Stormy budgie unsure of gender :)

LowkeyBirb said:

Thank you! This picture doesn't quite show her true color, but her tummy has a bit of a bluish tint that really made her stand out for me. I was thinking there was a tiiiint of purple on the cere when i picked her out and my gut said boy, compared to the others in her tank. But once I got her home I was like...oh no I think its a girl lol

is that weird?? All three of my birds are clipped from the store/breeder. I was told it was so they don't get hurt if they happen to get out and fly into anything dangerous. I was thinking every bird comes clipped and then flies after their next molt.

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Oh my goodness, no. Or at least clipping should NEVER be a standard practice. It should only be used when the health of the bird would require clipping (very uncommon situation). Did you say it was a big pet store, or are you getting them directly from a breeder? Some breeders or stores are maybe choosing to do this so that if THEY accidentally let the bird out, they can catch them. But this is a horrible reason to clip wings.

I have had mine since last July and if he had been clipped, he still would not have all of those feathers back right now. He has molted some a few times but he has not lost those flight feathers yet, so that means he would not have grown in new ones yet - - 8 months later! I cringe to think of him not being able to fly all this time.

I'm sorry your babies are clipped - but very happy you will not clip them again so at least they will be flyers one day.

To add on to what Cody said, females do not necessarily always have the urge to lay, either. It depends on their relationship with the budgie they're housed with and how well the owner can successfully throw off her hormonal patterns to avoid the situation to begin with. You do not have to house them separately unless it's obvious they keep trying to mate with each other despite your efforts to discourage it. However, you will have to be vigilant and keep an eye out for any egg-laying or anything so that you can toss the eggs before any life has formed, etc.

Personally a lot of this is up to the female in question. My girl is 10 and she has never been broody in her life. Of course, she never has access to any space or situation where she may become broody. On the other hand some other single females have to be constantly deterred from laying. It all depends on the individual hen. The best you can do is follow the information in the links above and always remain watchful and perceptive of your budgies' behavior~

To prepare for the potential situation that they could need to be housed separately (if they don't get along, if one of them begins to bully the other, or if they insist on mating) you should try and have a spare cage on hand just in case