Are My Feather-kids Boys or Girls?

My grandparents adopted Mango sometime around 1997, perhaps, and Loki maybe a year or two later (we're still going through records to pin down more exact dates).

I don't know anything about Mango's background. I don't know if he's been DNA-sexed, how old he is, or how many homes he's had. He is a mysterious, day-glo bird.

"I am wary. And glow-in-the-dark. One wrong move and I'll burst your eardrums."

Loki's background was also varied as well as vague. The people they adopted him from had dogs and children. Loki sometimes barked like a dog, which was cute. The children beat the cage with sticks whenever Loki screamed for attention, which was decidedly NOT cute. My grandparents were informed that Loki had been in at least three homes prior to the current owners... so we really had no idea if he was male or female, or even how old he was. Although DNA-sexing was an option back then, it was expensive. Since my grandparents didn't intend to breed him, they never thought it was necessary. Loki was called "him" and he was considered to be a boy.

LOOK AT THAT FACE. How could you ever get mad at that.

Fast forward some number of years...

When I first inherited the birds, veterinary care for Loki was a top priority because his nails were so overgrown he could have easily gotten them hooked on a bar of his cage and gotten stuck. In that case, a bird could become dangerously dehydrated, starve, or break the nail and bleed profusely. I decided that since I was taking him to the vet, I might as well get a full work-up including fecal exam, blood work, and... you guessed it, a DNA test!

He was a total champion during the vet visit, considering he probably hadn't been handled in months/years and hadn't been in a pet carrier in more than 10 years. He wanted to be on my shoulder the entire time, so the vet did the physical exam from there. There was one heart-melting moment when Loki was trying to bury himself a la ostrich in my hair, and the vet said, "Aww, you love your mama don't you?" And then I pretty much died from a cute-attack because I realized, "OH MY GOD I AM HIS MAMA NOW." (Sniffle, tear... I died) Loki wasn't as calm for the bloodwork, which the vet took from his neck; backup was summoned to help hold a wiggly bitey bird. Nail trimming also required an extra set of hands, but went very quickly.

I talked with the vet for a bit, then paid my first ever feather-kid vet bill, and got Loki home and back to the safety of his cage. I was "hot lava" (credit to Liz for that term, I plan to use it a lot) for about 24 hours. After some gentle talking, head scritches, and dried papaya, I was forgiven.

$300 and one week later, I got a phone call...

Loki is a boy! It's what I expected, but it's also a relief to know for sure. I never have to worry about him laying an egg (which is caused by all sorts of hormonal issues that can snowball into larger problems). His blood work came back looking good, all within normal levels, and his poo tested negative for parasites. Hooray for a healthy Loki!

I'm waiting to get Mango DNA-tested for when the feather-kids arrive in San Diego and I can take them to the vet here for Mango's full work-up and micro-chipping for the both of them.

6 weeks and 2 days to go! Not that I'm counting or anything...