Aussie Finch Forum

Last night I was given 2 pretty little bengalese finches. From what I have heard there is no way to sex them visually. Is this correct? I have never had them before...

Seperate them for a few hours, make sure they can't see each other. Then put them together and the odds are very good
if there is or are any MALes they will start to sing and display. Its a method I have used in the past.

Like Orix says, male Bengos are very keen on advising the fact that they are male to anyone who is in the same avairy/cage. As soon as it registers that these may be new chums/female.
LML

There is a way to tell visual but you'll have to have a keen eye and still its not 100% full proof, I would agree with spliting them for a while and see if the males sing, this is probably the easiest method.

I have a pair of banglese mannikans you sex them buy the female having a wider mandibal.

Actually if you are going to use the comparison of mandible method its the male which has the wider one (& deeper). Also slightly wider on the crown & slightly more thickset in the neck/shoulder area. These comparisons are very minor differences which only become slightly more obvious with mature birds & even then the vagaries of variation make such differences very difficult to detect for the untrained eye. Cocks crow & hens lay eggs (not trying to be flippent). Two male or 2 female bengalese will still go through the motions of nesting. Obviously cocks won't produce eggs but will often happily hatch & rear other estrildid finch's. 2 hens will produce large quantities of infertile eggs & will also rear fertile ones from other species if substituted.

What precautions do you take to make sure the Bengalese are "clean" especially if using them to raise Gouldians?

I wouldn't use them to raise Gouldians. The Gouldians themselves are usually good enough parents to raise their own. Best run the "cleaning" issue past the vets??

More curiosity on my part really, I don't have Bengalese myself and I prefer parent raised birds too. Have read, especially in USA they mention making sure the birds are clean but never really go on to say how they do it. I know its to do with a disease the Bengalese can carry but not be susceptible to while Gouldians are prone to it. I was just interested in the process.

The disease is called coccidiosis.