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DNA Sexing

9K views 37 replies 24 participants last post by  LinnieLover 
#1 ·
Do you have your birds DNA sexed in order to determine their gender, or do you just consider them whatever you "think" they are?
I don't DNA my birds, but I know most of their genders. Parrotlets are sexually dimorphic, so I know that Maya is a female and Oscar is a male. Lily has laid eggs, so she's definitely a female. The other two - Harpo and Linden - are unknown, but I consider them males. :p
 
#2 ·
My female Linnie, Kaiko, was DNA'd from the breeder as was Mizu. Loki I assume is a male by his... gregariousness with toys :rolleyes: The parrotlets you can tell, the tiel... well... I assumed female but the vet told me it might be a male... I still say 'she'! :lol:
 
#6 ·
Jenny, I just thought I would mention that Loki could be a female. We had this discussion on another forum to which I belong and there were many owners of female birds that were "gregarious with toys". You just never know...:shrug:
My vet told me that when she was in vet school they had a budgie that all the students agreed was a male because of the color of the cere. When "he" started laying eggs they came to the conclusion that dna was really the most sure way to know. Although I have been reading that even that is not always 100% accurate.
 
#7 ·
yea, I know there is the possibility that Loki could be female :lol: Loki was quite amorous with his mate, Mizu, whom I lost recently and has the darker barring/headshape of a male, so the usual visuals mark him male. I would DNA him but... :shrug: I'm not overly bothered either way!
 
#17 ·
Unfortunately DNA sexing is not always accurate. The feathers or blood sample can be contaminated with another birds DNA and a false reading can be obtained. A friend purchased an IRN that had been DNA sexed as a female when immature. Funny enough when the bird matured it obtained a beautiful ring on his neck.

Another man I know who purchased a Male African Grey for his Pet Shop that had been DNA sexed and he ended up getting stuck with him as everyone wanted females that season. The bird started talking and he decided to keep it as a pet. He decided when one of our Avian Vets came around with the portable Sexing kit to have him Surgically Sexed and low and behold he had ovaries and not testes. All expensive birds that come into his shop now he has Surgically Sexed as he has also had pairs (male and female) sold to him who turn out the be the same sex. So he just routinely gets them all sexed and over a certain price they are also microchipped for security just to make sure they are the sex they are supposed to be.

I prefer to have my birds Surgically Sexed if I need to know what they are before they either colour up or mature or if they are monomorphic. Except for Conures especially Sun Conures. They don't tend to cope well with the anaesthetic. But I have never had a problem with Surgical Sexing and the birds are only out for a couple of minutes.
 
#20 ·
It can be done in 2 ways. Either by feather sample or blood sample. With the feather you need to pull 1 primary feather and 1 secondary feather. With blood your are supplied with a sterile needle and a special strip to put the blood on. You prick the foot with the needle and get the blood on the strip. Both of these ways the sample goes into a sterile tube and sealed. At the lab they then check the sample for an x chromosome or a y chromosome to determine the sex of the bird.
 
#21 ·
It can be done in 2 ways. Either by feather sample or blood sample. With the feather you need to pull 1 primary feather and 1 secondary feather. With blood your are supplied with a sterile needle and a special strip to put the blood on. You prick the foot with the needle and get the blood on the strip. Both of these ways the sample goes into a sterile tube and sealed. At the lab they then check the sample for an x chromosome or a y chromosome to determine the sex of the bird.
I'm guessing you would go to a vet for that?
 
#22 ·
Not sure with overseas but here in Australia I can buy the testing tubes directly from the lab. The tubes cost about $8 for 10 and they are mailed to you. With the company I have had association with it has been a blood sample. You then take the blood and send the tube away and it costs about $30 for the test. They can also do other tests on the blood sample like testing for Beak and Feather Disease. The more birds you get done the cheaper it gets. It takes about 10 days to get the results and they will email them to you. I think there are only about 2 or 3 labs here doing it.

We were going to test 2 of my cockies for Beak and Feather but could not get enough blood out of them. Their feet are really tough. But at 2 years old now and they have perfect feathers and plenty of powder down they definitely don't have Beak and Feather disease.
 
#23 ·
i went with healthgene http://www.healthgene.com/ and the blood kit contains an envelope and a card to collect the blood sample on, no needle or anything like that. just clip a nail a bit too far (or have the vet do it if needed), enough for it to bleed, and drip the blood on the sample card to mail in after it's dried. as for the accuracy of this method, i really can't say, as lentil was the first bird i used it on.
 
#24 ·
If the bird is housed with other birds it is very easy for the sample either blood or feather to be contaminated with droppings or feather dust from another bird. Even if you swab the area with Methylated Spirits or Rubbing Alcohol (same as the doctor does before he gives you a jab) the area can still be contaminated from another bird. I have heard of lots of mistakes made with the sexing of birds via DNA.
 
#25 ·
Some of my birds like the budgies , parrolets , alexandrine you can tell by looking at them.

For my pets birds I don't care. For example I named Merlin before I even bought him. So I see no reason to DNA sex them. The birds don't care if their name is for the other sex.


Breeders are a different matter. My tiels are mutations and it is impossible to visually sex them so I sent away for a kit.
 
#27 ·
What kind of lorikeets? I have a chattering lory and a rainbow lorikeet. I have noticed that I am seeing more for sale at bird stores but but a lot of people don't have any idea about them even on bird boards.

I have a female lorikeet ( didn't have to DNA sex her she laid eggs) and I have been going nuts looking for a male.

One of my peeves is that the bird stores won't pay to DNA sex them. It is extra that I the customer would have to pay for even if I don't intend to buy the bird if it is a female. And they want to charge upwards of 50 dollars. I DNA sex myself and each test cost 14.00.
 
#28 ·
I also have Lorikeets Carol. Mine are Rainbows. I suggest you find a breeder to get a mate for your girl.

Wings Aviary in St Augustines Florida
Birds 4 You in Trinity Florida
Lone Palm Aviary in West Palm Beach

These are all possibilities. If they can't help you they may be able to put you in contact with someone who can. They all have their own websites to so not too hard to contact.
 
#29 ·
I will look these up. Thanks. I do want to put Rainbow into a breeding situation she is laying all the time and it worries me. I lost my beloved quaker Bobby to egg binding after she started a chronic pattern of laying eggs.
 
#30 ·
Rainbows can breed all year round they don't have a set cycle. They usually only lay 2 eggs at a time very rarely 3. Are you removing the eggs knowing that they aren't fertile. If you do this will stimulate her to lay again. It is best to leave the eggs and let her go through her cycle which is about 24 days incubation. People often make the mistake of removing the eggs from a hen that is laying without a male and it is the reverse of what you should do.

Another thing is she in with the Chat. Lorikeets can and will hybridize and the offspring are fertile. If she is with the male Chat it is possible that they are mating and the eggs are fertile. Many of our mutations came from crossing a mutation Scaley Breasted Lorikeet with the other varieties. The Lutino Rainbow came from a Scaley/Rainbow mating. The Lutino Scaley was a spontaneous mutation so they bred it with a Rainbow to get a Lutino Rainbow.
 
#31 ·
I leave the eggs until she either breaks them or loses interest. Man she gets mean when she has eggs in her cage. :eek:That is the only time we have to worry about nips.

She does not share a cage with Paco. I was surprised when I read that they could possibly mate he is so much bigger than her.

I checked out the aviaries that you posted and I am going to contact them when I have more money their prices are reasonable and they DNA sex all their babies.
 
#32 ·
Glad I could help Carol. Shame you are in the US as I have at least one pair of Rainbows that are ready to breed. I unfortunately just lost 2 youngsters they had when we had that terrible dust storm that went through a few of weeks ago. It was terrible the dust was that thick and I suffered from hay fever for over a week after it hit. The dust hung around for days and then we got another not as bad thankfully on the Saturday. The wind was blowing a gale too.
 
#36 ·
I saw pictures of the dust storm it looked bad. I have always thought it would be neat to live in Australia and see so many parrots flying about free.
 
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