I was in Clearwater last week and went to a fleamarket where there were many vendors with QP's...

I asked if there was a quick way to tell the males and females apart without the blood/feather/gene testing. I got a universal answer of how to check the hip bones by feel and tell them apart.

The female fids have a larger gap in the pelvic bone than the male (almost none). I was given both to hold and see the difference by each vendor. There is a difference that is can be felt. Male subjects had almost no span and the females had 1/4" or more.

(Holding the bird in your hand, head up and feet towards you...on it's back essentially...you can feel the pelvic bones next to the anal slit...below the belly)

I had not heard anybody describe this procedure before. Does this match everybody else's experience or training?

Maxxx, Erma (new bird..female), and Cap'n Rick

Ugh, this is something that I totally disagree with, especially for someone who has no experience with doing it. By doing this 'test' you can seriously harm your bird.

The test itself is not accurate either. Really, you got a 50/50 shot of getting the right answer. My QP was given the test and failed miserably She is a definite female and the person doing the test said she was a male.

Best bet for sexing a bird is DNAing or surgical sexing (which is only needed if you plan on breeding the bird at a later date).

Works with Dove's...but in most cases it isn't reliable in Parrots...JMO

There are many so many ways to tell. Gizmo is a male and he matches the forehead one.

Unless you do DNA or Surgical sexing its still a crap shoot. And you have a 50-50 chance of being correct.

Its true that females have a broader pelvic area...but Unless you have several to compare to, you're still just guessing...

Since so many of our birds are cross sub species, and the body types have been modified because of this, Its really hard to tell if you have a male, or just a dainty female, In my opinion...

Both my vets have said the same thing to me...that the only real ways to know is by surgical which is 100% accurate or by DNA which is about 98.9 % accurate.

Yah no matter what if you want to know for sure you have to get them tested. I would take my 99.9 percent chance.

Sorry I couldnt do that to mine and I would feel sorry for the person who tried doing it to sparky themself because he would probably bite the $hit out of them and then laugh and tell them he loves them. Thats just something he does on " his days " he bites ya laughs at ya and says I love you !

Buddy matched a male using the pelvic method, and the head method both. However I had a hunch she was a she. (Experience is better then any tests except DNA) She laid eggs, and though I wasn't shocked I was a bit surprised as she wasn't set up with a nesting box. Quakers I have learned will lay anywhere.

That is a very Intresting theory! And prolly true to some extent but the again not reliable. I agree with Carrie about seriously injuring the bird.