DNA Testing...male or female?

[BarkleyLoves]

I know for sure my Barkley (ecclectus) is a boy. But we're wondering about Pepper because he/she has been very selective and particularly fond of men, not me so much anymore. We're thinking he mmight actually be a she. I was reading something about being able to DNA test with feathers? Is that possible? I really would like to know for health or other reasons if Pepper is actually a girl. And if this feathers thing is not a valid method, do the blood tests hurt them?

 

[DebsFlock]

You have to pull a feather, either that or cut a nail short for a drop of blood. A molted feather won't do it.

I think parrots can tell we come in two "flavors" and may develop a preference, but I strongly doubt they identify us as the same or te opposite sex from themselves.

 

[IcyWolf]

You just have to pull 4-6 feathers from the breast and put them in the little envelope they send you and then mail it to them. I always liked blood testing via toenail until recently when I started doing feathers, it seems like it hurts much less than the nail method. Just pinch a few breast feathers as close to the shaft as you can and pull up towards the birds beak, they come out MUCH easier if you pull up on them than if you pull straight out. After you get the feathers be sure to give him some of his favorite treats and lavish some attention on him I use avian biotech and from pa to florida it takes about 4-5 days for them to get the sample. As soon as they get it they send me an email telling me it arrived and then by the end of the following day I always have the results via email. It can take up to three days after they get the sample but I've always gotten the results the next day. Then they will send you the DNA certificate in the mail. I will say, be sure to print super clearly on the papers, I already had one persons name come back misspelled on the certificate, I'm still not sure why because I print very clear and in all caps but somehow they must have misread two of my letters :20:

 

[lene1949]

When I tested my birds, I took a drop of blood by pricking a toe... It was very easy, and did not seem to distress the birds...

I'll use the same method next time, I need to DNA sex...

I think that cutting a toe nail too short so it'll bleed would be distressing, not only for the bird but also for the owner...

 

[Alisana]

Feathers works the best, otherwise you can go by a blood test. If you're having blood drawn for other things (e.g. testing to see if they're a carrier of any disease/virus) then you may as well do a DNA blood test at the same time.

Personally, I believe that feather DNA-sexing would be your best bet.

For nail cutting method - I'd be very hesitant to recommend it, because if you cut too far back and don't have anything to stop the bleeding - or if your companion by some freak chance has Haemophilia[1], you could be putting your bird a risk of blood loss. If you do decide this method, be very careful how far back you cut, and have some Kwik-Stop or Corn Flour on hand to stop the blood flow.

As a Side Note:
Although no one here has said it - some "old school" aviculturists would suggest endoscope sexing. I would never however recommend endoscope sexing - it's traumatic, invasive and can put your bird at risk of injury or death if done improperly. There was an IDIOT "vet" who roamed around US for a while and was charging people $5-$10 on the spot endoscope gender tests for birds. He was doing it in unsanitary conditions and often put the birds at risk risks due to infection or injury.

The only time an endoscope should be used is for checking for internal injuries, for cancers/tumours, etc and in the hands of a qualified and experienced avian vet.

Haemophilia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia : a group of hereditary genetic disorders that impair the body's ability to control blood clotting or coagulation, which is used to stop bleeding when a blood vessel is broken. Basically, blood won't clot. I have no idea if birds can contract it, but there have been reported cases of other animals having it.

 

[Alisana]

Huh - just found out you can DNA sex from the egg shells! I know Pepper would be too old to have his/her egg shells on hand still, but it's interesting none the less.

Might ask my breeder to do this for my Hahns when it's hatched.

Some points about DNA egg-shell sexing:

• Freshly-cracked eggshells contain cells and DNA from the newly-hatched chick. These cells can be used to determine the sex of the parakeet chick that emerged from the shell in question.
• The eggshells need to be fresh.
• The eggshells to be tested should not have been contaminated by other hatching chicks and eggshells. It is no good if blood-or-membrane-covered shells have become all mixed together (contaminating one another with DNA) or if they have had a number of slimy, DNA-covered chicks crawling all over them.
• Eggshell sex determination is particularly useful in parakeet breeding colonies.
• Eggshell sex determination is much less stressful than blood or feather sexing.
• Eggshell sex determination can be used to determine the sex of parakeet chicks from only a few hours old.
• Eggshell sex determination of chicks does not run as much risk of disturbing the mother bird.
• Most labs provide a do-it-yourself sample kit for collecting the egg shell samples. The shells are collected, labeled, air-dried and then packed into the sample kit for sending back to the lab.

Source: Sexing Parakeets (Budgerigars or Budgies).

 

[BarkleyLoves]

Thanks for the tips! I'm a little hesitant to pull feathers myself. I mean, will I traumatize Pepper by dong that? I do have Kwik-Stop on hand (for trimming dogs nails but I haven't had to use it yet--thank goodness!). They do need to go for a nail trim, and I guess if by some chance they quick them, I could get a drop then. Otherwise, the feather method seems less traumatic. Do I order a kit and then pluck the feathers?

Sorry if these seem like stupid questions. I'm just a novice. Thanks again! I love this forum.