Does DNA testing have to be expensive?

[NightEule5]

I've heard stories of expensive DNA sexing, so I researched it. The cost for one place looks like an astounding $15! I'll just put this out there for anyone interested:

AVIAN DNA SEXING TEST - HealthGene Laboratory

They send you a free sample kit and you can chose from two methods. One is feather collection and the other is blood collection. It is 99.9% accurate and only takes 2-3 business days. I'm not sure where they are located, but I think they take international orders. I'm not sure how much the shipping costs, though.

Is this legit? That seems way to cheap/easy to be true.

 

[NightEule5]

On the second look at it, it seems to be located in Canada... They might still take orders from The States though.

 

[SilverSage]

I've used health gene and I was NOT IMPRESSED.

-half my samples came back "insubstantive" and I had to re-test those individuals.

-it took over 6 weeks to get results back (NOT OK when you are disease testing)

I use AvianBiotech and I love them. It's still really cheap; $19.50 per test, you get the results in a few days, and you can access them online. I use them for my sex and disease tests.


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[SilverSage]

Oh I should mention usually the super expensive testing is when you have a vet do it. Keep in mind that you are then paying for the time of all the staff during the visit, as they handle your results, etc plus giving them a profit. In fact, my vet actually uses the same lab I do!


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[NightEule5]

Ok. I will check them out then. Thanks for telling me HealthGene isn't good.

 

[SilverSage]

It could be that my experience was abnormal for them, but I've been using avian biotech for years with no issues. I'm a breeder and I test routinely, I would say I send out 20-30 samples a year between sex and disease. I tried health gene because it's cheaper, but I need my service to be reliable and timely.


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[NightEule5]

Well, I might just try HealthGene in the future and if my experience is similar to yours I know who to switch to.