About Female Parakeets

Parakeets are small birds commonly domesticated as pets in the United States. The birds are actually a small variety of parrot, and they are known for their bright and colorful feathers. Female parakeets are easily distinguished from males by both their physical and behavioral characteristics.

  1. Identification

    • Both male and female parakeets have "ceres," defined as "waxy, often brightly colored, fleshy area at the base of the beaks," which help owners identify between the two genders. Female parakeets have ceres that appear brown or maroon because of the estrogen in their bodies. A female with a very dark brown cere has very high levels of estrogen in her body, potentially indicating the bird is nesting or preparing to mate. Young birds less than a year old, however, have underdeveloped coloration -- including the hues in the cere. This makes gender identification using cere coloration unreliable before the age of 1 year. Aside from cere coloration, no other physically obvious traits are used to identify a female parakeet from a male, short of a veterinarian's blood test.

    Behavior

    • Female parakeets are considered more bossy and demanding than male parakeets, and they are usually much louder birds. They do not bob their heads as often as male parakeets, nor do they sing as much. In comparison to male parkakeets, which tend to be more playful, female parakeets may appear serious and even moody at times.

    Community

    • Though parakeets are social birds and are known to live in groups of between 20 and 60 in the wild, females are not very friendly to other types of birds. A female parakeet held in captivity should not be in the same cage or play area as other species of birds -- particularly cockatiels. According to Len La Riccia of Echo's Rescue Macaw Rescue Sanctuary, female parakeets can become physically aggressive toward cockatiels -- even going so far as to kill young cockatiel babies.

    Breeding

    • Parakeets tend to mate for life, and they may begin reproducing as young as 6 months old. Although the birds do not have a distinct mating season, they prefer not to reproduce during the hottest months of the year. Female parakeets tend to lay four or five eggs, producing them one at a time each day until all eggs are laid. The eggs usually hatch within 2 12 weeks, after which time the female bird will care for the babies for a short time before the male bird takes over care of the young.