Life is Greyt Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 She is about 10 weeks old today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life is Greyt Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 (edited) checking out dad's hat Edited October 31, 2011 by Life is Greyt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffNOK Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Adorable baby. Does she have a name yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life is Greyt Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 My little sweetie cuddling <3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life is Greyt Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 No name yet, jeffnok. "She"-the breeder thinks it's a girl- will be surgically sexed in two weeks so then we will know for sure. I have tons of nicknames for her...but nothing official yet. She is such a little sweetie though and I am so in love with her. December can't get here soon enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life is Greyt Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 She was desperately trying to use the toys to get to the top of the basket. She is too cute to watch. It amazes me how fast she is growing up and her personality shows more every time I see her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 No name yet, jeffnok. "She"-the breeder thinks it's a girl- will be surgically sexed in two weeks so then we will know for sure. "Surgically"? Mind if I ask why? Most people tend to DNA blood testing because they feel it's a lot less invasive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life is Greyt Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 I was apprehensive about it at first too, but my breeder prefers to have her babies surgically sexed. I trust her judgment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Are you going to breed her? Is there any reason for this baby to have elective surgery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life is Greyt Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 No, definitely not breeding her...she is my first grey. I trust my breeder's choices 100% and she has all her babies surgically sexed by the same vet every time. I'm aware that surgical sexing isn't the most common method, but after we discussed it, and she addressed all my concerns, I am ok with her choice. I understand your concerns, cause I was initially worried, but after we discussed it I am just fine with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffNOK Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I bring my baby (Gracie) home in December too. I know how your are feeling--lots of anticipation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianlinkles Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I am curious to why anyone would prefer "surgically sexing" My breeder always does the blood dna test. They are accurate and I am just curious if there is a reason why people would prefer the surgery method. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life is Greyt Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 (edited) Jeffnok-the anticipation is killing me!! I hate leaving her and it's the highlight of my week when I get to go see her. I don't know why I am having such a hard time with her name, but I know it will come. Brianlinkles-I had the same concerns at first, but after discussing it with my breeder it's not an issue anymore. We discussed the pros and cons of both and I trust her choices completely. I really never meant for this thread to become so controversial about her being surgically sexed-really meant to show pics of my little girl-I think- that I am so in love with. I understand that sexing, like a few other hot topics on here, could be hotly debated. However, after a very bad experience with a "reputable" bird store here in the local area I worked very hard to find a breeder I could buy directly from, and that I felt would treat my little baby with the level of care that I expect. The one I found has been breeding for many years, and has far more understanding about birds than I do. That being said, she prefers to have her birds surgically sexed for many reasons that I don't think are necessary to go into, and I agree with her choice for my bird. If I didn't agree I could choose to not have her sexed surgically, or DNA her with my vet. Ultimately, I have 100% trust in what my breeder says is the "best" method-I understand that some people may disagree, but I hope that it won't be a problem going forward for me on the forum because I love to read through all the threads and soak up all the info I can from such a great knowledgebase. I appreciate everyone's comments though, as I think you all were just double checking that I wasn't going into that situation blindly. As, even I have seen in my brief time so far as a grey owner, there most certainly ARE bad and horrible breeders out there that care nothing for the birds-however, I can assure you mine is not one of those. Edited October 31, 2011 by Life is Greyt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 (edited) ******I really never meant for this thread to become so controversial ******** Only the two methods are controversial. Actually, the word should be curiosity *******I understand that sexing, like a few other hot topics on here, could be hotly debated.******* On this board, sexing has never been a hot topic. There's just no reason for that. The methods starting with the oldest to newest methods---- 1------visually looking at a bird and deciding on the sex by the visual shape of certain areas ( head and eye angles).--the big problem was that a bird had to be a fully mature bird and yet, that method wasn't 100% 2------surgical sexing which was the first guaranteed way to sex a bird. This method is guaranteed to be 100% successful, results are immediate but the procedure was aninternal. 3------DNA testing which guaranteed the sex of the bird with no internal procedure. This results are 100% guaranteed but the results aren't available for 2 wks. Vets won't suggest the internal method unless told to do the procedure. So the only thing people here want to know is why an internal method was chosen over an external method. There's absolutely nothing more ( information wise) that an internal surgical exam will tell as opposed to a DNA external test. Quite a while back, breeders were actually happy when DNA testing was introduced and guaranteed. It allowed a breeder to tell customers exactly what the sex was and the bird never had to leave the breeder's home until the customer was finally ready to take the bird home. Edited November 2, 2011 by Dave007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheri21 Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I agree with Dave007 as I think that is what we are wondering about and maybe you could tell us something we don't know. I had my baby sexed by a simple blood test and results we back in one week. It really didn't matter if it was a boy or girl we just wanted to know and it was just a simple matter of quicking the nail and sending in blood smear. Please don't be offended by our curiosity.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life is Greyt Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 Not offended at all, just concerned that everyone was going to read this thread and think I am some horrible bird mommy for electing for surgical sexing. Dave, I appreciate your input and understand that sexing may have never been controversial here before-however, the reaction that I got from birdhouse made me feel that I was somehow going against the grain with the general consensus here. The first post after I mentioned specifically surgical sexing asked me why I chose that. I replied, and was then was asked "if there was any reason for this baby to have elective surgery." which, to me, seems as if it was pushing the issue. I have no problem with curiosity, as it is what drew me to this forum in the first place. That being said, initial posts were not just in curiosity, but more an accusatory tone. I never said sexing was a debated topic here-only that I see how it could be one. All I said was surgical sexing vs sexing and the 2nd post to the thread was asking why. I answered. Again, this thread was meant to share my baby. What has happened is that I now feel like I should just go back into quietly reading posts and not posting anything, as I did when I first joined. The reasons that the breeder and I discussed are 1) surgical sexing is 100% accurate 2) it allows the vet to visualize internal organs and check for any visual deformities 3) quicking the nail is very painful 4) bird will be permanently marked under the wing as male or female giving another form of id (though I am also having her microchipped) I'm like you Cheri, I don't care if it's a boy or girl, but need to know for informational purposes if that was ever needed for medical reasons. I fear that posting the reasons will only inspire further discussion of surgical vs non surgical methods, but i hope not. I also hope that I will still be a welcomed member of the forum because this is my first grey. Even though I'm reading everything I can get my hands on-I love having this forum and the experts here as a resource. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pikachu Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 We chose the DNA testing bc another blood test was being performed already. We knew in a matter of days. Otherwise we would have had the surgical sexing. There is a traveling vet that comes to my area & it could have been done during the rest of the exam. I think people were just wondering why, not really questioning your decision - "surgical sexing" sounds a lot more invasive than it really is. Our baby has been home about a month and a half. It is sooo worth the wait! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life is Greyt Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 Thanks pikachu I agree-From how it has been explained to me, it's not as invasive as it sounds. My little girl will also be done by a traveling vet-most likely the same one since my breeder tells me is all he does is travel around and surgically sex birds. I think I was just put on the defensive by some of the initial comments made. As I have said, this will be my first grey and I am trying my best to make all the right decisions with the information at hand. I never meant to come off rude, and had a comment like yours been made much earlier in the conversation I might not have gotten my feathers as ruffled. I want so much just to do right for my little girl. I have already been through one bad experience where I bonded to a different baby grey and didn't get to bring that baby home-because of poor medical choices made by those raising that baby-so I am pretty sensitive about medical care choices for her. Anyways, I hope I haven't come off looking like a total jerk, but, at the same time, I hope others can see how some of the comments that were made at first could easily be taken as negative and not just curious. Moving forward, I hope to not ruffle anyone else's feathers on here and just enjoy the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life is Greyt Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 on another note-I have no idea why the pics I uploaded are so huge...I used photobucket but apparently I didn't do it correctly. SO, until I get it figured out you guys get monster baby pics!! But at least she is a cutie!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianlinkles Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Yes she is very, very cute! I too have a baby grey she is 15 weeks old. I truly was just curious and at the same time being a new grey owner myself was wondering if there was a benefit that I missed out by having Dorothy dna'd by a blood sample. I know how you feel wanting to do the best by your baby. I was afraid to admit that I was bringing home an unweaned baby. However, I too did lots & lots of research and decided that this was what I wanted to do. However, I have to say that this forum is very nice and understanding and I have always felt that everyone was giving good advice and not judging. I truly was just wondering if I missed out on something important with my baby. Also, I had such a difficult time coming up with a name! Actually I had a name for a boy but could not come up with a girls name. Finally my 14 year old said why not Dorothy, she has a ruby red tail like Dorothy's ruby red slippers! Well, we all loved the explanation and now it seems to fit her! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life is Greyt Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 I love that name! That is too cute! I feel better now that I know I'm not the only one struggling for a name. I think and think and think and nothing seems to fit her yet. The baby I had selected before her, from a different breeder, was totally easy to name. I picked his name after seeing him one time...but, alas, he wasn't meant to be mine. This little girl is though, and I think that's why she's such a challenge for me to name. Sorry if I came off wrong-I was on the defensive and that wasn't very fair to you. I don't think you missed out on any benefits. But then again, I am definitely no expert. Seems like it is more of a preference thing from breeder to breeder. Wow, I am impressed that you were able to raise an unweaned baby. The idea terrified me so much that I knew from day one I would be letting the breeder raise my baby til he/she was on pellets. She says she may be ready to go home around Christmas, which would be a WONDERFUL present for us!!! I called her "peeper" the other day and kinda thought it was a cute little nickname, but not sure if it will stick as a name or not. Thanks for the support-I'm pretty anxious and nervous all at once right now. I think this must be the kind of nervous anticipation that new parents feel when they are going to bring their new human baby home from the hospital-except I still have 2 more months to wait to bring my little one home!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malikah Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 She's just precious. Congratulations! p.s. Not to keep stirring the pot, but I had Kito feather sexed. I don't think it's the most accurate, but good enough for us and she didn't even notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life is Greyt Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 It's ok malikah pot not stirred. Thanks...I am so happy that she picked me <3 Your babies, all of them, are just gorgeous too!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianlinkles Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 How about the name Piper? I love that name and it is close to the nickname you are calling her? I had 2 1/2 pages of a spiral notebook filled with names. My husband and I could not agree on a name. (I don't know how we ever named our daughters together! LOL) I had lots of names I liked but it was a different story for us BOTH to agree! Then add in the opinions of a 14 & 11 year old girl and well you get the idea! I was obsessed with finding a name while waiting for Dorothy to come home, I was driving everyone in the house nuts! Everytime someone sat down in the family room I was asking them about names! Good luck thinking of one, post your choices! She really is so cute! I love the chubby baby face! Dorothy just took her first flight two days ago and seems so skinny to me. I have taken her back to her breeder several times so they could check her, they keep telling me that it is normal for them to loose weight when they fledge however I can't help but worry about every little thing! She is really giving me a hard time with the formula now, she seems to be weaning however I really would like her to put on a bit of weight. I don't like being able to feel her keel bone! I tend to be a worrier, my husband keeps telling me to stop worrying and that this should be a fun time! Well, it is fun but stressful at the same time! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Life is Greyt Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 Piper is cute. I have had a few ideas, but, much like your situation, my boyfriend vetoed them. He says I can name her whatever I want, but it's pretty obvious when he's not too fond of certain names...lol. I can understand how you must be stressed...I know I will be a total worrywart when she comes home. The breeder says she is probably only a week or two from her first flight...I wish I could be there for it but the chances of me happening to be there are slim to none. It's so neat that you are there with her for every milestone. Do you have any pics of your girl? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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