I have what I thought were three males.My youngest bird(6/7 months) is being actively courted by both the male birds. Am I right in thinking that if Sherbet WAS a she instead of a he then there would be actual mating and egg laying going on by now?

Without a nest box they often won't mate or lay eggs so Sherbert may still be a he. Do you have any recent pictures of his cere?

 

It's not uncommon for them to court a bird of the same sex, especially if no female is present.

Post a picture of the cere. It MAY be a boy I'm not sure. I'll be a little more accurate when I look at the cere (Laughing out loud).

 

Is this any good? I was told by the breeder he was a boy and I think his cere looks like a males.

Yep, kinda look like a male to me. I can see that it seems like he's going through a bad molt (Laughing out loud). I guess that explains why he's looking like he's ready to bite!

Thanks for that.

Yes you're quite right about the moult! House looks like snowstorm!

It's funny you should mention about the biting though because he bites far more than the other two which is another reason why I was wondering about him being a her?

Edited October 1, 200519 yr by Julie

How about snaping another picture after the molt so we can see if anything has changed, because around the nostrils I believe there is a tad bit of brown right?

Looks male to me too.

Oh look, in the picture his 2 boyfriends are soooo close to him! (Laughing out loud)

He's quite a placid bird isn't he Julie? Maybe that's why they are courting him? Because he's the most likely to accept their behaviour? At least he's fully accepted by them! (Laughing out loud)

Oh look, in the picture his 2 boyfriends are soooo close to him! (Laughing out loud)

Oh look, in the picture his 2 boyfriends are soooo close to him! (Laughing out loud)

 

(Laughing out loud) I didn't even seen budge2 until you said that lin :budgiedance:

 

I would think a boy still since that cere is very purpley pink. Poor serbet and Birdie too I can see he is in moult too

You would think by 6/7 months the cere would have changed already but then so do take longer

:budgiedance: Looks like a biy to me....I wonder if he knows gerkin, Beas Brd......

:budgiedance: Looks like a biy to me....I wonder if he knows gerkin, Beas Brd......

 

 

:(Laughing out loud): I was thinking the same thing :(Laughing out loud):

I was thinking hen unless that is not brown around the nostrils....

 

And mating will not necessarily go on when they are that young. Sometimes they are content with just feeding and warbling , and don't actually mate until much later.

Edited October 2, 200519 yr by Rainbow

Oh heavens-then you mean to say I COULD have a hen? Sherbet and Birdy do feed and warble an awful lot I just presumed that if he was a she then I would have seen an actual mating session?

 

Erm lin,he WAS a placid bird but no more-very hen-like behaviour and so grumpy at everything and everyone. AND he/she loves to sort of settle down into bowls and things as if it's a nest. HELP!

 

I wouldn't mind if he was in Gherkins camp-I just don't want him to be a she!

Julie.. You could be seeing mateship but Unless she is old enough and there is siutable nesting (her choice) you may not see mating.

Julie answer me this Is Sherbet warbling along for ages and ages with the others?

Just when he and Birdy are billing and cooing!

Julie, is there any brown on Sherbet's cere at all, or is it just the way it looks on my monitor? If you want to try to sex using behavior, watch Sherbet a bit more. When s/he sings, is it mostly single chirps, with soft little "tut tut tut" noises interspersed in? Maybe shaking the head (like s/he's saying "no") while making those noises? Are the chirps louder or softer than the other 2? Does Sherbet ever warble like crazy all alone, for no reason, or just when the other birds start? When the other two are billing and cooing with Sherbet is Sherbet the one that gets tired of it first, and makes the other birds stop? Does s/he ever feed the other birds, or is Sherbet the one that always gets fed?

His cere does have some brown on it,when he was younger it had a lilacish tinge like you see in this picture

 

 

 

 

Then for a while it went distinctly blue,now I'm not so sure.

 

I'll watch out for all the points that you mention over the few days Rainbow-thanks for those.

*Changing my opinion* (Laughing out loud). I'm almost positive that it's a female now because of the brown. Males dont have any tap of brown on their cere's, so now I'm convinced that it's a female. After the moult it may turn ALL brown or tan. If most of the area around the nostrill's are bright or white/brown then it's going to be a female. I knew that when I saw the picture the first time I saw a hint of brown but I also saw blue, so I was kinda confused then. Now since we verified that it was actually a little brown there it's more than likely that Sherbet is a female

Edited October 2, 200519 yr by Budgie-Boy

Looks male to me, his cere looks waxy and smooth and i think females have duller and more rough looking ceres.

Talking of Ceres. I know that some male recessive pied never go to blue. But what about Females. I thought that they always change after thier first moult??

Julie, is there any brown on Sherbet's cere at all, or is it just the way it looks on my monitor? If you want to try to sex using behavior, watch Sherbet a bit more. When s/he sings, is it mostly single chirps, with soft little "tut tut tut" noises interspersed in? Maybe shaking the head (like s/he's saying "no") while making those noises? Are the chirps louder or softer than the other 2? Does Sherbet ever warble like crazy all alone, for no reason, or just when the other birds start? When the other two are billing and cooing with Sherbet is Sherbet the one that gets tired of it first, and makes the other birds stop? Does s/he ever feed the other birds, or is Sherbet the one that always gets fed?

 

That was why i was asking about his warbling Julie But Rainbow gave you better things to look out for. But he doesn't have to start it, Marine NEVER starts the song that gets out of hand sometimes but I know he is a boy

Talking of Ceres. I know that some male recessive pied never go to blue. But what about Females. I thought that they always change after thier first moult??

 

The females will always go brown, but I'm not sure it's always right after the molt. I'd think by 8 - 10 months old though, the color change would have started.

It looks more of a male to me, a young one.