sexing

Question
could you tell if a heavy pied cockatiel has gone through its first molt?

Is it passible to visually sex it?

Answer
Hi, Efrain.  Thanks for posting.

How old is the cockatiel?  Parrots moult the first time at about 6 months of age (give or take a month).  They moult again at 12 months of age, then once per year thereafter.  If you know the age of your tiel, this will tell you if s/he has gone through it's first moult or not.

Pied tiels are often difficult to sex visually, especially until they've gone through their first year of moults.  There are a couple of ways to try and determine the sex of a heavy pied.  Pay attention to his/her behavior:  a male tiel has a beautiful song/are more vocal than females; females usually just chirp.  Males are more assertive; females are usually more quiet and more affectionate than males.  A male's crest is usually taller than a females.  A male's orange cheek patch is normally brighter than a females.  The coloration under a male's tail feathers will usually be solid, whereas a female's would not be solid.  If this pied is also a pearl (called a pearly pied), pearls are always female.  If it lays an egg, it's a she!!!  Otherwise, DNA sexing might be in order for 100% accuracy.  

Chrys