# Cockatiel question



## Joello (Jan 3, 2016)

So my cockatiel, Lemon, is pearled for those who haven't seen the picture I posted of him. The thing is though his gender is driving me crazy. I got him when he was around 4 months old and now he's gonna be 6 months old on the 26th of this year. I've read that pearl males lose their pearls from molting. Do they lose them all? He's molting a little and the ones on his neck came back pearled. He's loud when he screams. Like he'll scream for me to let him out so we can hang out together xD anyway. Lately it looks like he's trying to bob his head which I heard is a male thing. But he does it so weird that I'm not sure if he's trying to look at something or if he's practicing how to bob. He's not mimicking either. I always whistle the same thing and I've only heard him do it one time while I was in the kitchen. I don't care if he is really a she. Its just that the suspense is killing me


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## Kate C (Oct 15, 2007)

From the picture of Lemon it is actually a Pearl Pied which makes visual sexing more difficult. Pearl Pied males do not always lose their pearling where male pearls do lose it. It can also take 18 months for a pearl male to lose all his pearling. I had a family of pearls that did this. Usually the male pearls lose their pearls during their first adult moult.

But something to do with the pied gene means that pearl males do not always lose all their pearls.

If you know the parentage of Lemon it may make it easier. If the father is a normal grey, normal grey with pearl hidden, pearl pied or even a normal pied and the mother is normal or normal pied, any pearls born will automatically be females as only the male can carry the pearl gene hidden and not visual. To get visual pearl males the father has to be carrying the pearl gene and the female has to be visual pearl and the male offspring will still lose it's pearling at maturity.

Females can whistle and some females will also sometimes exhibit male mating characteristics, like singing and bobbing.

In all likelihood Lemon is a female as most pearl males do not have such heavy pearl markings, even as young birds. The only way to be really sure is to have Lemon either dna or sugically sexed, or if Lemon lays eggs then you know it is a female.


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## eduardo (Jul 24, 2011)

*Why don't you do a DNA test and see the gender that way? I think it's supposed to be about $25 or so.*


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