QuestionYes, true alibino. Chirps up a storm and is with another male. Cere color in the other bird is blue, but I'm just not sure about the Alibino. How do I do the DNA sexing w/out a vet?
Thanks.
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Followup To
Question -
Hi,
I have an Alibino Parakeet. Is determining the sex the same as a "normal" parakeet? The cere appears to be more of a pinkish color and the bird is approximately 2 years old.
Thanks,
Greg
Answer -
Hi, Greg. Thanks for posting.
Do you have a true albino keet? Eyes will be red if a true albino. If eyes are not red, then this is not a true albino (a bird can be all white with black/dark eyes and not be albino). Male keets are usually pretty vocal and their behavior is often different than a female. Males kind of "stand tall" on their perches and prance around like they own the place, whereas females tend to be more docile, they chirp but don't have a distinct song/verbalize as much as a male.
With a pinkish cere at 2 years of age, I wouldn't even want to guess at your keet's sex! If you want or need to know for sure, you can have your keet DNA sexed (costs $20 if you do yourself...let me know if you want information on this) OR purchase (or borrow) a known male and put the two together and see how they get along together. Two females will most likely fight/bicker with each other...two males normally get along well with each other. You could also try putting up a nestbox or some type of nest and see if s/he lays eggs (a single female bird can lay infertile eggs without benefit of a male).
Chrys
AnswerHi again, Greg.
Here's a website that I use to DNA sex any parrots I need to:
http://www.avianbiotech.com/
You can call them to order free sexing kits (or order them via their website I believe). Then follow the instructions that come with the kit. It's very easy...just clip a toenail a little too short until it bleeds a little bit. Place a few drops of blood on the card the Lab will send you, write a check, put all in an envelope, and mail. You should have results in about a week, depending on how busy the Lab is. You can also send in a blood feather, but I don't like doing this, as you have to pull out a blood feather from the bird's body and it hurts!
Clipping the toenail is also easy...same as trimming a dog's nails if you have experience doing this. If you need help to know how to do this part, let me know.
Come back if you need to.
Chrys