| Hey, I'm new to this forum & I'm trying to figure out if my tiel' is a male or female (w/o a DNA test) He is around 5 months & I think he'll be turning 6 months this April (assuming he was hatched in October) He has not had his big 1st molt yet, pin-feathers pop up occasionally, but he hasn't been losing a huge amount of feathers, nor have there been any changes in his mood. Facts about my bird: - He's a clumsy baby & broke most of his tail feathers. Some of them have grown back - 1 grey feather is fully grown out, has spotting on the surface but the bottom of the feather is darker & completely solid grey (no spots or barring) Another 1 is coming in just the same. A yellow feather is also growing in & does have the barring. - I think a flight feather grew in because it's awkwardly longer than all the others, and it does have spots (he never lost one though?) - He is usually very hyper active, he can never stay in one spot for too long. His favorite game is running back & forth in front of the window chasing his reflection & trying to attack it. - Outside the cage, he is mostly quiet - but alone in his cage, he can get pretty loud. He'll sometimes go on for 10 minutes "practicing" making all kinds of noise, different whistles, some even sound like he's trying to talk - it's actually pretty comical. He also has very loud screams or 'flock calling' when he wants attention. This is the only male behavior I've noticed (no beak banging or heart wings yet) - He can have an attitude (esp. when it comes to going back in his cage) and he'll bite/nip when he doesn't get his way. ^ based on those facts, do you think it's a male or a female? I'm so confused 
Here's a picture of him 
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Is my cockatiel a male or female?
- Thread starter emily323
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Is he very vocal?
Birdbabe
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Looks like a girl to me??
Yeah, he can get very vocal and loud. There are certain times of the day he'll go on for 10 minutes whistling & making all kinds of noise. Sometimes it even sounds like he's trying to say, "Pretty bird" & "Whatcha doing?" We call this his "practicing" it's pretty funny.
Based on this:
Sounds like a male to me. However, in rare cases, it is known that females will whistle and such. The yellow mask on his face just makes me still lean more towards a male though, males and females do look the same when they are young.
At six months of age, most Tiels still look like females as they are still babies. Behaviour indicates male, but as Monica posted earlier, without seeing future feathers, it will be difficult to tell. May be a hyperactive tomboy-ish female as well.
Sounds like me, I was so sure Breeze was a boy because of her vocal abilities. They will fool you.
To me, it looks like a girl but sounds like a boy. I think it's still too young to know for sure. I have a tomboy!
To me, it looks like a girl but sounds like a boy. I think it's still too young to know for sure. I have a tomboy!Yeah, when he does his "practicing" I'm like, "Yep, that's a boy" cuz' he whistles like crazy & he can get pretty loud. He's always had the little yellow in his face, so I'm just waiting to see if he will develop the full, bright yellow face mask of a male.
Okay, I'll get pictures of his newer feathers tomorrow (he's in bed right now) His new tail feathers are confusing because the top of the feathers have white speckles, the bottom is completely solid grey (I was told this may because he is not fully mature) Another new feather is yellow & it does have barring. He broke most of his tail feathers, so I heard it is possible for baby feathers to grow back if they were pulled too early.
I am saying male because of his singing and talking. Also, if you look at his face he has two new very yellow facial feathers coming in. I think you will see his yellow mask begin to grow in as he molts his baby feathers.
If any tail feathers that are knocked out, come back through and have barring, it is likely the Cockatiel is a female. The males when they go through their molt (could be more than oncee) will have solid grey tail feathers. Bio had 2 tail feathers with barring that he didn't lose for awhile.
Oh, I see. I've heard of males that kept knocking out their tail feathers, so they kept coming back w/ barring. He hasn't gone through his molt yet, but only one yellow tail feather came back w/ barring. The grey tail feathers are confusing, because like I said, the underside of them is a dark solid grey.
He's starting to get bright yellow spots around his face. I think he's a male for sure. Especially if he's very vocal.
I am voting male, but visually you won't be able to tell until his big molt. From my experience, all cockatiels look female before their first big molt.
Awww, super cute! My males were all very vocal.
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sounds like a male to me..you usually can tell from the vocalizing etc...but Samantha had us confused...She vocalizes..A LOT..also does heart wings and beak rapping..plus she is one of the rare, rare females that TALK...so when she molted and the tell tale yellow tail barring came in, we still refused to believe she was a girl...as did an entire board of tiel lovers....until she laid an egg that is..but the yellow tail barring is a giveaway for sure...
Aw, they're tricky those cockatiels. I think mine could very well be a girl too, just one of those rare vocal females like Samantha. I think I was kinda just hoping for a bird that would whistle, and maybe learn to talk because my old bird only ever made 1 sound. This one is pretty vocal, so I'll be happy either way
I think male...my gray male was only about 2 1/2 months old when I brought him home. very soon after he was very vocal! and loud. I noticed several male traits such as beak banging, heart wings, whistling, warbling sounds...but he still had a very gray face. The yellow really did not start to develop until about 5 months and by the time he was a year old he had his yellow face mask and after his first molt all tail feathers were dark.
I also brought home a whiteface tiel months later that I was told was about 3 1/2 months old - I saw a lot of white developing in "his" face - at least I thought so...but after a few weeks - just chirping - no whistling and the face was not changing. This one is definitely a female - laid her first egg before she was a year old.
I also brought home a whiteface tiel months later that I was told was about 3 1/2 months old - I saw a lot of white developing in "his" face - at least I thought so...but after a few weeks - just chirping - no whistling and the face was not changing. This one is definitely a female - laid her first egg before she was a year old.
Aww, my bird is nearly 6 months old & his face still hasn't gotten any more yellow - that's why I'm starting to think he/she is actually a she. He does much more than just chirp, though!
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