You can easily determine the age of a Budgie. What is the Budgie lifespan There are several telltale signs that will help you tell if it is a baby bird, a young bird, or an adult? Start by looking for light or striped feathers on its head. Next, observe its beak and eyes. While it’s easy to tell if a Budgerigar falls into these age brackets, it’s not possible to tell the exact age of an older Budgie bird just by looking at it. However, you can determine the age of most of these birds by examining their ring or by contacting the breeder, pet store, or previous owner who sold them to you.
What is the average lifespan of a Budgie?
SOURCE:Alen AxP
Examine the crown feathers
Identify a young budgie by its striped crown. Young Budgerigars have stripes or bars on their heads that extend to the base of the beak. If your bird has these stripes, it is less than 3 or 4 months old.
- The base of the beak (just below the eyes) is called “wax”.
- A budgie whose stripes extend to the cere has not undergone its first molt, during which it loses the striped feathers on its head.
Look for a white or yellow cap. When a Budgerigar is between 3 and 4 months old, it molts and loses the striped feathers on its head. The stripes or bars are then replaced by a cap of yellow or white feathers, depending on the variety of the parakeet.
- If the Budgerigar has no stripes on its head, it has undergone its first molt and is over 3 or 4 months old.
Do not rely on head feathers if it is a rare variety. While examining crown feathers is a good indicator of age for most birds, there are a few exceptions to the rule. There are several varieties of Budgerigars whose age cannot be identified by the feathers of the head.
- If you have a lutino, albino, or recessive magpie, you will need to use other methods to determine its age.
Look at his eyes and his beak
Examine the color of the beak and cere. Budgerigars under 12 weeks old often have excess pigment or melanin in the beak and wax. Typically, this results in a beak that appears black or darker than that of an older bird.
- Excess pigment in baby budgies’ beaks is absorbed as they grow, causing a pink, tan, blue or purple color to appear.
Look for a dark gray iris in young budgies. The iris is the ring of color that surrounds the black center of the Budgerigar eye. As the bird ages, its iris develops accordingly. If a baby bird does not have an iris, a young, barely growing parakeet will have it dark. The iris will be dark, usually a shade of dark gray.
- If your parakeet has dark gray irises, she’s probably between 4 and 8 months old.
- Examine your parakeet’s eyes in natural sunlight if possible. For example, try opening the curtains or blinds near his cage.
Use ID Ring or Breeding History
Examine the letters and numbers on the bird’s ring. Most budgies have a ring on their leg that identifies their origin as well as their age. Most often, the year of birth of the bird is indicated in the third series of numbers. If the ring is blank, it won’t give you specific details about the bird’s age or origins
- The first set of letters usually identifies the company that issued the ring.
- Set letters and numbers to identify the Budgerigar breeder.
- The third set of numbers indicates the bird’s year of birth, usually as two digits.
- The fourth set of numbers will tell you the bird’s pedigree number.
Determine his age by the color of the ring. The color of the ring corresponds to the year of birth of the bird. You can therefore determine the age of your parakeet only thanks to this indication. This is true for the majority of breeders’ associations, however, it is possible that other colors are used by certain associations in specific cases (which is rare).
- Check the American Budgerigar Society website or the Perruche.org website to match the color of your bird’s identification band to its year of birth.
- Keep in mind that certain colors may indicate different birth years.
- For example, a budgie with a black ID band may be born in 2013 or 2019.
- A bird with a red identification ring can be born in 2018 or 2012.
- Budgies with orange stripes were born in 2016 or 2010.
Contact the breeder, previous owner, or pet store. If you can’t determine your budgie’s age using the ID ring, you can try asking the person who gave it to you or sold it to you. Ask her the exact age of the bird and if she has any documents to verify its age. Breeders and pet stores often keep records of the birds they sell and this can help you determine the age of your budgie.
- Be aware that some people may say a bird is younger than it is, as younger Budgerigars are generally more valuable than their older counterparts.
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