Content
- Cockatiels care
- Cockatiel behavior
- Cockatiel male or female - which is better?
- How to know if cockatiel is male or female
- How to tell if cockatiel is male or female by color
Are you thinking of adopting a cockatiel for your home? If so, you're probably wondering if you host a cockatiel male or female, that is, What is the best according to their lifestyle and what differences exist between females and males.
If you are interested in knowing the differences between male and female cockatiels, we invite you to read this article by PeritoAnimal, in which we not only help you make this difficult decision, but also explain what care this beautiful bird needs and its behavior . Of course, before that, we encourage you to reflect on the ownership of these animals and the kind of life you will offer them, as it is not appropriate for them to remain locked in a cage 24 hours a day.
Cockatiels care
Before welcoming a cockatiel into your family, it is important that you research the necessary care for this bird, as covering all its needs is your responsibility as owner to ensure the correct welfare of your animal. So, let's see what care this species needs:
- Food and water: offering the best food for your cockatiel will be essential for it to be strong, healthy and happy. Generally, it is recommended to purchase food in specific pellets for this species and supplement them with the intake of fruits and vegetables, in addition to occasionally some dried fruits. Obviously, water is essential too, so your cockatiel should always have access to clean, fresh water.
- Quiet and safe environment: these birds need to have their nest and/or cage in a quiet place or without noise that could alter them, with all their needs at their fingertips (food, water, entertainment...) and with the possibility of sheltering from the rain, wind, heat (must have access to shade), etc.
- Physical exercise: it is necessary that your cockatiel has freedom outside the cage with the intention that you perform physical exercise, as these animals need to fly, in addition to climbing with the help of the paws and beak.
- Social interaction: as we mentioned, this species, like many other birds, is very sociable. Therefore, it requires a lot of attention, whether from your human companion or another cockatiel companion.
- Environmental enrichment: Cockatiels need to be entertained daily with different elements, such as toys, to promote cognitive activity, fight boredom and, consequently, prevent them from developing behavioral problems and even stereotypies.
For more details, see this other article: "How to Care for Cockatiel".
Cockatiel behavior
Cockatiels are not only beautiful and elegant birds, but are also characterized by having a more sociable and affectionate and for being very smart. It is not strange that they have won the hearts of many guardians who live with them as a pet, as cockatiels form very strong bonds of affection with the people who have taken care of them since they were small.
In addition, cockatiels too manifest a wide range of emotions, from joy to irritation, through their body language (largely thanks to their expressive crest) and various vocalizations, as they can perform screams, whistles, grunts... In fact, it is well known that these birds can even learn to imitate human speech.
On a daily basis, these birds perform all kinds of behaviors to satisfy their needs, for example, they keep their hygiene updated by arranging their feathers or those of their friends, if they live in the company of other cockatiels. Likewise, they also perform behaviors such as playing with toys that satisfy your curiosities and calling your attention to play with them, playing or hitting objects. Now, a male and female cockatiel behave alike? Which is better, male or female cockatiel? Let's see below.
Cockatiel male or female - which is better?
Now that you know a little more about cockatiels, you probably want to know what the main differences are between females and males.
First of all, although it is not a general rule, the truth is that the males tend to have more showy colors that the females, because, in part, it is thanks to their beautiful plumage that they conquer them. For this reason, males tend to display brighter yellow tones, while females tend to display paler or gray tones.
Later, and related to the previous point, males tend to emit more frequently. melodious songs and perfecting them, as it is also thanks to their songs that they attract the attention of females, in addition to performing courtship dances when they meet a partner in ideal conditions of procreation. This also implies that males are more likely to learn to say words, as they emit sounds more frequently. the females, on the other hand, are usually more silent and peaceful.
Now that the main differences between females and males are known, which is better? The truth is that everything will depend on your lifestyle and the type of partner you are looking for.Females tend to be calmer, so if you don't have that much time it might be the best option, however, if you want to spend many hours playing with your cockatiel and teaching new words, a male can be more adaptable to these needs. However, this is not to say that females cannot learn, they can simply that, by nature, males internalize these learnings more quickly.
How to know if cockatiel is male or female
It's complicated know the sex of a cockatiel chick, because its plumage and character have not yet been formed. Also, we must keep in mind that this is not decisive, as there are females who often sing, for example. The safest and most effective method to differentiate them is through DNA sexing, in which some feathers must be taken to a sexing laboratory where they will be analyzed, or a blood test done.
How to tell if cockatiel is male or female by color
There is a second method by which we could know if cockatiel is male or female, and this is through the color inheritance, but for this we would need to know the color of the parents and if they have sex-related colorations. In other words, it would be necessary to know if the parents would have a sex-linked color mutation, which are cinnamon, lutin and pearl colors. Therefore, knowing what the parents are like, the sex of the puppies can be predicted. For example, if a male has one of these colors and mates with a female with a different mutation, we will know that all males will be born the same color as the father and female offspring will be different.
For all that, the best thing to know the sex of a cockatiel that eats baby food is to look for a professional.