# Age at the time of purchase



## Sim (Apr 22, 2019)

Hi, I need your help to determine how old my budgie Stella was when I bought her.
I was told she was almost an adult at that time, so maybe she was young enough to make it possibile for us to guess her age.
If It helps, around a month after I bought her, her cere turned from brown to bluish-white (perhaps she had had her first "hormonal period").
How old do you think she was?










P.S. I know the image quality is bad, but the cell phone I had at that time did not take good photos. :embarrassed:


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## RavensGryf (May 8, 2015)

It’s hard to say once they’re an adult. If it was the first time her cere had turned brown, she was most likely around 8 months to a year old. A year would be less likely, but my hen was like that. But we can’t be sure that it was the first time.


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## Sim (Apr 22, 2019)

Thank you.

Something that could be useful is that I got the impression that she has grown up a bit since the time of purchase. She looked smaller than the male, and now she seems bigger than him, but maybe I'm wrong. 

Is it possibile that she wasn't fully grown when I bought her? If so, is this helpful in determining her age?

EDIT: I also noticed that in the photo she still has a remnant of "baby bars" on the forehead, but in a photo I took a month later the bars are disappeared. Is this helpful, too?


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## Sim (Apr 22, 2019)

Plus, if it's not too much trouble, I would like to know whether the male, Sid, was really more than a year old when I bought him, as I was told, or not.

How old do you think he was?
Thanks in advance! 
Here are his photos:


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## Goldenwing (Oct 4, 2017)

I am NOT an expert, but here is what I know. It is very hard to tell the age of a budgie, especially after they reach adolescence. Budgie lose their baby bars at around 12 weeks. All birds are a little different, however. The change in size could be healthy growth. It is also important to be sure your bird is not overweight. This could be another reason for a change in size. Hope that helps a little. Sorry I can't give you more, but figuring out the age of a budgie is difficult.

Best of luck with your two little feathered friends!


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## Sim (Apr 22, 2019)

Thank you. :001_smile:

What I'm wondering is whether those black feathers on Stella's forehead (that were replaced by yellow feathers within a month) were what was left of her baby bars or not. 
If they were, then Stella is much younger than we previously thought, around four/five months old (as she was about to end her first molt) when I bought her. 
What do you think?


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## Goldenwing (Oct 4, 2017)

It seems likely, since as far as I have ever heard, budgies' feather patterns don't change after maturity.


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