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Budgies/sexing the budgie
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Question
i have one bird and when we brought it, its above its beak was blue for a boy but then it went purpleish brownish for a girl then she scraped her colour off and it went blue but has a white ring around the cere. is my budgie a girl or boy? i want to breed her but i dont know what sex she is. will i still be able to breed her?
Hi, Nick,
Your bird didn't "scrape off" her cere color. I suspect your bird was still young when you bought it and its cere was still changing. A budgie needs to go through at least 1 molt (at about 6 months of age) in order for adult cere color to emerge. In my experiences with budgies/keets, a blue cere framed in white is a female bird. There is no reason you shouldn't be able to breed this bird as long as the bird is mature enough when you do (about 1 year of age).
Chrys
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Expertise
I`ve been raising/breeding/handfeeding/selling parrots for over 20 years (parakeets/budgies, cockatiels, 6 subspecies of conures, parrotlets, amazons, lovebirds, etc.). I've been published in "Budgies" and "Cockatiels" offered by Bow Tie Productions, and have written avian articles for publication in England. I can provide advice in raising healthy birds, handfeeding/weaning babies, some health problems, nail/beak/wing clipping, general husbandry, etc. I also have experience with racing/showing homing pigeons. I cannot diagnose specific illness over this website. If you suspect your bird is ill or if you have an emergency, contact a certified avian veterinarian or emergency pet clinic ASAP.
Experience
Over 20 years breeding/raising/handfeeding/selling 15 different species of parrots.
Education/Credentials
American Federation of Aviculture, completed Level I course, Fundamentals of Aviculture. Keeping/breeding parrots and other birds for over 20 years.
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