I've always thought Pip was a boy, until his cere began changing colour to resemble a females. I've heard that a male with a brown cere can indicate cancer, however Pip has been healthy since the change.

 

 

 

Let me know what you think

Cheers

Edited January 13, 201015 yr by Bert:)

The photo isn't showing - you may have moved the picture in photobucket causing the link to break?

Sorry, hopefully its working now.

Yes the photo is working now

 

It looks like Pip is a hen coming into breeding condition, thought I'm not entirely sure.

 

How old is Pip? What exact colour was the cere before? Completely blue? or blue and white?

Pip is definetly a female. young hens tend to have a whitish blue cere as a baby however after a few months they turn nut brown

Pip is definetly a female. young hens tend to have a whitish blue cere as a baby however after a few months they turn nut brown

 

Yes, this was the colour of the cere when Pip was younger.

 

This may explain why my other bird Bert tends to pester Pip, and is fairly concerning as I am certainly not prepared for/interested in breeding. I will split them up for now until given further advice.

 

Thanks a lot for your quick responses.

 

Cheers

Edited January 13, 201015 yr by Bert:)

It is okay to keep them together. Even if they start mating, they probably wouldn't lay eggs unless you give them a place to lay eggs in. So just make sure you don't have a nest box, or any kind of cuddly little shelter area.

 

Occasionally hens will lay eggs in food cups or on the floor if they have newspaper down there, but I think this is the exception, rather than the rule. And all you have to do in that case is to throw away the eggs. If it were to persist, then you would have to put a stop to it, because it drains the hen's body to produce too many eggs, but you can cross that bridge if you ever come to it.

 

I think your pair would be happier together.

That's great news Finnie, thanks a lot.

It is my understanding that female birds will lay eggs regardless; they develop and they can't just "eliminate" them inside of their body. If you leave them together, the eggs may be fertile, but you can always remove them. If you provide a breeding box, they'll lay them in there; however, much like finches and Canaries, they'll lay them in their food, or on a soft spot on the bottom.

It is my understanding that female birds will lay eggs regardless; they develop and they can't just "eliminate" them inside of their body. If you leave them together, the eggs may be fertile, but you can always remove them. If you provide a breeding box, they'll lay them in there; however, much like finches and Canaries, they'll lay them in their food, or on a soft spot on the bottom.

 

Untrue Sean..................birds can mate as a recreational birdie sex past time and not produce eggs. Eggs are not the result only of a mating, but a culmination of a set of things being right...............good food source, a place to lay eggs and raise babies. :emoticon112: