SEX DETERMINATION

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="4cdfd5a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B> Aviculture Microbiology Foundation, Inc.</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE=" Aviculture Microbiology Foundation, Inc"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id84.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="THE PATHOGEN VS. THE PATHOGENESIS:"><U>THE PATHOGEN VS. THE PATHOGENESIS:</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="4ced2b03.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="id102.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="HAND FEEDING BABY BIRDS"><U>HAND FEEDING BABY BIRDS</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#CCCCFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>SEX DETERMINATION</I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>DETERMINING THE SEX OF YOUR BIRD</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Thomas L Goldsmith, DVM MS</B></div> <bR> <div> Most animals are conveniently blessed with outward clues that help us determine their sex. It may be antlers, feather color, or of course genitals.</div> <div> We humans need obvious in-your-face giveaways. Subtleties are lost on us. To be sure, however, they are not lost on those they are intended for.</div> <div> Most parrot species have no obvious sex determining visual clues. The classic exception is the Eclectus Parrot. The male is jade green and the female is red. For many years these were even assumed to be two separate species. But for the most part parrots are indistinguishable to the untrained eye. After years of working with a type of parrot, people can get pretty good at sorting out males from females by beak shape, head shape, size of brow, or have discovered what they are convinced are little known subtle giveaways in the feather pattern. Some of these are consistent and dependable. Others are just wishful thinking.</div> <bR> <div> Another element that can serve as a strong clue to sex in some parrot species – other than egg laying, which is one of my favorites, is distinctive behavior and personality. The classic is the lovebird. The male lovebird is a sweet, loving, non-aggressive darling. The female on the other hand is a biting, vindictive, vengeful little witch. Subtle but reliable.</div> <div> Another classic example is the amazon parrot. Ironically the roles are reversed. Generally, the only amazons people want to get rid of are males.</div> <div> The females remain sweet pets, but male amazons, on reaching puberty at four or five years, turn into nasty creatures, just looking for a chance to bite those nearest and dearest to them. But other than those two extreme cases, behavior cannot be used reliably as a clue to the sex of your bird.</div> <div> Science steps in with two very reliable methods to determine the sex of your bird. One is by analyzing the chromosomes, and the other is by visual inspection of the gonads (or internal genitals).</div> <bR> <div> Chromosomal analysis has been made financially accessible to everyone. It is relatively inexpensive and 100% safer and reliable. All that is needed is a few drops of blood. These are sent to a special lab, which will return a certificate stating the sex of the tested bird.</div> <div> These procedures can theoretically be carried out on a one day old bird if for some reason that was desired. The limitation of this technology is that the only thing you find out is the sex of your bird and even that can take two weeks.</div> <bR> <div> Direct visualization of the sex organs is commonly referred to as "surgical sexing". In birds the ovaries and testicles are located just in front of the kidney. Visual inspection requires a fiber-optic scope such as the instrument used to look inside and operate in human knees. However rapid and minor, this is still a surgery. Anesthesia is required and the body cavity is entered. A bird with a hidden health problem, or even a full stomach could be at increased risk. This obviously is a procedure that must be left to an experienced avian veterinarian. Hard and fast rules are adhered to, and the doctor will be on the lookout for any one of many signs of potential danger. But for all this, surgical sexing is still the method preferred by hobbyists and professional breeders. Why? Because in the hands of an avian specialist, it is an extremely fast procedure, and because so much more can be learned about the bird’s health and breeding status.</div> <div> In the process of reaching and inspecting the sex organs, your veterinarian can assess the health of the lungs, liver, heart, kidneys and spleen. In addition the sex organs can be analyzed for breeding status and the presence of disease. These factors are very important to anyone wishing to breed their bird, or intending to buy birds and needing to know if there are any hidden surprises. The entire process takes between one and three minutes, and is much cheaper than chromosonal analysis.</div> <div> If you should decide to have your bird surgically sexed, ask enough questions to know whether your veterinarian feels comfortable and is equipped to sex birds.</div> <div> Take all food and water away for two to four hours prior to anesthesia (the bird will be able to eat immediately after waking up,) and be very honest with your veterinarian regarding any past or possible health problems. It may be the perfect time to also have the annual health check carried out as the bird will already be asleep and will not experience any additional stress from blood and bacterial sampling.</div> <div> As more advanced and remarkable techniques become available it is easier to understand why there has been such specialization in veterinary medicine, and why it is imperative to search out the services of veterinarians with specialized interests.</div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>