How tell tell mature from young bengalese?
- Crackatinny
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- Joined: 19 Aug 2010, 10:52
- Location: Cowra, NSW
About 8 weeks ago, we had 5 young chocolate pied bengalese fledge, stupidly I did not ring them (In future I will be), now I cannot tell the parents from the young, is there a way to do this?
- Aussie_Bengo
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I believe a Bengalese has not finished its first moult until it is 3 months old which from my rough calculations if a Bengalese fledges at 6 weeks, is 2 weeks prior to the described age of your birds. So my example may not be applicable and is borderline at best but hopefully it helps in some way.
At the 8 week point a young bengo has not gone through its first initial moult just like any other fledgling finch so as far as the "coloured" feathers of the Bengalese, the features/markings and coulors are more subdued or "muffled", I have mainly noticed this in the areas that are "coloured" and not white. For example if these birds were Zebras then you would (if at all) just start to get a few marked feathers on the cock bird like the cheek, breast bars and flanks but the key here is that the beak is still colouring up also, turning from very dark grey (if a grey) slowly into the red adult beak. The same goes for the Bengalese in both ways. I have mentioned the feathers before but also the beak of a juvenile Bengo is all the same colour (eg. moderate brown for a Chocolate Bengalese seen in the picture at the top) whereas the adult finch goes from an all moderate brown colour to a darker upper mandible and a lighter lower mandible (seen in the picture at the bottom). With the light Bengos like the fawn, the juvenile beak is starts as a moderate brown also but rather than become dark brown in the upper mandible the whole beak lightens from the moderate brown colour to a light horn colour.
At the 8 week point a young bengo has not gone through its first initial moult just like any other fledgling finch so as far as the "coloured" feathers of the Bengalese, the features/markings and coulors are more subdued or "muffled", I have mainly noticed this in the areas that are "coloured" and not white. For example if these birds were Zebras then you would (if at all) just start to get a few marked feathers on the cock bird like the cheek, breast bars and flanks but the key here is that the beak is still colouring up also, turning from very dark grey (if a grey) slowly into the red adult beak. The same goes for the Bengalese in both ways. I have mentioned the feathers before but also the beak of a juvenile Bengo is all the same colour (eg. moderate brown for a Chocolate Bengalese seen in the picture at the top) whereas the adult finch goes from an all moderate brown colour to a darker upper mandible and a lighter lower mandible (seen in the picture at the bottom). With the light Bengos like the fawn, the juvenile beak is starts as a moderate brown also but rather than become dark brown in the upper mandible the whole beak lightens from the moderate brown colour to a light horn colour.
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- finch master
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- Joined: 20 Jan 2012, 05:35
- Location: SHEFFIELD UK
Have a look at the feet on your bengis the feet on the adults will be thicker more scaley and the claws may be longer
Good luck
Good luck