# Oh My! Is Cochise actually a GIRL?



## Sachem (May 6, 2016)

Hi Friends!
I recently moved Cochise to a better area to get more natural light. Today, I noticed very visible bars on the underside of his/her tail. I then decided to check under the wings for spots, which I found...boe the bars under the tail and under the wings are very apparent, even though the photos don't show them very well. Cochise is close to a year old.
I read that most but not all females have different behaviors than the males, and are more likely to bite and his (which Cochise does often!!) 
I hope an expert will come along and let me know what I have. Thanks!!


----------



## petites (Jun 2, 2016)

Hi Sachem
I am no expert but those cheeks strongly suggest Cochise is a boy.Will be interesting to see what other people think......


----------



## Sachem (May 6, 2016)

Julie, that was why I never doubted it until now, they are very bright


----------



## petites (Jun 2, 2016)

It is easier to tell if you have more than one 'tiel - you can compare them to see which is brighter....I would be surprised if you did have a girl there though.....


----------



## Sachem (May 6, 2016)

My husband has a young tiel but we don't know it's sex either. We are assuming it's a girl by behavior and the sounds she makes


----------



## jean20057 (May 31, 2013)

*Worse comes to worse, you can always get him DNA sexed. Around here it runs about $25. I'm definitely not an expert with this with tiels, but if you're looking for a definitive answer, that is it.*


----------



## Sachem (May 6, 2016)

I've seen a lot of talk about DNA being used frequently now, especially with the new color mutations that are difficult to sex visually. Maybe later on for fun I'll get it done. I'm being kinda stingy with my money right now, so it will have to wait :-D

Here's another picture where the wing spots are more obvious.


----------



## Jonah (Feb 3, 2013)

I know very little about tiel and even less about that mutation. I do know females can sport bright cheek patches though. My white faced grey was easy to tell because his tail lost the bars and turned solid dark color underneath. I used to have a male tiel years ago that was a biter, so i wouldn't let that sway your thoughts much. Kate, one of our moderators here is pretty good with these thing's so hopefully she weighs in on this, and as Kirsten said, there's always the DNA test. Beautiful bird either way. Does he/she whistle, sing or talk ?


----------



## Sachem (May 6, 2016)

Thank you Randy... I have heard females can have bright patches as well, and the barring is the best way to tell. 
As far as the noises, it's the basic call. This bird is pretty quiet for the most part. An occasional call for me when I leave the room or go outside. Very interested in listening to whistling and interesting sounds but doesn't try to mimic or whistle. 
I suppose saying all that really does point to him being a her. 
As far as taming, it's one step forward two steps back. He or she isn't interested in toys or treats. 
My husbands tiel that he recently got, is very vocal. It calls to us all the time, almost frantically until one of us goes over to the cage. Right now I had to come over and sit next to him or her and even if we are being quiet the bird settles down, happy with the companionship. We can also keep a finger in there and the bird will come up and taste our fingers if we dont look at her lol!! 
Cochise will never, ever show any curiosity towards me or I should say, my hand. I put my hand in the cage and sit there until my hand falls asleep. As long as my hands are not on the cage, he or she will listen to me and sometimes even sit on the perch closest to me. I wont give up though, for her whole year or so of life, no one ever touched her, so this is going to take several months maybe even a year, but I'm ready.


----------



## Sachem (May 6, 2016)

This is my husbands tiel. We are unsure of sex or color. Its mostly grey and white, but has some light cinnamon color on the face and breast. Because it's my husband's I haven't really done much besides keep her company. He does everything as far as cleaning, feeding etc... I have a big flock of my own and dont have much extra time that this tiel will need to be happy and confident. I'm bugging him about namingit, he's taking his sweet time. 
I think he said it was hatched late December so about 6 months.


----------



## Sachem (May 6, 2016)

I made time for my husband's tiel today because she kept calling for attention and he was ignoring the sweet baby. Twice today she cane up to the side of the cage and ate from my fingers!!! Once for millet then again for some fresh broccoli... I was surprised how quickly she got interested in the broccoli since my budgies seem to take awhile to show interest in their fresh meals. Look how darling she is! I can't believe he ignored that precious face!


----------



## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Stacy, 

I have absolutely no idea about anything regarding tiels except for I'm pretty sure there's a mutation called pearl and there's some pieds and cinnamons and lutinos. I'm serious, that's the extent of my tiel knowledge  so I can't help you on Cochise's true gender  

I can say, though, that both of them are extremely adorable. What's your husband's tiel's name? She's gorgeous!  Finally I can use the whiteface pied smiley  :wf pied:

Oh, by the way--I don't mean to be obnoxious, but the cage the sweet little grey tiel is in is actually too small  I know on the packaging it says it's for cockatiels, but it really is only big enough for one budgie (or, in Tilda's case, one diamond dove. That's how I know which cage it is ). I would consider getting her another cage in the future


----------



## Sachem (May 6, 2016)

Oh you're definitely not being obnoxious. I was wondering about if it's too small! I feel the same way about that cage. It's perfect for a pair of budgies but not nearly big enough for a tiel. 
The shape looked cute, but I realized there was a lit of wasted space.
My husband still hasn't picked a name out. I think since we are now pretty sure Cochise is a girl, and this mutation is so much harder to tell. I'm going to start dropping suggestions hehehe!


----------



## Sachem (May 6, 2016)

This is the cage uncovered. I had Matt cover the tall side while the baby is adjusting to our home.


----------



## RavensGryf (May 8, 2015)

You might find some info on this website useful. I'm not sure how accurate their claims are, but it might be worth looking at . Sexing Cockatiels - Just Cockatiels!


----------



## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Good luck with the name choosing! She's so pretty  

Yep, that's the same cage Miss Tilda has


----------



## tonic (Nov 13, 2009)

It has been years, or even decades, since I had cockatiels so I may be wrong... but I would say your baby is a Whiteface Pied Cinnamon. Very pretty. Hopefully someone who knows more will be along to confirm or correct!


----------



## petites (Jun 2, 2016)

There is a place in Spain that DNA birds for £5 (around $7)....you pluck a few feathers, post them and they e mail you the results in about 10 days. I am sure they cater for US....If that helps at all?


----------



## Sachem (May 6, 2016)

Thank you Toni! From what I was reading this morning you're correct. 
and Julie!
That's a grest price, might be fun to get both tested


----------



## Sachem (May 6, 2016)

I already want to trade tiels with Matt ... that's awful to say but his is way more accepting. 
A strange behavior I noticed with that one is, he or she outright throws tantrums!!! 
Before he or she came up to try the millet from my hand, it didn't want to get close so made all kinds of noise the very aggressively started biting and shaking the toy closest to her. Is that normal for a tiel to throw a tantrum? My male years never did that, and my lutino isnt friendly but has never thrown a fit... Any ideas on this?


----------



## Sachem (May 6, 2016)

Ok it's probably boring for yall to see the same thing every day, but today was no hesitating at all for some yummy broccoli


----------



## jean20057 (May 31, 2013)

*HeeHee, not boring at all for me! I love seeing Cochise! I think it's really cool that she doesn't even hesitate to snatch up that delicious broccoli!*


----------



## Birdmanca (Jan 24, 2008)

Cochise is a beautiful bird. She looks really great especially the couple of photos where she is appearing showing white feathers.


----------



## Sachem (May 6, 2016)

Thank you Kristen! Cochise is the lutino who doesn't much like me yet... hehehe... she's about a year old and had a rough start so it's slow going with her. Im thinking on renaming her Abetzi (Betzi for short) To go along with my Native American theme, ot means "yellow leaf".... the other name we are considering is Aiyana, that means eternal blossom, or always in bloom...

The whiteface cinnamon pied, I probably scrambled the color up, my husband agreed to the name "Tala"... that means wolf... and we thought it would be cute, the way he or she devours the fresh food Ive been offering. 

Thank you Birdmanca. Since she's in better light now I can really appreciate her pretty colors!


----------



## jean20057 (May 31, 2013)

*Tala is a beautiful name! And my bad on the name mix up, lol. Either way, I never get tired of seeing her!*


----------



## Jedikeet (Feb 3, 2014)

Stacy, you and your hubby are very blessed to have such an adorable pair of tiels. Determining the gender of a normal grey tiel is a lot easier to do visually than a lutino, cinnamon/pied/pearl, or other mix. As already mentioned, DNA tests are the most accurate and some people are able to sex tiels by feeling their pelvic bones (also for lovebirds) but I was never able to quite grasp this technique. I can tell you from my own experience from having 3 tiels in my life (my first tiel was a normal grey from my childhood and my current 2 are the ones you see on my signature photo), the genders of my latter 2 were confirmed in time by their behavior. Upon maturity, males become quite vocal and they're the ones who sing and whistle while females rarely do. Males also do the _heart-wing_ dance and chirp at the female, which is their mating call and quite adorable. It's funny that I initially thought my Rhaegal (initially named Jessie - cinnamon pied boy) was female and Viserion (initially named Packy - pearl pied girl) was male, but their genders turned out to be vice-versa when they mated 4 months after I brought them home!

Conchise and Tala are both lovely birds either M or F, and my tiels also love broccoli a lot more than my budgies!


----------



## Sachem (May 6, 2016)

No problem Kristen! I sometimes mix up people's birds on here too... shhhh hahaha.... thank you on the compliment on Tala's name. I'm keeping it no matter the sex... 
I'll make sure to keep the updates coming on both 

Nick, I read about the pelvic check, Im really nervous to do it myself but when they go for a well check I'll get the DNA for fun. 
My first tiel named Ty was a male normal grey and he was my best bud. He indeed whistled a LOT and had quite the playlist 

I love the names Rhaegal and Viserion... But then I also love unique names (even though I couldn't resist naming our newest baby budgie Stormy because of his storm cloud color.

While I have you here, I wonder if you could possibly answer a question about Tala's behavior. She or he is only going on 6 months, as you can see see eats very willing out of my hands, but jeez, along withthe tantrum earlier, she also will lunge at my hand aggressively on occasion. I find that odd especially since the day my husband got her, she is quiet when I'm next to the cage and sits in the perch closest to me. I try to cover him at night but he just wont settle and sleep until I take the side I covered off. He calls and call continuously. And she's here beak grinding and content now... in your experience is this normal for a newly adjusting young cockatiel. Ive tried literally dozens of times to join Tiel talk but all this html fills in automatically and it says my name is too long. So hopefully I can get some information here.
Thanks for being such awesome TB friends!!


----------



## Jedikeet (Feb 3, 2014)

Aww, thanks again! Viserion, Rhaegal, and Drogon are the 3 dragons in the show Game of Thrones. Drogon is the most intelligent and aggressive of the 3, so I named my conure after him.

Tiels can be a lot more temperamental, affectionate, and bond closer to people than budgies, so everything you said about Tala is quite normal. His/her aggressiveness towards you as mentioned can be more out of affection than hostility. In time, if Tala does more 'calls' than sing, she is likely to be female.



Sachem said:


> No problem Kristen! I sometimes mix up people's birds on here too... shhhh hahaha.... thank you on the compliment on Tala's name. I'm keeping it no matter the sex...
> I'll make sure to keep the updates coming on both
> 
> Nick, I read about the pelvic check, Im really nervous to do it myself but when they go for a well check I'll get the DNA for fun.
> ...


----------



## Sachem (May 6, 2016)

Much appreciated my friend, I'll pay close attention. Thank you


----------



## jean20057 (May 31, 2013)

*There's a pet store that we get our pellets from, and the owner keeps her tiel there because she at work more than home. This way the tiel gets all kinds of attention! Anyway, he is crazy! In a good way of course. If you make up and down movements with your hand, he beatboxes, and he's always up for some head scritches!*


----------



## Sachem (May 6, 2016)

Kristen that is hilarious!! A well socialized tiel is so much fun to have around. My aunt had one when I was a kid, named Pete. Pete used to fly around the house during out of cage time and Pete's favorite spot was to land on heads. Anyone's would do. 
About 8 years after my aunt got Pete..Ol Pete laid an egg!! Ohhh did we ever have a good laugh over that. All those years we called her a boy .. She was such a cool bird!
Really quick, Kristen, may I ask the color of your beautiful yellow budgie?


----------



## jean20057 (May 31, 2013)

*That would be my gorgeous dark eyed clear, Holly. Unfortunately she's no longer with us. She passed in April 2 years ago, :sad:. She was a very sweet girl, and my favorite out of my flock. I still have a hard time talking about her without feeling the same way I did the day I lost her. I love talking about her, it's just very hard still. She was definitely mommy's girl. She had a while mess of things wrong at the end, I wasn't even able to be with her at the end. PM me and I can tell you more about her if you'd like.*


----------



## Sachem (May 6, 2016)

She is very beautiful and the same mutation as my Pazi. I will pm you.. 
Just wanted to share Tala enjoying a new food, carrots! I'm going to have her on a 100% fresh diet in no time!


----------



## Sachem (May 6, 2016)

And this is when The carrot got too small for me to hold..... what a face, can't you just read Tala's mind ??!!!


----------



## Sachem (May 6, 2016)

I can't believe how FAST Tala is taking to fresh!! Just offered her a bit of apple


----------



## jean20057 (May 31, 2013)

*Stacy, that is too cool! I wish my flock would take veggies right out of my hand like that! Good for Tala!*


----------



## Sachem (May 6, 2016)

Tala is supposed to be my husband's bird and 100% his responsibility.

But...Her cage is on the end table right by "my spot" on the sofa. With this terrible heat and humidity we've been having this week I've been spending a lot of time in "my spot" reading up on as much budgie info I can
So Tala is literally about 10" from my face all day. She always sits on the perch closest to me and almost against the cage. 
I may be flattering myself but I think she is slowly bonding with me despite her trying to act tough by occasionally lunging at me mouth wide open. Naughty girl LOL...

Anyway, my husband has been working 7 days a week and is tired as a dog when he gets home so I've taken over cleaning and feeding. And I love it!! 
I have more time than I thought I did. I just stay up a little later at night and nobirdie is losing any time with me. 
Here is an updated photo of Betzi, formerly known as Cochise
Look at that regal crest!!


----------



## Sachem (May 6, 2016)

Seriously I can't get over Tala's love for trying new food. Here she is trying green bell pepper! Good girl Tala.


----------



## jean20057 (May 31, 2013)

*Way to go Tala! Good for you for trying new foods with such enthusiasm!!!

And Betzi is a great name! And yes, that crest is very regal!*


----------

