Does my 5 month old Alex strike you as a boy or a girl ???pics

I just got it a few weeks ago, its adorable I'm in love with it, I've kept it for the first time and so far the experience is great, it's intelligent, friendly, curious.I'm just eager to find out if it's a boy or a girl, I do not want to DNA it.


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Can I ask why you don’t want the DNA test? It is so inexpensive and can be so important in the case of veterinary emergencies.


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Because I don't want any one sticking a needle in my bird to draw its blood. I just don't like the idea.

Yikes! No! A simple plucked feather nail clipped slightly too short will do! We do many DNA tests each year and we do NOT allow needle sticks! I’ve only had that done when a bird needed a blood draw for extensive blood work for health reasons.


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Alright, I had no clue the procedure was that simple. First pet sorry.

Don’t be sorry!

You don’t know what you don’t know until you know lol. You are just trying to do the best and safest thing for your new baby and that’s great

My favorite company is Avian Biotech. Some other companies are IQ Biotech and Health Gene.

Cost is $12-$25 depending on company, and if you do plucked feathers or a drop of blood from a nail. I prefer the blood test because I’ve done a lot and it seems to be less painful, but if you are nervous I would recommend the feather instead because you can’t accidentally cause too much bleeding that way; it’s a less stressful experience for the owner lol.


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Part of the joy of owning an Alex is waiting for the neck-ring to grow in! However, that takes three years, so if you want to spare yourself three years of anticipation, you'll go with the DNA test.

My Barney escaped just as his puberty arrived. We were all waiting for that first black neck feather, but we never got to see it as he flew the coop. He was MIA for thirty-one days and when (thank goodness and my now-friend, Sam) he returned, his neck-ring was complete and gorgeous!

I understand how you feel about having invasive procedures done. I felt the same way and was quite happy to wait and see what Nature did. Mind you, if you have the test done, you can at least choose a gender-appropriate name for your bird instead of having to choose something neutral.

Congratulations on choosing an Alex. They are such gorgeous birds and so affectionate and companionable - but I'm sure you know that already!

PS. Forgot to say: the first photo reminds me of my Barney in the head-shape and attitude. All the rest remind me of Madge.

PS. Forgot to say: the first photo reminds me of my Barney in the head-shape and attitude. All the rest remind me of Madge.

So if the majority of pics remind you of "Madge" and im assuming Madge is a female ? so in that case strong chances are mine is female too ??? right ??

Wrong! There’s no way to know without either the ring or the DNA.

Also, I do understand the hesitancy surrounding the needle and blood. But I will caution you that it is very normal to need to draw blood on occasion, especially if you’re doing an annual wellness exam which includes a full, complete blood panel (which is something you should get in the habit of doing). The idea of it may be distasteful, but it is absolutely necessary. Just don’t automatically say “no” whenever the though of blood draw comes up. It may save your birds life.

There is definitely no way to know the gender for sure, beyond the neck ring and DNA. Except, when you've been around enough Alexandrines, you do get a sort of 'sixth sense' for the head shape and the way the head is carried. I can't explain it, but every Alex owner I know is aware of a very subtle difference between males and females leading up to puberty.

Barney and Madge were six months old when I got them and I could already easily tell them apart from their head shapes and carriage. The previous owner assured me they'd been DNA tested and were a male/female pair, but she had no clue which was which. She was fifteen and had 'gotten over' being a bird owner. Barney's head is (and was at six months) much larger and flatter than Madge's. He holds his head slightly above horizontal and, when perching, tends to sort of strike an attitude where his head is more or less parallel with his body. Madge does the opposite. She flexes her head so that's it's more parallel with the perch. Also, the top of her head is markedly rounder than Barn's, both front-to-back and side-to-side. The difference is miniscule, but has always been there.

Of course, what I'm seeing could easily be just a normal variation between two birds of any gender. Only, the local breeders I've known say the same thing: males have larger and flatter heads. Which isn't to say that anyone can know for definite what the gender of a baby might be, but some of us will take a punt and have an educated guess. Then, all we can do is wait to be proven right or wrong.

I would never tell anyone I knew the gender of their baby bird for certain. However, I'll always have a guess and wait to hear the answer.

In IRNs I know breeders who can tell with about 90% certainty based on head shape and stance, and I can usually tell by behavior by 6 months, as well as pelvic bones, but all of these things involve comparison. I always recommend DNA tests especially for new owners, but it’s possible to make fairly educated guesses.


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I agree with SilverSage, you will hear of people with a TON of experience with one particular species being able to "guess" the gender of that species...But even with someone who has years of experience with a specific species, even they are still just guessing...So the DNA-test is a must if you want to know now, which is a very good idea so that you'll know whether Eggs are going to be a possibility in your bird's future, because with infertile egg-laying can also come Egg-Binding, which is extremely serious and require immediately medical attention...

***Just a word to you for the future, as I think it's very important...I understand not wanting anyone to "stick a needle in your bird", but this is EXACTLY WHY you need to find a very experienced Certified Avian Vet or Avian Specialist Vet NOW, BEFORE your bird becomes sick or is injured, so that if/when that happens to your bird in the future, you can feel confident and comfortable that they know exactly what they are doing when it comes to medical procedures...And a simple Blood-Draw from the neck of a bird is something that ANY Avian Vet who is worth that title can do in about 30 seconds, without any sedation or anesthesia, and with no problem at all! I've done it hundreds of times and I'm not even a Veterinarian, but I've been thoroughly trained, and it's 100% safe and easy...My first blood-draw on a bird was to a Turkey, believe it or not, lol...

***The other reason you need to find a CAV is because all pet birds/parrots should have a full Wellness-Exam at least once every single year of their lives, and these yearly Wellness-Exams need to include full Fecal testing and full, routine, baseline Blood-Work, which means a blood-draw from the neck. This is the ONLY WAY to stay ahead of any illnesses your Alex may be hiding from you, as well as monitoring the health of their Liver and Kidneys, and also gauging how their daily diet is treating them nutritionally so you can make the necessary changes. And you want baseline Blood-Work results from when your Alex was healthy to compare to if he ever becomes ill.

Trust me, the way that all birds hide any and all outward signs of illness and pain for as long as they possibly can, typically it's at least a month or longer (sometimes months and months, depending on the illness), the ONLY WAY to catch illnesses, infections, Avian Viral Diseases that can be fatal without treatment, etc. is to have routine Blood-Work, a full Fecal, and a full Wellness-Exam (visual and physical) at least once a year. Trust me, the 30 seconds it takes to draw blood from your bird, which is 100% safe if done by an experienced Avian Vet, is a lot better than losing your bird to an illness or disease that is easily treatable and curable if it's caught early enough to treat...

Damn I love your username!

Anyway take you bird to a vet they will clip the toenails so the bird won't get mad at you take a sample and clot it up immediately.

then you put it in an envelope and it's like 14 dollars.

Not for nothing you know so much more, when you know a birds gender...like who it will like and what other bird you can get, even how to talk to it, etc.

it's the SMART way to do it.....

I was going to say the same thing about the feather or short toe-nail being a DNA source, but also, blood in general is really important for understanding how your bird is doing internally. That having been said, a CAV can easily draw blood with a needle. I know it sounds scary, but they know what they are doing...For DNA, most people just do the feathers.

A CBC (complete blood count) is quite literally a life-saver for many birds (mine is living proof). So, don't shy away from the idea of blood-work forever-it is recommended to have it done 1x yearly in healthy birds...There are many things that you cannot observe externally that can show in a panel and with proper treatment, resolution is often possible.

In my bird's case, her liver was in bad shape when I adopted her (but she had never had blood work so no one knew). I insisted on it (despite a few eye-rolls) and the vet was a bit shocked, but VERY glad that we could now treat and intervene. I will get off my soap-box now..I totally get feeling anxious about it, but it can save lives.