ranaz Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 So I've taken Pookie to an avian vet last week. Pookie has just turned 1 year old and I wanted to be sure he is doing fine. Apparently avian medicine around here (Nancy, France) is not so advanced. I have previously lived in Abu Dhabi and I used to consult a great vet over there (for my previous grey). We did routine checkups every 6 months with beak and nail trim, and blood work once a year to be sure all is fine. He used to prick Kookie in the skin area just above teh nail, obtain a drop of blood and use a sealant to prevent bleeding. All happens in few minutes and bird leaves happy and comfortable. Here in France, the vet said physical examination is enough. He wouldnt wanna take a blood sample unless its really necessary, and in order to do that he has to give some gaz to the bird to anesthetize him inorder to obtain a blood sample. I described to him how it used to happen with my other bird, but he says this technique is not used anymore!!! Well anyway, I was not convinced, he did a physical test and confirmed Pookie to be in good health. As for DNA test, he suggested that I better do that by plucking 2 or 3 feathers and sending them to the lab to sex them. I am not really sure how to do that, do you guys have any suggestions on which feathers and how? Is it traumatizing to the bird? Is it better that I do this myself or to have the vet do it? I am not sure it is necessary cos I love the baby anyway, but it would be nice to know the sex. Thank you all in advance for your advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inara Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 (edited) Hi Rana, I found this link describing the process. Messing with blood feathers, I'd rather have my vet do it, because I'm chicken. Interesting, because my old vet used to use that same foot prick method of obtaining blood. I haven't had to have HRH Inara's blood work done yet, as she came to me clear and was already sexed, so I don't know what method my current vet will do this summer to draw blood when Inara turns three. My current vet says that she likes to run a blood test about every three years (barring the case of an emergency). Your Pookie is so beautiful! Edited April 18, 2014 by Inara 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I'm clucking right along there with you... I'm chicken to do it myself as well. I finally decided I just didn't need to know that much! When it is time for bloodwork, I will ask for the gender test. Pookie is beautiful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I had Ana Grey's breeder pluck a few feathers as her last act. That way, she was the bad guy not me. I popped them in the collect bag the sexing place sent me and all was good. My cag, came sexed by his breeder and my zon also came to me as being sexed by the former owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranaz Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 Thank you guys. Honestly I do not have the heart to pluck feathers myself. If someone has already done this, please share the experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Sorry... Sophie came DNA sexed. Kiki came with DNA sex when we got her as a baby. We have no idea what Sunny"s DNA sex is, but as he use to walk out and complain about the girls sinking his rope, as he was stuck in the middle... I suspect he is a boy. Doesn't matter, but I can understand why people want to know the sex of their baby. I would want to know too. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muse Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 I don't like the feather method of DNA collection. The only time I have had to pull a feather was when it got broken, and was bleeding. The affected bird, Maks, bit me quite hard and screamed like I was killing him. I imagine it does not feel good. We have had all of ours but the budgie, Aria, sexed by short-clipping a toenail into the quick. You only need one drop of blood for the test. The person doing it will clip the nail, wipe a special card over it to get the drop of blood on a small spot of the absorbent paper, and then stop the bleeding using a powder or cornstarch. Some were done at the pet store, some were done at the vet. Marden and Megan were sexed when we got them. Maks is the only one who hasn't been sexed, and I am convinced he is a male just from his attitude (and he sings beautifully and is quite chatty). Alex, the green cheeked conures and finally Aria have all been DNA sexed. Aria's was done along with other blood work during one of her vet visits, via blood draw. The vet did say the toenail method is often insufficient because their toenails (and thus the quick) are so tiny that they are often unable to get enough blood for the sample (it has to be a decent sized drop of blood). Which, failing to get the blood, requires a draw anyway. Our vets draw from the right jugular, which looks a bit scary to someone untrained, but they have all been very good about it. We had one vet that preferred the medial metatarsal, but I am told that it is a smaller vein and harder to get a good sample from. Either way, venipuncture appears to be less painful. I have yet to have any of the birds scream in pain or otherwise indicate it is hurting them. I have had single hairs ripped out and know that oddly, one single hair seems to hurt worse than several for some reason! I cannot imagine yanking a feather out of one of the babies unless it was an emergency (broken blood feather). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranaz Posted April 18, 2014 Author Share Posted April 18, 2014 Hi Rana, I found this link describing the process. Messing with blood feathers, I'd rather have my vet do it, because I'm chicken. Interesting, because my old vet used to use that same foot prick method of obtaining blood. I haven't had to have HRH Inara's blood work done yet, as she came to me clear, so I don't know what method my current vet will do this summer when Inara turns three. My current vet says that she likes to run a blood test about every three years (barring the case of an emergency). Your Pookie is so beautiful! Thank you for the link I will check it out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam Pam Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Hi, I'm new to this forum. My name is Pam Pam. I just had to go through feather sexing my bird because she/he? had just destroyed all the long feathers on his/her body. Tail feathers went first, but I knew what caused THAT incident. We had a 911 crew with ambulance, lights, yelling, hysteria so no wonder. A month later, though, one wing was naked of flight feathers. Before all the other long feathers were gone, I read online at DNA Solutions and realized they needed two LONG feathers to do their test. If you have a tool that locks in place once you clamp onto the feather, it isn't a big deal. Just support the wing securely with your left hand and quickly and firmly pull the feather out with the locked, clamped tool. I have a surgical tool for closing off bleeders. That's what I used. In the instructions they will tell you to put the two feathers in your own zip lock bag, mail to them with the bird's name and your return address. It cost around $20 and if you have them email back your results, you don't have to pay an extra $5 for the certificate to be mailed to you. I didn't need a certificate mailed to me so I went the cheaper route. It took them about 7 days to send my email. I was pleased with their low cost and simple process. I hope this helps you! Happy Easter! Pam Pam 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam Pam Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 PS: The surgical tool I mentioned for closing off bleeders is for humans, not bird feathers which are also called bleeders. I'm sorry for the confusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbersmom Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Hello and welcome Pam Pam! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kins2321@yahoo.com Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 If you can get a DNA sample thru a blood draw... it should always be thru a venipuncture. Very safe, limited pain. NO WAY thru feather pulling! That is very painful, and the bleeding is not always controlled. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted April 20, 2014 Share Posted April 20, 2014 I watched the breeder pull a few feathers from under the wings. No bleeding or even a sound. She popped them into a baggie and I sent it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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