Sexing by pelvic bone

[Emery]

When I first got Amaretto (39 days ago) I "figured" she was a she - but I was only going by the "tail" thing (shape of the tail). A couple days ago I thought I'd try the pelvic thing. Well, I tried it (I can touch her anywhere on her body when she's deep into chewing-mode) and the bone was very...triangley (I'm clearly very bad at describing!). In other words it was pointed, or came to a point. Can anyone make a guess as to whether that would be a male or female?

[linda040899]

I won't go there, since pelvic sexing is only 50% accurate. You have 2 choices...male or female. You can guess right or you can guess wrong. I've been wrong my share of times so I opt to DNA sex.

[Jezz]

I beg to differ, i have always had a very high accuracy with the pelvic bone test.
I even proved DNA wrong by pelvic bone test. Going by the bones i said Cock, the DNA said Hen. That day the bird was feeding two younger hens and is very much a Cock bird. Almost ready to breed now.

But it only works when they are around 6 months old.

[mangotiki]

I spent some time chasing down all my birds and feeling them up...to compare my proven males/females with the unknowns...and couldn't make hears nor tails of it....:lol
I have used personality and seem to have been right every time.
Except for Mango...no shredding, no tucking, will only swishy on the top, does all the feeding and never recieves...is cuddly as all get out but don't stick your finger in his cage or down your shirt when he is down there messing around...is supposed to be a male, is submissive to all the other birds, but all his mate's eggs have been duds. So who knows with this one. >o

[Illumen]

I would put my bet on DNA rather than pelvic test. When I took both my lovebirds to their 1st health check, my avian/exotic vet said they were female by the pelvic test. Come 2 years later, I got a DNA test and they were both male. The only way I suspected they were boys were their humping behavior, I needed confirmation.

Mena

[mjm8321]

I have tried the pelvic test and have been accurate some of the time, but then again not. Young birds are difficult to tell as everything is super flexible. DNA is more accurate, but then again, it's also been know to be worng. Even surgical sexing (in smaller birds) is not always accurate. Just ask my two surgically sexed "hens" that are proven males. :lol

[Janie]

I agree with Linda (and not just cause this is her board, :D) it's a 50/50 guess when you check the pelvic bone. If you guess male and 5 or so years later you've never been presented with an egg, you can say, "see, I was right!" And if you guess female and get eggs, yep, right again! :lol Oliver was never DNA'd but he's at least 9, maybe 10 and never laid an egg so I'm "guessing" MALE! :whistle: Shy and Big Boi were both DNA'd males (I know it's not 100% accurate) and Shy spends most of his days now humping Oliver's birdie buddy so I guess that one is confirmed. The jury is still out on Big Boi. He is a biter so maybe that DNA was wrong and he is a she! :eek:

You'll find him listed "for sale cheap" on the community bulletin board if he lays an egg! :rofl:

[Paulette]

Hi Emery:
I have been practicing the pelvic test. I was told and shown how to do it in Oct. and came home to test the few birds that I already knew the sexes of and they ALL just felt boney to me (not to mention I had a pair of Males that were suppose to be Male and Female). Another man showed me again in Feb. and I was totally feeling of the wrong thing! You have to know what you are feeling for. There are basically 3 bones when you lay your finger over the vent. One higher horizontal bone and below that 2 pointy bones that are vertical and sticking straight down (these are what you want to feel of). For a Male they are very close together, firm and seem unmovable. For a Female they are far apart and very flexible for the passage of the egg. Young birds are very flexible. My best guess is that you can possibly tell at 6 months or older. I've been feeling of my babies that were born in Oct. and Nov. off and on and just now are they seeming more firm and identifiable. Not to mention that the hens will bite the other birds feet so you can always go on that too! Good Luck and don't forget to wash your hands.:D

[linda040899]

Going by the bones i said Cock, the DNA said Hen.
Jeremy,
I know a contaminated sample can return male when the bird is actually a female but this the first time I've heard it the other way around!

[Paulette]

I beg to differ, i have always had a very high accuracy with the pelvic bone test.
I even proved DNA wrong by pelvic bone test. Going by the bones i said Cock, the DNA said Hen. That day the bird was feeding two younger hens and is very much a Cock bird. Almost ready to breed now.

But it only works when they are around 6 months old.

:D :lol :D :lol :D :whistle: :D :wink: :D :lol :D :cool: :D

[Jezz]

I know about that Linda but my samples weren't contaminated. I have talked to a lot of big breeders and they reckon DNA testing is a waste of time and only has around 40% accuracy.
I guess Australia are behind everyone else when it comes to this kind of stuff:blush: