Male or Female

[Tyrion]

Not that it really matters but I think Lagatha my Blue Fronted Amazon is a male. She has been really coming out of her shell the past year and is now displaying her feathers several times a day. She will fan out her tail and spread her wings and call with a head flip . Its pretty cute to see her displaying considering that she has been a perch potato since I got her about 6 years ago from a hoarded household. She now responds to her name and calls back to me. She is playing with her toys more and spending time all over her cage. I love seeing that she is becoming a bird again . I have looked up male displays and its almost the same as to what she is doing. So maybe she is male . I have read that there is a DNA sexing test that you can do at home and send it in has anyone done this ?

 

[Shezbug]

I believe there are some members who have sent off for DNA themselves- I just can’t think of who I’m sorry.
Breeders also generally send their own test samples off to be DNA’d.
I believe it’s as simple as either plucking a belly feather or clipping a nail to get a drop or two of blood. (No matter which of these ways I was to choose, I would much rather make the vet do it so they’re the bad guy lol)
I don’t believe it’s overly pricey to get the vet to do it for you next time you’re in getting a yearly check up.

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

I always used Avian Biotech years ago. I always did a blood sample using the test cards they sent me when I requested them. You can choose to use a feather sample kit but you must pull fresh feathers for this test. The blood test I clipped a nail enough to get a sample. You need a good coagulant on hand to stop the bleeding and do during the day when you are there to monitor your birds nail to make sure the bleeding has stopped. It does cost more to have your vet do it for you but worth it to not stress the relationship with your bird.
Back then it was 19.50 for the blood dna and 24.50 for the feather dna.

www.avianbiotech

 

[Clueless]

I had the vet do it. Too easy to lose too much blood (for the Amazon owner as well as the bird!)

 

[Greylady1966]

Billy's previous home had his DNA done. We had the vet do Howard's when she did bloodwork on him. A lot easier and I think safer.

 

[Tyrion]

Well I was playing around with some Blue Fronted Amazon calls on YouTube and she loved it she moved closer to me and then started to display and call back .It was so cute seeing her call back ..she is really becoming a bird instead of a perch potato

 

[melissasparrots]

Females can potentially fan their tail and display as much as a male. You will probably need a DNA test to know for sure. Unless she lays an egg. I've done a lot of at home DNA tests from AvianBiotech. It tends to be a two person job. One person to restrain and hold the bird. Another to clip the nail and get the blood on the card. Then apply flour, corn starch or quick stop to make it stop bleeding. Then put the bird back in its cage and leave it alone and keep everything calm so it clots well. Results come back within a week. Or, you can just have the vet do it. Unless an egg is laid, it's almost pointless to speculate based on behavior. Males are more likely to have over the top, attack you from across the room aggression. But, that can be highly dependent on the individual, and some females will do that to.

 

[Fuzzy]

I used a kit to DNA Bobbie as I suspected she was a hen despite her 2 previous homes saying she was definitely a male. I bought the kit very cheaply but couldn’t bring myself to pluck some feathers. As luck would have it (not for poor Bobbie!) she crash landed a few months later and lost a load of feathers. I risked it and sent them off - if there wasn’t enough dna on the bases, I would just have to do it again properly. They had enough - the results were female.

Lagatha looks like a male to me from that photo. A male usually has a flatter, wider head and heavier beak. A female’s head is usually more rounded usually with a “stop” above the beak. The male’s head is more of a smooth arc from the beak to the head when not fluffed. Of course this is not 100% accurate. But that is my guess.

 

[SumitaSinh]

I used a kit to DNA Bobbie as I suspected she was a hen despite her 2 previous homes saying she was definitely a male. I bought the kit very cheaply but couldn’t bring myself to pluck some feathers. As luck would have it (not for poor Bobbie!) she crash landed a few months later and lost a load of feathers. I risked it and sent them off - if there wasn’t enough dna on the bases, I would just have to do it again properly. They had enough - the results were female.

Lagatha looks like a male to me from that photo. A male usually has a flatter, wider head and heavier beak. A female’s head is usually more rounded usually with a “stop” above the beak. The male’s head is more of a smooth arc from the beak to the head when not fluffed. Of course this is not 100% accurate. But that is my guess.

Is there any feature like that for orange winged also?

 

[Fuzzy]

Is there any feature like that for orange winged also?

Yes, it applies to all species of Amazons, Pionus, Greys and probably a lot more. It also applies to Cockatoos, but I’m not so familiar with them so I wouldn’t like to hazard a guess with them, although eye colour can help somewhat.

 

[Tyrion]

Thanks everyone ..Like I said it doesnt matter much with me ..she does have the head of a male though if you really look at it ..I just thought it was funny the displaying and calling the past few weeks as she has never done anything like this in the past 6 years I have had her...I guess she is finally feeling comfortable enough to do these things and she is also trying to speak ..first word was REDRUM ..LOL

 

[Clueless]

No way! Really @Tyrion ???

 

[Tyrion]

Yep ..REDRUM was very weird hearing that come out of her beak and now she has Tyrion saying it ..LOL

 

[Fuzzy]

How funny!!