sex

[jimbo]

can anybody help me? i have a pair of birds?when they are on there perch they prune each other,and they spend all night in there nestbox,so are they a pair?

[linda040899]

Yes, they are a bonded pair but that doesn't necessarily mean they are male and female. I've had pairs of hens, as well as pairs of males. You will need to DNA sex them to determine gender.

[jimbo]

cheers thanks is dna the only true way to sex them?

[linda040899]

DNA sexing is the quickest and safest method to sex them. I, personally, use Avian Biotech for my sexing needs and they have two collection types. The first is to short clip a nail and send a blood sample. The second way is to freshly pluck 4-5 chest feathers from the bird to be DNA sexed and send the feathers. Should you opt for blood sexing, make sure that you clean the nail to be short clipped before you start or the sample could be contaminated and your test will be inaccurate.

Birds can also be surgically sexed but, in my opinion, they are too small for this so the risk of complications goes up. If you don't want to take the samples for the DNA sexing yourself, your avian vet can do it and send off the samples but the cost will be much higher.

The last thing you can do, and this could take some time, is just be patient and see if anyone lays an egg..... :)

[jimbo]

top girl thanks yours jimbo