Question on DNA sexing by mail

Hey there !

I recently discovered you can sex a parrot by mail and pay $20 instead of the $100 at the vet's office. I got very excited and wanted to know what Kermit was... not only for my own curiosity (i.e. he will be a Kermi if a female XD), but in case he's a female, I'd like to be aware so I can prevent egg-binding and chronic egg laying.

I found a link on the forums to one such place; 'Animal Genetics Inc' and thought that doing it by feather would be less traumatic than blood.

... well despite looking up numerous videos where the bird seems unperturbed by the process of having their chest feathers ripped out, I just don't know how I'll muster to do it (a minimum of 5 times ;v; ). He's so sweet and I don't want to hurt him Then I saw another video where someone did it with blood by clipping the nail a little too short and that seemed even less traumatic since it's much quicker.

So which is the least traumatic method in your opinion.

Thanks !

Opinion here, nail! I had vet do a 5 dollar clip and he handled the specimen card. I used a place in Florida.

I used the feather method on my U2. You pull the feathers from the chest area. I've never used the method on a small bird but my U2 wasn't bothered by the process at all, in fact she hardly noticed. I set her on a play stand and pulled the four required feathers and she never stopped playing. She has had a nail accidentally clipped too short, she threw a fit about that.

This is the company I used, the results were available in about three business days and the cost was minimal.

Avianbiotech.com - Results Online

Thank you for your opinions ! I live near a really good bird store (Exotic Birds by Fran if anyone's heard of it ) and I might see if I could persuade them to help me with it if I can't manage. I just don't trust myself. I used to have a lot of budgies, which were super fragile, so I hate rough handling birds in any way.

Well tried to get a feather out and only succeeded in breaking it mid-shaft ;___; Sorry Kermit I'm not very good at this.

Doesn't your bird shed feathers at all? My bird is constantly dropping little fuzzy ones all over the place.

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They have to be freshly plucked. I've done it many times and it's really much less traumatic than cutting a nail until it bleeds, smearing it on the card and then applying blood-stop. Just pinch a few feathers in your fingers and yank quickly. They barely notice (even on small birds such as a parrotlet). If you just get two or three feathers, send that (you don't need to do five plucks). I've never had them not be able to complete the test when I've sent less than five feathers. The important thing, is to freshly pull them (no old shed feathers) and put them immediately in a sealable plastic bag to avoid cross contamination. Good luck!

Ah thanks all =) I plucked up some courage (ba-dum, tshh) and was able to get 5 feathers (just to be on the safe side). Assuming I filled out the forms properly, I will get to know Kermit's gender in a week's time

Great job! It's really nice to know the true gender and vets appreciate the added information. Please let us know if Kermit is a he or a she.

I was told my conure was a girl by the pet store and i dna sexed and he was a boy! the dna test said to pluck 3? or 5 feathers off his chest and it made me sad because he made sad noises. i just did it quick
edit: i used biotech too. they also mail you a piece of paper saying the sex

I just posted a new thread, funny enough, but to cut a long story short this little bird has decided to defy expectation and be a SHE XP