Kindred Feathers Aviary

📚 Educational Post 📚
Nest Boxes: Correct and Incorrect Sizes

Since it's breeding season in the warmer regions and we're seeing lots of egg laying and breeding-related posts. .. here's a beginner breeder note about NEST BOXES for Cockatiels:

🔸️Not all nest boxes are designed for Cockatiels🔸️

Despite what retailers advertise as "appropriate for Cockatiels," many boxes are in fact NOT meant for Cockatiels. Please look CAREFULLY at the marketing before you buy a nest box! Is there a picture of a Moluccan Cockatoo or Indian Ring Parakeet (IRN) or Yellow Head Amazon next to a box marketed "for Cockatiels?" Those species are 2x and 3x the size of a Cockatiel! No way all these bird species are fitting into the same box.

These boxes are sold by retailers who are in the business of making a profit... this does not make them bird breeding experts. The size, the shape of a Cockatiel box, and where in the cage / in the aviary it's located does matter.

➡️ Have you already been using a different kind of nest box for some time with no issues? That's okay, keep on doing what you found that works for you.

➡️ For NEW breeders - start off with the correct sized box. It can make all the difference in the success of your birds as parents and hatch rates of their eggs.

📚 Educational Post 📚
For the Genetics Nerds: Sexing Cockatiels through their Parents (this post is in reference to pre-molt BABY Cockatiels only, not post-molt adults)

SOME Cockatiel mutations can be s*xed without a DNA test through their parents!! And sometimes, it doesn't matter what the parents look like, their baby cannot be s*xed without a DNA test.

To be able to s*x a Cockatiel baby accurately without a DNA test, it is completely dependent upon the parents' mutations, and it absolutely matters which parent is which mutation!

🧬 Sex-linked mutations: Mom IS NOT a s*x-linked mutation

In a bonded pair of parent birds, when the mom IS NOT a Pearl, a Lutino, a Cinnamon or a Yellowcheek...
.. any and all Pearl chicks they have are females!.. any and all Lutino chicks they have are females!.. any and all Cinnamon chicks they have are females!.. any and all Yellowcheek chicks they have are females!

Sexing chicks via this method - again, only when the mother is NOT one of those very particular four mutations - is done using knowledge of Sex-Linked Mutations: mutation genes that are passed down from Father to Daughter and Mother to Son.

That's the simple explanation, anyway. The more complicated explanation is this: Dad's genes alone are enough to produce visual females of whichever s*x-linked mutation he is. Meaning this - if he's a Pearl, he doesn't require mom to also be a Pearl mutation to produce visual Pearl (female) offspring.

Mom, on the other hand, DOES require dad to be the same s*x-linked mutation as she to produce visual (male) offspring of her s*x-linked mutation. This means that if mom is a Pearl but dad is not, they will not produce any visual pearl chicks at all. Male pearl chicks are ONLY the result of both mom and dad carring the pearl gene.
🔸️This applies for all s*x-linked mutations🔸️

And for this reason, in a s*x-linked parent pair in which mom is NOT a s*x-linked mutation and dad is, ONLY their female chicks can be s*xed without a DNA test. When both mom and dad carry the same s*x-linked mutation gene, all chicks of that same mutation gene will require a DNA test if the breeder or prospective new pet owner needs to know the s*x of each baby sooner rather than later.

🧬 Sex-linked mutations: Mom IS a s*x-linked mutation

In a bonded pair of parent birds, when the mom IS a Pearl, a Lutino, a Cinnamon or a Yellowcheek ...
.. any Pearl chicks they have can be either male or female.. any Lutino chicks they have can be either male or female.. any Cinnamon chicks they have can be either male or female.. any Yellowcheek chicks they have can be either male or female

As stated above, mom and dad both have to carry the same s*x-linked mutation to produce male chicks. If mom is a Pearl and dad also is a Pearl (or carries the gene for Pearl in his genetic make-up) then she can produce visual Pearl males and he can produce visual Pearl females. When those chicks hatch and feather out, both male and female chicks will look alike for the first several months of their lives, right up until the first molt. After the first molt is when a visually difference between male and female pearl chicks can be noticed.

This is why male and female chicks have to be DNA tested to know which is which if there is a need to know this sooner rather than later.
🔸️This applies for all s*x-linked mutations🔸️

❗️Male chicks of a s*x-linked mutation cannot be accurately and visually s*xed prior to the first molt; they require paper proof (DNA certificate)❗️

Pictured left to right for reference (and NOT FOR SALE) - Siblings from a s*x-linked parent pair:

Normal Whiteface MALE
Normal Gray MALES
Normal Whiteface MALE
Lutino Pearl FEMALE

📚 Educational Post 📚
Normal Gray vs Natural Pied
(short read)

Many people will suggest that cheek and face colors will change after the first molt if a male or remain the same if a female.
》This is TRUE information for NORMAL GRAY Cockatiels.
》This is NOT TRUE information for PIED Cockatiels.

Normal Grays and Natural Pieds are ❗️NOT ❗️the same! This is very important info to know and understand when you or someone else is trying to visually s*x a Normal Gray or a Pied.

NORMAL GRAY
🔸️ Not a mutation! This is the phenotype (original color) of the Cockatiel
🔸️ Dimorphic - adult males and adult females can be visually s*xed AFTER the first molt, without a DNA test
🔸️ Adult males - Gray bodies, gray flight feathers, white wing bars, all gray or mostly gray head crests, bright yellow faces, bright orange cheek patches, spots under wings molt out AFTER 2nd molt, and solid gray tail feathers AFTER 2nd molt
🔸Adult females - Gray bodies, gray flight feathers, white wing bars, all gray or mostly gray head crests, dull yellow faces, dull orange cheek patches, spots under the wings for their lifetime, and yellow/gray stripe pattern under tail for their lifetime
️🔸️ Young male and females under 6-7 months old - all look like females and can't be s*xed unless a DNA test is done or they are the product of a s*x-linked pair (less common)

●●●●●●●●●●

NATURAL PIED
🔸️ A mutation derived from the Normal Gray, as are all Cockatiel mutations
🔸️ Anti- Dimorphic (ADM) - males and females CANNOT be visually s*xed, regardless of age, pre-molt, post-molt, colors and/or patterns
🔸️ Pied Cockatiels - color wise, what you see as babies is what they will look like as adults - no major color changes (Pied Pearl males the possible exception)
🔸️ Males and females - patches of gray and yellow bodies, white wing bars, all yellow or mostly yellow head crests, bright OR dull gray or yellow faces, bright OR dull orange cheek patches, may OR may not have spots under wings, may OR may not have a striped pattern under tail, will have AT LEAST 1 solid yellow flight or tail feather, if not more

When helping someone identify the s*x of their bird **when dealing with a Normal Gray or a Natural Pied** these are the guidelines to keep in mind 🥰

Friendly Flock Cockatiels

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It's time for a ... "What s*x is my bird?!" ... post 😁

1️⃣ You've heard Cockatiels can't be s*xed AT ALL without a DNA test. This is NOT true for ALL Cockatiel mutations.
🔷 Some CAN be visually s*xed
🔷 Some can actually be NEST-SEXED (as soon as they hatch)
🔷 Some CAN'T be s*xed without a DNA test, no matter what.

2️⃣ To know when a bird CAN and CANNOT be s*xed without a DNA test, a person MUST have studied and fully understood Cockatiel genetics and mutations.

If a person 🔸️HAS NOT🔸️ studied this topic, they can only give you their best guess OR can only pass on information to you that they've heard but haven't confirmed for themselves if true or not.

If a person 🔸️HAS🔸️ studied this topic, they will use very specific mutations and genetics terms, will have the ability to explain clearly what each term means, and will be able to say if your bird CAN be s*xed or cannot be s*xed without a DNA test. They will NOT take a wild guess or give you a answer without an explanation.

3️⃣ Dimorphic mutations - visual color and/or pattern difference between adult males and adult females
🔷 CAN be visually s*xed without a DNA test!

🔷 Requirements for s*xing without a DNA test:
🔸 Age of the bird MUST be known
🔸 Without a known age, the bird must have gone through 1 molt at least, sometimes 2 molts, before seeing a visual difference

4️⃣ Sex-linked Cockatiels - birds whose parents are either a Lutino, Pearl, Cinnamon, Yellowcheek, or combination of these 4 mutations
🔷CAN be nest-s*xed (as soon as they hatch) through the DAD ONLY

🔷 Requirements for s*xing without a DNA test:
🔸Have knowledge of what both parents look like
🔸 MOM CAN'T BE THE SAME SEX-LINKED MUTATION

5️⃣ Monomorphic mutations - 1 same color for males and females (Lutinos and Whiteface Lutinos)
🔷 CAN'T be visually s*xed without:
🔸Knowledge of what both parents look like
🔸If mom (or both parents) are Lutinos / Whiteface Lutinos

🔷 CAN be nest-s*xed (as soon as they hatch) through the DAD ONLY

🔷 Requirements for s*xing without a DNA test:
🔸Have knowledge of what both parents look like
🔸 MOM CAN'T BE A LUTINO OR WHITEFACE LUTINO

6️⃣ Anti-dimorphic mutations - males and females that can look like either s*x, regardless of patterns, colors, brightness or dullness of colors, etc. (Natural Pied, Whiteface Pied)
🔷 CAN'T be s*xed without a DNA test

🔷 1 exception in visually s*xing a Pied, which is based on a 3 part condition (AND ALL 3 Conditions must apply) :
🔸 It is a Pied + a s*xlinked mutation
🔸 Have knowledge of what both parents look like
🔸 MOM CAN'T BE THE SAME SEX-LINKED MUTATION

7️⃣ When Cockatiels REQUIRE a DNA test:
🔷 Your bird is a Dimorphic mutation but is too young and/or has not molted yet

🔷 You have no knowledge of what the parents look like

🔷 Your bird is a Natural Pied or Whiteface Pied (but NOT a Pied + s*x-linked mutation)

🔷 If you were told your bird is a male or female without any proof (official DNA certificate) and/or without a detailed explanation as to how the person knows.

~~~~ To learn more about Cockatiel mutations and genetics, and when they CAN and CAN'T be s*xed without a DNA test, start with 🔸Susanne Russo's "Cockatiel Mutations: A Bounty of Color (2019)🔸- ebook or library version! ~~~~

Do you want to become a breeder? Have you tossed around the idea of becoming one?

This is a GREAT list of questions to ask yourself before doing so!

New breeders aren't discouraged, especially if that's what you want to do! But CURRENT breeders will absolutely encourage you to do some major research before pursuing this interest!

It's not easy, it's not (always) fun, it's usually NOT cheap, and it's NOT for everyone!

Send a message to learn more