I have a cockatiel that is 10 years old and we expect to have her another ten years or more. She ....
...is probably a he. The females don’t usually talk. My tiel hoots a lot, but has never talked :) The macaw’s, however, never shut up! lol
I’m pretty sure that she is a she because she lays eggs and sits on them all of the time. I started talking to her when I was hand-feeding, and she started talking back at 6 months old, which is also pretty unusual from what I read.