DNA Sexing what I wish I had known before...

[krizzteena]

Hi Everyone,

Well my KeKe and LuLu are doing great and thought maybe I would take the plunge and DNA sex them as I cant be in suspense any longer.

I figured I would blood test instead of feather test. Little did I know just how much thier nails would bleed when trimmed!!!!!:cry:

I have worked many years in animal hospitals with dogs and cats and trimmed nails a gazillion times but never for a bird.

What I thought was a safe place to trim without hitting the quick provided me with a gusher ( poor KeKe...heck poor me...I felt horrible>: ) but it provided a great sample. I never realized that birds quicks grow out so far. When I went to do LuLu I took even less off and still I was able to get a decent sample.

I am so glad that you only have to do this once in the lifetime of a bird!:D

Now the fun .......waiting for the results....I cant wait! YAHOO.

I'll let ya all know when the results are in!:happy:

[Janie]

Kris, you are much braver than I am! :D I could not pluck a single feather or even cut the tip of a nail. I am a chicken! Oliver was never DNA'd but at 10 he's never laid an egg so we are "assuming" and the other two were DNA'd by the feather method before I bought them since I only wanted males.

Good luck with those results! :)

[Christine9]

Gosh...that must of been scary! :cry: Yup, your definitely a lot braver than me. I have to have someone else (like a pet store) do DNA tests for my birds, as well as trimming their nails. I'm too chicken to do that also. Heck, it took me having birds for almost four years to gather up enough guts to clip their wings myself. I can handle that, but not the nails...:( I can only imagine. I've had to pull broken blood feathers before, and let me tell you, I have a heart attack every time.

So...do you have any suspicions as to what gender they are? It's always to make an "educated" guess. I was right with my last two. Not that I am bragging or anything...:whistle: ;)

[Janie]

Christine, you do wings???? You are much braver than I am! :D But, I'm just coming up on my third year with the first lovebird so maybe I'll be braver by next year???? :lol

[krizzteena]

Its funny...I jumped right in with the wings....not really sure why.

I have thought that LuLu was female from the beginning...she can tear strips of paper and tuck them in her tail like no ones business...but from what I have heard males will tear paper too.

KeKe I am now thinking is female as this past week she has been very interested in the mating display..ya know but up, head down and wings spread....so who knows maybe she knows something different about LuLu! haha

I will know soon enough!:rofl:

[Christine9]

Yup, sounds like Keke is a girl. One of my female lovies (Windy) does the tail up, wings spread thing from time to time.

You know, it's funny, I've read that females are the ones that tuck things in their rumps, and I've read that males are the ones that do it. I don't know who is right, but from experience, it is my two males that do it. So maybe Lulu is a boy.

Do you know how long you have to wait? The suspense must be killing you!

[krizzteena]

Its not a long wait only 1-2 days after they receive the sample. So I should know this weekend or early next week. I used HealthGene which is located here in Canada but they also work with samples from the US. It is 22$ plus 6% gst per bird. :happy:

I cant wait to find out!!!!!!!!

Maybe LuLu will be short for Luke or Louie! haha;)

I will keep ya posted.

[sdgilley]

Hi Christine,

I've read that females are the ones that tuck things in their rumps, and I've read that males are the ones that do it.
I'm pretty sure both sexes will tuck nesting materials in Peachfaced Lovebirds. In the Eyering species, they carry rather than tuck - again both males and females (I think). Also, sometimes males will solicit mating like a hen. I think they are saying "honey, do this!".

I have three lovies, two male (Normal Fischers & Green Mask) and a Seagreen hen. I have to keep some distance between the boys & my hen when she's hormonal - they go nuts! I think I've even seen my Luka (Fischers) trying to tuck seeds in his rump feathers! :rofl:

Good luck on your tests -Krizzteena! I chickened out with the boys and had them DNA'd by my vet. With my hen, I wasn't going to house her with the boys, so I waited and she laid eggs to prove a point. ;)

[Christine9]

Also, sometimes males will solicit mating like a hen. I think they are saying "honey, do this!".

ROTFL :rofl:

Wow, male lovies sure are slick, aren't they?! :lol Seriously, though, I never knew that- how interesting.

[krizzteena]

Alright.......the news is in.....both KeKe and LuLu are girls.....its official!!!!!!!

The DNA test came back and I guess I know for sure now. I am glad I am not giving them a complex by calling them girls when I greet them. haha

[Christine9]

Congrats on your two girls! It must be nice to finally know for sure; I, personally couldn't imagine not knowing the sexes of my birds.

So how are they getting along so far? (I can't remember how old they are.) Do they play together? I was just curious, because I have two females and they don't like each other. Of course I shouldn't complain, because at least they know enough to just stay away from each other, rather than actually going after one other, but still...it would be nice to see them play together, along with my two boys.

[krizzteena]

Well they dont like each other enough to live in the same cage but they do come out and play together. KeKe is 2 1/2 yrs old but I am not sure about LuLu as she was a stray. LuLu is definetly the more dominant of the two. She will let KeKe know when she has had enough. KeKe really wants to be friends but LuLu has relented yet. They do get along much better now then they did initially, which I think is great!:rofl:

[Janie]

Kris, my experience is with three males but let me assure you that in the last year, since adding the second two, the relationships have changed several times. They have all gotten along pretty well since the beginning but now more than ever and it is kind of funny to see how they'll pair up each day. It always seems to be two together and then the odd man out but never any fighting. Oddly enough, the two younger brothers both like to pair up with my older lovie Oliver. I was and still am shocked at how much he likes them. I know that hens often don't like other hens but you just never know and I do agree that they should be caged separately but it's nice that they can be out together sometimes. Yes, they might become good friends eventually and it's a good sign that they are getting along a little better already. :D Watching them interact with each other is so much fun. Tell LuLu to chill! :lol I'm kidding, of course. After all, it was her house first! ;)

[Christine9]

That's so good to hear, krizzteena, that they play together. It occurred to me, maybe the difference with mine is that I also have two males, which create competition.

And I know what you mean, Janie, it is so fun to watch them interact. With my two females, Hunny is the dominent one. She's the one that will boss Windy around, if Windy does happen to get to close (though she usually just stays away). But boy, does Hunny love my boys! She bounces back between both of them- gets preened by one, then goes and gets preened by the other. Yup, she has them all whipped. It's funny, too, because she is a very tiny lovie- the runt of that clutch, but she takes care of herself, my little pipsqueak! :D