Sexing saint helenas...

Includes Species Profile
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toothlessjaws
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Posts: 534
Joined: 25 Apr 2009, 09:54
Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Location: melbourne

apparently i have a pair of saint helena waxbills. i say apparently as, whilst they definitely stick together they nontheless seem to be quite aggressive to one another and often compete for food. i was told that the females tend to have a shorter tail and the black vent doesn't appear as dark, however my two are easily the shyest, flightiest finches in the aviary and i rarely get a chance to see either of them stay still side by side from any close distance. is there any other way of telling the sexes? is what i've been told even true?
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Matt
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Posts: 363
Joined: 15 Nov 2008, 20:42
Location: Hawkesbury, NSW
Location: Hawkesbury, NSW

Can't say I've paid much attention to the tail length but the black under the tail is the best method of sexing. The hens are more of a brownish black. The cocks will also have more red on the abdomen and the eye stripe may be bigger.
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finchbreeder
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Posts: 11489
Joined: 27 Jun 2009, 20:00
Location: Midwest of West. Aust. Coast
Location: Midwest of West.Aust.Coast

My cock has a very black vent area, and quite a lot of red on his front.
Now all I need is a hen with a brownish vent area and not much red, cause thats the way I was
taught to sex them.
If you have daddy longleg spider webs, do not nock them down and jump on them, hook them down from where they are, and transport them into the aviarys, and watch the Saint Helenas.
They love them.
LML
LML
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Mickp
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Joined: 09 Nov 2008, 19:03
Location: Yenda NSW
Location: Yenda NSW

as the others have said, the vent is the first area to look at followed by the red on the breast of the birds in question, male always has more.

thought I was the only person who deliberately caught daddy long leg spiders for my birds to eat so nice to find out I'm not the only lunatic doing it :lol: , st helenas & rccb's love them
Mick.
Finch addict and rodent hater.
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kevins
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Posts: 132
Joined: 22 Jul 2009, 12:31
Location: Toronto NSW (Lake Macquarie)NSW
Location: Toronto NSW (Lake Macquarie)

you could try puttin em in a paper bag and shaking them...the cock bird will rattle :lol:
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E Orix
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Posts: 2740
Joined: 29 May 2009, 23:30
Location: Howlong on NSW/Vic Border 30km from Albury
Location: Howlong NSW

Sexing Saints is quite easy as far as I am concerned.
The male has black feathers under his tail and the female has brown(dark or light)
It is not the amount of dark feathers or how light in colour they are but black is the male.
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toothlessjaws
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Posts: 534
Joined: 25 Apr 2009, 09:54
Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Location: melbourne

well in that case if anyone wants to swap a cock for a hen....
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Mickp
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Joined: 09 Nov 2008, 19:03
Location: Yenda NSW
Location: Yenda NSW

would help if I could, my pair have only succesfully fledged 2 young in almost 3 years now
Mick.
Finch addict and rodent hater.
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mattymeischke
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Posts: 862
Joined: 25 Jul 2011, 20:25
Location: Southern Tablelands of NSW

At what age are they sexable?
More precisely, if two chicks fledged seven weeks ago and neither has the black undertail/vent, have I got two hens?
Thank you in advance,
mm.
Avid amateur aviculturalist; I keep mostly australian and foreign finches.
The art is long, the life so short; the critical moment is fleeting and experience can be misleading, crisis is difficult....... (Hippocrates)
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Tiaris
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Joined: 23 Apr 2011, 08:48
Location: Coffs Harbour

Yep.
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