Sexing/Breeding questions

[MiloMacaw]

OK so I am waiting for Mango's DNA sex results. I have Mango and his former unsexed cage mate (who we seperated for fear they were going to breed as they were siblings) who was returned to me because the adopter's baby was having allergies.

Crazy bird lady (the woman who was keeping all the little birds on her porch until I bought them all of her and found them homes) called me to say she decided to rehome her two "pet" lovebirds as well, so I went and got THEM too.

These two are 3-4 years old, one is definitely a girl as she has laid eggs. The other has not. Is it safe to assume the other is a male, or no?

I'm hoping to avoid DNA sexing all of them :/

[PowerBBS]

Unfortunately... lovebirds have no definative markings for sex either - monomorphic. DNA sexing is what you'll need as not laying eggs yet could just mean that they've not had the urge/dietary substance to do so yet.

That's my take on it... someone else might have somethign different to say.

I did just go find this website that may or may not help:

All About Sexing Lovebirds

[MiloMacaw]

Yea, I guess it's DNA sexing for one and all then LOL. I love the line on that site "females bite harder"

OK let me go stick my finger into all of these birds and judge which ones draw the most blood LOL

[motherwright]

I got my 1 bird sexed at the vet...cost me an arm and a leg....well about $60, but then I found a place that you can send in feathers or draw its blood yourself and it cost me $19. I went that way. I had someone (my feather trimmer and nail shortner person) just clip her nail a little short and we used that blood. We then used that stuff to quickly stop the nail from bleeding....Ok now that you can see I am lacking the words for all the technical stuff here.....the website or company we used was Avian Services Center: DNA sexing and disease testing for all species of birds.. They will send you free kits and everything. They emailed me the results with in a day of receiving the blood sample and I had the hard copy in like a week.

Hope my mumbo jumbo has helped.

CW

[Lori~D]

Avian Biotech is what I always use. They are fast, get results by mail or email and certificate sent. I can get single or multiple bird kits for free - just ask. $20 and I use nail blood. It seems to hurt less according to my birds. Most dont notice the nail being clipped a little close but they sure notice trying to pull feathers! They have to be plucked/ not dropped and they DONT like it.
Here is the link:

Avian Services Center: DNA sexing and disease testing for all species of birds.

[agconnor]

I am with a bird club and our members use Avian Biotech. We just pluck 2-4 feathers (from the chest area only) quickly and most of our birds feel nothing (no real reactions). It is said that plucking in the thick part of chest really does not hurt the bird and Avian Biotech only needs 2-4 feathers with shaft to do the job.

We prefer the feather DNA test over the blood test...and especially clipping nails. Birds can bleed to death from too short a nail clip or from blood feathers. Yes, flour and other items can stem the flow of blood but we would rather not go there! agconnor

[Lori~D]

Well I did pluck from the thick part - The birds hated it. Having quick stop on hand stops the blood quick and easy. dont clip too far all at once,just start clip a little at a time until you just start to see blood. Heck sometimes its hard to get there. Put a drop or two on the card and put the quick stop on it. Every bird I ve ever done HATED the feather thing and hardley noticed the blood nail trim thing and ive done it hundreds of times. I do what the customer prefers and Any bird Ive done feathers on has screamed about it. I have never done a feather pull without a reaction.

[vldean]

I use Avian Biotech and pluck the few tiny feathers that is required. There is no pain if it is done right and no chance for infection. The nail clipping thing on the other hand is painful (you know what it feels like to cut a nail to short). Not only is it painful but evasive as well and sets the bird up for potential infection.

[ROYJOY]

or wait and see if the eggs are fertile, then you'll know for sure.

[MiloMacaw]

Originally Posted by ROYJOY

or wait and see if the eggs are fertile, then you'll know for sure.

Ha...HA! lol- thats all I need, baby lovebirds! I don't even know what I would do with them in this house. These two are a bonded pair so I really hope that they are not male/female !

There are five here at the moment, two of which I have decided to keep the other three are just hanging out here until I find them homes. Crazy Bird Lady must have at least 10 more in the house, including a pair that have several 2-3 day old babies. So far I have slowly managed to remove all the birds that were in the rusty cages on her front porch, and a few from inside the house. I have a standing offer of $10 a bird and she calls me and tells me when to come and get them- I find that works a lot better then yelling at her for the care of the birds

The budgies, teils and Nanday that were on the front porch are doing very well now too- the Nanday went to live with a very nice couple who have another Nanday, and they have been sending me pictures and keeping me updated on him, and the budgies and tiels are feeling much happier in a big aviary at a friend's house. So it's just the lovebirds left and we are good!