Is It True You Can Sex A Lovebird By It's Tail Shape?

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Is It True You Can Sex A Lovebird By It's Tail Shape?

Postby HarpSpirit on Tue Oct 31, 2006 6:28 am

I have read somewhere on the Internet that you can tell what sex a Lovebird is by the shape of their tail. They had a daigram showing a pointed tail and a more square tail. And the pointed tail was a male. I notice my Lovie has a pointed tail.

Has anybode else heard of this method of sexing Lovebirds and is it accurate?

Thanks for any help.
:)


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Postby brimonster on Tue Oct 31, 2006 3:57 pm

The best time to sex by tails is when they are disturbed or alarmed, they will pull their tails into the position normal for them, pointed for males, square for females. Another way to tell is by looking at how it stands on the perch. Mature males will stand with their legs closer together than mature females. These are never 100% accurate and it will only work if the bird is sexually mature (about 1+ years old). Personally, I like pelvic-sexing for mature birds, I have found it to be 100% accurate when I have done it, but it may not stay that way, the more I do. I also like to use my lone female to sex birds for me. She will automatically get into breeding position for a male but will just tweet at females. Hope this helps you!
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Postby Robin VZ on Tue Oct 31, 2006 6:00 pm

The only way to know for sure is to either have the bird sexed (DNA or surgical) or by finding an egg in the cage. Pelvic sexing is more a matter of the tilt of the pelvic bones in a young bird than the spacing. Unless a hen is in laying condition, you may not find a lot of difference. An experienced breeder may make a pretty good educated guess with pelvic sexing but it's never 100%.
With eyering species you may see a difference in the shape of the eye.
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DNA

Postby Cathy on Wed Nov 01, 2006 11:51 pm

If you need to know the sex of your bird because you want to get another one you need to get it DNAed. It is very easy to request a kit and send in a couple of feathers. My breeder has been breeding birds for years and she says that she only gets the sex of the bird right by feeling the pelvis about 70% of the time. It cost me $25 dollars to find out the sex of my bird before I bought it but it was worth it because I didn't want another nesty female.

If a breeder told me that they could determine the sex of a baby by feeling with any more than 50% accuracy I would start looking for another source of a baby bird!
Yankee-BH Caique, hd 6-27-06; Twinkie de Oro-yellow male parrotlet, hd 6-25-08; Brody, Finlay, & Ravyn--Yorkies; (Jasmine-beloved parrotlet, 11-14-03 to 06-24-07)
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Postby brimonster on Thu Nov 02, 2006 11:34 am

I just want to make it clear- I'm not talking about baby birds. I'm talking about mature adults. And like I said, SO FAR it has been 100% accurate but with statistics, the more I do, the more I will have wrong. If the bird is tense, it is not accurate because they are tensing up the pelvic region and they will all feel male. When I got my first breeding pair, the guy I bought them from picked up one of the birds I wanted, it screamed bloody murder the whole time (which is common with male lovebirds) and he sexed it to be a male from the pelvic bone. He had to wait until it calmed down before he did anything. The second bird I wanted (and I told him) I wanted it to me male. He picked it up and waited (this one was not a screamer). He checked the pelvic and said it was female. Now, I knew he wasn't trying to get me to buy it since I wanted a male but I decided since she was nice enough, I would get her as a pet. Well, he was accurate on the sexing and now those two are my main breeders. Yes, DNA sexing is really the only way to be 100% accurate unless you send it to the wrong company. Avian Biotech does all of my sexing, I never just go by pelvic, tails, or behavior. If I want to be certain, I will have it DNA'd. Even surgical sexing can be iffy if the doctor doesn't know what he/she is doing. I'm just saying that the tail thing has been done for years, is in many reputable books but should not be used as a 100% guaranteed method. I'm sorry if I sounded cocky or know-it-all. I just wanted to say what I have experienced personally.
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Thanks For The Ino Everybody!

Postby HarpSpirit on Fri Nov 03, 2006 11:15 am

Being Solo is still a young bird...it would be too hard to tell for sure.....when he gets older it will be interesting to watch for the tail configuration and his "stance". Since I only plan to have one....I won't worry about DNA testing at this point.

But I said that when I got my first Cockatiel....then somehow I got another one... M.B.S. (Multiple Bird Syndrome) comes on suddenly sometimes...LOL!
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