How can you tell if a lovebird is a boy or girl?

[bickitrainer]

I'm not sure about Bicki...

I say 'good boy' all the time when I praise him, what if he is actually a girl??

Also, if I get Bicki a mate, would he lose the bonding with me?

[robert]

bickitrainer,The best way of telling,is by taking the lovie to a vet.If you get another lovie,it is extremely unlikely that biki would bond to you as much.Bicki mate would be the other bird,and you an extra person,so to speak. If you want to breed lovies I recommend you to breed other lovies ,and not inclue Biki. I would like to have a response from Rodney Money ,of www.trueloveaviary.blogspot.com for this. Even his breeders are tame. Still because Lovies have an intense bonding with their mate,I find it unlikey that they would be as tame. from Robert and Angel

[bickitrainer]

Ok thanks. It's just that with school and stuff I don't have as much time to spend with him so I was thinking of getting him a mate.

If I do take him to a vet, would it cost a lot?

[robert]

The Vet would probably charge around 25 dollars. But make you go to a bird vet. best. Robert and Angel

[trueloveaviary]

As long as you keep a routine and give your lovebird or lovebirds a reason to want to come out of their cage, (playgrounds, toys, etc.) they will stay tame. That is how our breeders stay tame. After playtime, I shake their treat container and they fly back to their cages to their food dish.
~Rodney

[trueloveaviary]

How tame is your lovebird now?
~Rodney

[bickitrainer]

Bicki is very tame, he hesitates going back in his cage. Every morning he's excited to come out. He also hates being alone, if you leave the room, he will keep calling you. And if you are on the other side of the room, he tries to fly on you. He always needs to be with someone.

I really think Bicki is a boy......I hope so too...

[robert]

As far as sexing goes this is more thorough. " To sex birds like this,you need to perform some sort of medical test. There are several methods used to determine gender. Blood sexing requires a couple drops of blood out of the bird's toenail,and a laborarory actually looks at the DNA in the blood to determine gender. This method is quite safe and relatively painless,but it takes 2 weeks to get results. Feather sexing requires two growing blood feathers, and examines the chromosomes in the feather tissue to determine the sex of the bird.This method needs a steady hand to pull out those feathers,but is almost painless for the bird. Results take about 2 weeks. Surgical testing requires that the bird be put under anesthesia. A small incision is made in the bird's side, and a scope is inserted into the incision. The veterinarian actually looks at the sex organs through the scope.Results are immediate,but there is always some danger to the bird from the anesthesia, and from post-operative complications. I recommend the feather sexing,or the blood sexing methods when it's time to get your bird sexed." hope helpfull from Robert and Angel

[bickitrainer]

Thanks for all the information..

The breeder I got Bicki from told me there was another way to determine if they were a boy or girl, it required feeling around their bum. Have you heard of it? THey say that if you feel two balls that are close together, then its a boy and if the two balls are far apart or seperated, then its a girl.

Well... I did it, and Bicki is a boy. 0_0

[avinet]

That's true to some extent but is rarely 100% reliable. What you are feeling is the two ends of the pelvic girdle of the bird - corresponding to our hips I guess. In a mature male these two bones you can feel are pretty close together, around 3 or 4 mm perhaps, and in a mature female ready to lay they are wide apart to allow the egg to pass through - maybe up to 10 mm apart.

The problem is, I said above in a mature bird - a young female will have them close together and it is only when they become sexually mature that the bones tend to spread. Also an adult female not in breeding cycle may have the bones quite close together, certainly close enough to confuse with a male. Finally when a mature female in breeding cycle is caught up in an aviary the stress can cause the bones to move together and it can appear at first to be a male, however in this case holding the bird for a few minutes will result in her relaxing and the bones will spread apart.

So, if the bones are wide apart you can be fairly certain it is a female but if they are close together you are always uncertain about the sex of the lovebird.

From what I remember your bird Bicki is still pretty young and so don't rely on the bones at this stage to tell what sex he (she) is. If it is important to know, get a DNA sexing done (http://www.mdsaustralia.net/site/default.asp)

cheers,

Mike

[mydoona]

robert said:

The Vet would probably charge around 25 dollars. But make you go to a bird vet. best. Robert and Angel

really? my vet wanted to charge me $120.00 for a dna test.
I said no thanks.

[mydoona]

be careful, I got another lovebird for Keiko for when I am at work and although they do occasionally preen each other,Keiko has a 'mine' mentality and won't let Mardi get anywhere near anything because everything is his.

[pinkdevil]

You can get a DNA test sent in the mail. Just take a blood or feather sample and return it. In a week or 2 the results are either emailed or posted. The cost is about $15 per bird I think from memory + the test kits & postage costs. But no more than $25 all up.