessive Pied These varieties do not have normal feather markings and therefore this age test cannot be applied to them.
Examples:
Compare the older bird on the left and the younger bird on the right.
2) EYES - In most varieties, young budgies' eyes will be all black. As they get older, the iris gradually lightens to very light grey/brown. A budgie with a completely black eye is probably under 4 months old. A budgie with a dark grey iris is probably 4-8 months old. A budgie with a light grey or brown iris is probably older than 8 months.
EXCEPTIONS:
**Lutino, Albino,Lacewing, Fallow - At all ages these red-eyed varieties always have a light colored (pink) iris.EXCEPTIONS:
Recessive Pied, Dark Eyed Clear:These varieties always have dark plum eyes which do not change with age.
** My personal experience with Lutino and Albino is BOTH of mine have white iris Rings
Examples:
Examples:
All Black Eyes (0-4 months) Very Dark Grey Irises (4-6 months)
Medium Grey Irises (6-8 months) Light Irises (8 months or older)
Reading an ID Band: One set of letters is the company who issued the band. The next set of numbers and letters is the breeder's number and/or initial(s). It is the next part will tell you how old your budgie is. It is the year the bird was hatched in. If the bird was bred in California, the last digit of the year will be inside a California Bear. Otherwise, usually the last two digits of the year are displayed. The next set of numbers is the serial or pedigree number of the bird. For example, if this number reads 52, then this bird is the 52nd budgie hatched that year to that breeder.
ID band color: An easier (but less reliable) way to tell what year the bird was born in is to look at what color the band is. Different colors represent different years and will tell you how many years old your bird is. However, different organizations which issue ID bands may use different colors than other organizations for the same year. The most widely recognized band issuing organization in the US is The American Budgerigar Society. If your budgie's band was issued by this organization, you will see "ABS" on the band (see picture example below). The following is the ABS list of colors for each year. If your budgie's band is not ABS, then the following list may not apply.
ABS ID Band Colors:
GOLD - '96
SILVER - '97
GREEN - '98
ORANGE - '99
LIGHT BLUE - 2000
BLACK - 2001
GOLD - 2002
SILVER - 2003
DARK BLUE - 2004
WHITE - 2005
YELLOW - 2006
BLACK - 2007
ID band is on the right.
(The band on the left is a "family band." It has no markings.)
Reading an ID band:
A) issuing society
B) breeder ID #
C) year of birth (bear is for Calif.)
D) bird ID#
ID band is on the left.
