Budgie question!?

Question

ok so in a few weeks im going to buy a hand fed budgie from a breeder. They are 8 weeks old. I really want a male. How can I tell male from female? And I cant look at the color of their cere because they are still to young to tell. Are their any other ways to tell them apart? thanks!

Answer 1

To quote:

However, for a pet you need a baby budgie, and the younger the better. The typical blue or brown colour will not have developed at this stage. Instead, look closely for the presence or absence of white on the cere, since white is the precursor of the buff and brown shades of the female cere. Look at the actual nostrils: if there is a hint of a whitish ring around them, then the baby is probably female. If there is absolutely no white, and especially if the cere is a nice pink, and well rounded, then the baby is probably male.

An adult hen budgie's cere is like a layer cake. The bottom layer is pale blue. Over this spreads the whitish colour, and then the buff and brown shades are deposited on top of the white. Therefore, a very young baby hen may show some pale blue on her cere, but there will always be white as described above.

An adult c**k budgie's cere is not a layer cake: the fleshy/pink/purple tones of the baby turn blue.

With certain fancy and pink eyed varieties, the blue of the male never develops -- the cere stays pink or flesh coloured. (The identification of some fancy colour varieties is an advanced subject, beyond the scope of this page.)

Dark shading on the beak or cere indicates only that the baby is still very young indeed, and gives no indication of s*x. It is common in darker coloured chicks.

There is a subtle difference in body shape too. Young c***s tend to be more tapered, and young hens less shapely or more blunt ended (to put it in an unflattering way!)

Cere colour seems easier to distinguish at an earlier age in darker coloured individuals who have plenty of pigment in their bodies. So, if the s*x of your purchase is very important to you, it may be advantageous to go for a deep coloured bird rather than a 'blond' or very fancy variety.

Answer 2

At 8 weeks old it's really almost impossible. If there is more than one bird check the nose above the beak for any color (like a blueish tint) or just pick the brightest one, most likely it will be a male.

Answer 3

well, you should wait longer to get the bird if you want to figure out if it s a boy or girl