# What gender is my Cockatiel?



## LadyVyvyan (May 27, 2015)

Hi All!!

I've been a member here for quite a while, but havn't posted in ages!
I currently have 3 male budgies called Vyvyan, Skooks and Tookie, and one Cockatiel named Peanut.

We gave Peanut her name because when we got her at 6 weeks old, we obviously didn't know what gender she was. I was previously told she was a female, but now that shes about a year old, I'm not so sure. The lady who sold her to us said to see who she pays more attention to, if it was a female she would most likely pay more attention to my boyfriend, and vice versa, 

I know this is a forum for budgies, but I figured I would post here anyway. I will add some pictures of my baby, and I can hopefully know once and for all!

earl::cinnamon pearl:


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## vinay (Aug 8, 2012)

Hi there ! 
Peanut is adorable  

He is most definitely a male. The solid coloured tail feathers and him yellow face confirm it since he is over a year old as well. 
Does he whistle a lot ? Males usually tend to start vocalizing and mimicking whistles/songs at around 6 month of age. 

Hes a Cinnamon male who also happens to be split for pied and whiteface, if you're interested in mutations and genetics


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## LadyVyvyan (May 27, 2015)

Hi there!

Thank you so much for the reply! No way!

I've spent the last 6 months or so thinking Peanut is a female!
Yes, he does love to vocalize! We taught him how to wolf-whistle and since I give him (I'll have to get used to saying him now, hahaha), lots of kisses, he loves to mimic kissing sounds!

Wow, that really interesting, I had no idea! He is very adorable, and hes very affectionate to!

In terms of teaching him to vocalize more, how can we do that? Is it a matter of repetition?

Thanks again for your reply!!


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## vinay (Aug 8, 2012)

LadyVyvyan said:


> Hi there!
> 
> Thank you so much for the reply! No way!
> 
> ...


You're welcome !

The whistling does not always indicate male. Whistling, dancing, making 'heart wings' all put together are generally male behaviours but sometimes can be seen in females. Females usually are much more cuddly and quieter but the same can be said about certain males.

My tiel Dino whistles up a storm so I always thought male until about a 2 months ago when I saw nesting behavior which confirmed that shes female.

Shes also about a 1 year old but since shes an albino, she has no markings whatsoever which makes it impossible to differentiate between genders solely on physical appearance.

Yes, you can teach Peanut through repetition. One thing I've noticed is that they often develop preferences for certain tunes/words. You could spend weeks repeating various tunes and Peanut might pick them up, but in the end he will only whistle the tunes he likes .


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## aluz (Jul 24, 2011)

Welcome back to the forums! 
Since we have a dedicated forum for our other feathery companions, I have moved your thread to the Other Birds section.

Your Peanut is gorgeous and I'm glad your budgies have been doing well too.
Thank you for the update!


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## lbeckman (Jun 26, 2016)

The rescue that I work with does DNA tests on cockatiels to determine gender. They care a lot because their policy is to only adopt out same gender pairs, or to only adopt out the same gender of a species if one is already a member of the family. With budgies, they will go by visuals, but it's too easy to make a mistake with a cockatiel, particularly a young one.


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## StarlingWings (Mar 15, 2013)

Peanut is absolutely gorgeous! :cockatiel:


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## immorgan (Jun 30, 2016)

I have two cockatiels and it was my understanding that the only reliable way to determine gender is by DNA testing  of course, visual cues can sometimes tell you the gender, but that isn't always the case.
If you were housing more than one together, I'd recommend getting DNA testing. I have two females and I had them tested to make sure I didn't have a male and a female 
But since it's just the one, it's safe to assume 
He's beautiful, by the way!


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## tonic (Nov 13, 2009)

immorgan said:


> I have two cockatiels and it was my understanding that the only reliable way to determine gender is by DNA testing  of course, visual cues can sometimes tell you the gender, but that isn't always the case.


With many cockatiel varieties there are very clear visual differences between male and female that are accurate. The markings under the tail, as mentioned above, is one of them.


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## jean20057 (May 31, 2013)

*Peanut is gorgeous! I just love him. Thanks for sharing!*


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## LadyVyvyan (May 27, 2015)

Thank you guys all so much for the wonderful replies! I love my Peanut, he's such a beautiful boy! I know we all love our feathery babies! :cinnamon:


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## Nadley (Dec 2, 2011)

Peanut is a beautiful! I agree with those saying he is a male, since he appears to be a normal grey. My cockatiel is also a normal grey and I believe her to be female because she has a grey head, striped yellow feathers on her tail, and spots on her wing feathers. She is very cuddly and does not whistle very much. Peanut sounds like a lot of fun to be around with all his vocalizing!


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