Aussie Finch Forum

well I know what they were bought as.... going by the red past the eye or the lack of ,the pied is a hen the normal is a cock , but I have seen them both and the red in the bib is washed out which means a hen , we will soon know flap, sometimes the the cock bird can have a few red feathers around the vent, it might just pay to make a cuppa on hopefully a sunny day some time soon and have a listen, only the cocks trill....dont panic its early days....pete

Dont know flap, nothing is 100% in these guesses. everyone says something different.
Buy more birds = throw them in an aviary
So buy another pair.
Works for Double bars.
Male chases the female and sings

poitta wrote:well I know what they were bought as.... going by the red past the eye or the lack of ,the pied is a hen the normal is a cock , but I have seen them both and the red in the bib is washed out which means a hen , we will soon know flap, sometimes the the cock bird can have a few red feathers around the vent, it might just pay to make a cuppa on hopefully a sunny day some time soon and have a listen, only the cocks trill....dont panic its early days....pete

Ive always gone by the black eyeliner...further back it is is cock and hens does not go past eye....

i think the first one's a virgo and the second a capricorn.

Great, now that I know their star signs I feel so much better!

Mackstaa, didn't work for us with double bars acutally!!! Trying to reduce numbers as limited space so was hoping to avoid buying too many birds. Plus having enough trouble sourcing one or two pieds never mind a whole tribe! I knew they weren't that easy to sex, but didnt' realise they were THAT difficult!
Note to self - stick to dimorphic species...

The pied is a hen for sure, while the second bird is either still quite young and possibly a cock bird, or if it is more than six months old I would say then that it is also a hen.

But double bars a small and buying 2 pairs usually gets 1 good pair.

Anywho, you dont need a tribe of pieds, the pied factor will manifest over time as its the dominent gene. On the other hand, Im still looking for a pied cockbird for you

Thanks Mackstaa, only now i am not sure if I need a cockbird or a hen!

Going by the pictures I would buy them as 2 cockbirds But if in hand I would upturn them.
If there were any red feathers around the vent = cockbird,if not then at this time of the year you have a better than 75% chance of sexing them by the vent just like you can sex Canaries.

Tried to see as they were fleeting around cage, didn't notice any obvious red feathers around the vent. Due to the stress of the auction, transport etc have avoided handling them since them, but will check them out on the weekend. Will try and sex them as per canary method but not having done it before I am not sure how clear it will be to me..