sex of a lovebird?

can you really tell the sex of a love bird...because i think mine is a boy, but everyone keeps on telling me that you can never be sure cuz theres no absolute way to tell....i know hes a male by the way he acts..but i was wondering if theres a specific way to tell. thanks

NOBODY KNOWS....its been three days..

There is a lab, I believe it is called Avian Biotech, that send out a kit that you use to collect a DNA sample from the bird. You have at least two options, pull out a blood feather, or clip a nail and collect a drop of blood. You send the sample back to them and for a fee, ~$25, they process the DNA and tell you if it's male or female.

I have the package at home. I can look at it for the web address and post it later for you. Or, you can try a browser search on the lab name.

Here ya' go. I found it for you.
http://www.avianbiotech.com/

thanks..well i already know mine is a male...for..specific reasons..hes always rubbing his butt on the top of the curtain..lol...but i just wanted to know how to check...thanks..so i guess you cant check by just...feeling then?

Originally Posted by ladyserpent7

thanks..well i already know mine is a male...for..specific reasons..hes always rubbing his butt on the top of the curtain..lol...but i just wanted to know how to check...thanks..so i guess you cant check by just...feeling then?

Few bird species have anything like a penis. They do it cloaca to cloaca. In the olden days, 20 years ago, the only way to check was by laparoscope.

oh...good to know...thanks

I don't know how I missed this thread but better late than never, I guess.

I raise peachfaced lovebirds. I am about 99% right when I sex them.

Yours is a male because he's rubbing himself. A female will tear pieces of paper into long, thin strips and tuck them in her tail. Most males can't do this but I do have a few older breeder males who learend how to do it as well as any female can. They learned this later on because when I originally sexed them as babies they could not tear & tuck the paper.

You can also check the pelvic bones. The female pelvic bones are almost the width of your index finger. A male's pelvic bones are closer together. Feel them very lightly, don't push or you could injure the bird.

Handfed males are also usually nicer than females. A lot less bity. But there are exceptions to that. I have several males as pets and one female pet. The males are always sweet and I've only been bitten a handful of times by them all combined. But Wilma, now that's another story. Most of the time she's a sweetie pie but every now & then she will get all bity and it's usually around the time she is about to lay an egg.

yah....thats all true...i have to agree, my uncle used to breed them...my last female was vicious...VICIOUS...so we gave her back to my uncle to get married and we would visit her..but my bird now...mish mish...im just in awe with him..hes so loving and affectionate and..i just love him to death...and its the cutest thing..hell try to rip the paper and hell just keep chewing one spot...awwww...well..while were on the subject...how do i get him to stop humping the curtain..or should that be another thread....thanks