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How to tell if your parakeet is male or female by cere color?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

How can I tell if my baby parakeet is a boy or girl (the green one I had for four years but I still want to be sure of her gender)And is the blood feather on the yellow one okay since it is not bleeding and is dried up?

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3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Joy Fuhrman, DVM, MBA, CPA

Veterinarian

Published on March 18th, 2018

Male parakeets have a Blue cere while the cere of females is brown to yellow. However, the color change does not occur until adolescence or adulthood. You may need to wait a while before you are able to definitively determine the gender of your parakeet. There were no additional picture attached of your yellow parakeet so it is not possible to comment on the status of the blood feather. However, in general if the blood feather is not actively bleeding, there should be no real concern. However, you may want to consult with a veterinarian who is familiar with working with birds to make sure that there are no other concerns.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on February 22nd, 2018

    It's not possible to know until they are about one year of age, by then the cere color will change, On a female parakeet, the cere can range from a white or light blue color to a pale tan. When the female is ready to mate, the cere may become a dark brown and become flaky. On a male parakeet, the cere is blue or a purplish-blue color.

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    Answered By Emi Knafo, DVM, DACZM

    Veterinarian, Board-Certified Zoological Medicine Specialist

    Published on December 10th, 2017

    I believe Storm is a girl! The boy parakeets have a blue cere (the area around the nostrils). Any bird without a blue cere is either an immature bird (male or female), a female, or a male that has a tumor of the reproductive system that has altered hormone levels (since hormones are what make the blue color).

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