Question about dna testing a bird?

Question

A friend of mine was given a bird by an old lady whose husband is sick & they have decided to travel around the countr y before he dies. There is no doubt the bird was hers she brought him in cuddling him & he obviously adoresher.he has not had a wing clipped. Now another lady is saying the bird is hers & demanding a dna test. she cannot produce any evidence - like a photo of him & claims she doesnt have papers cause she took him from the wild & this is illegal. she also says hes only a few years old & that she lost him about 2 years ago. The bird doesnt go to her & doesnt appear to know her,now she says she has feathers & wants a dna test. but we are pretty sure that she took them from his avery.They are still white- wouldnt 2+ yrs old feathers have discoloured a bit or show some deterioration.Can DNA be taken from feathers from the bottom of the avery?Aparently he will have to be sedated& a main feather pulled from his body. We beleive he is much older than a few yrs & a dif bird.

Answer 1

If the other lady did not pluck the feathers recently, they won't be able to get DNA from them. Honestly most places will only do a DNA s*x test, letting you know if the bird is male or female. If the lady is wanting a comparison DNA test, she's going to be paying a ton of money to have it done, and after 2 years if the feathers haven't been frozen or otherwise preserved there won't be any usable DNA left in them. There will also be no proof she didn't just take the feathers from the one bird, if there is no DNA profile from when she claims she "owned" the bird years ago.

If she persists, tell her to take it to court, and have her pay the costs for the court fees, the veterinary costs, and comparative DNA test. With no proof, the judge probably won't rule in her favor anyway. Not to mention when you call her bluff like that, she will probably back down rather than spend all that money she knows will get her no where.

Answer 2

Tell her to take you to small claims court that you think it should be handle by the courts!   Ten to one she never shows and should put a end to her because a judge is not going to use the feathers she could of gotten them from any ware.

Don't let her get to you just tell her small claims court.

Answer 3

If she took that bird from the wild, she is guilty of a crime.   Get her to put that down in writing and sign it:)

I agree with the first poster.  Tell her to go to h**l.  Really.  She's got some nerve.  

Keep the bird and get a restraining order to keep the loonie off your property.  She has absolutely no rights to the bird.  If she took you to court, they would rule against her.  I can guarantee it.

Forget about DNA testing.  Don't waste your time with the lunatic.  Tell her to stop watching crime shows.  Feather DNA only works on new feathers.   Old feathers are unreliable.

DNA testing is easy, and does not require sedation.  Anyone can do their own testing, by mailing in a blood, feather or egg shell sample.  A few feathers are pulled from the chest.  Your bird won't love it - but it's not a big deal.   Testing can be used to determine s*x, and identify a variety of diseases, and parasites.  

http://www.avianbiotech.com/

Proof of a match does not prove ownership.  If she has no receipt of purchase, no photos, no other proof - she has nothing.

Tell her to step off.

Unfortunately, there is no way to determine age except in general: juvenile, adult and geriatric (elderly).    There are some tests that can determine if the bird is older, but no way to pinpoint exact age.

Answer 4

This lady sounds like a KOOK!   The DNA test doesn't help her in the least unless she had one done when she supposidly got the bird so that there would be some kind of comparison.

   A DNA test would only verify s*x,breed and perhaps parent birds should the parent birds be tested as well.

   If this lady has the money to have a DNA test done she just needs to move on and get another bird. . . it would probably be cheaper than a DNA test.

   The most she can do is take your friend to small claims court and then she would have to have solid core evidence that the bird is hers.

   Hopefully your friend can somehow get in touch with the lady that gave them the bird so she can provide pictures,bird registration, etc.    BUT don't give this KOOK any ideas or suggestions about the small claims court deal.

    Call her bluff,tell her to get lost and that no one owes her anything.

Answer 5

Tell the lady to go to h**l.  She can not provide any proof that this bird is hers and without it she doe not have a leg to stand on.  DNA testing can be done one of two ways.  Blood (they clip a toe nail to make it bleed) or feather.  They pull 3 or 4 feather from chest area.  They must be fresh ones not ones that just fell out.  Also DNA will only tell if it is a boy or girl not the age.  The only way you can know age is if it has a leg band and you can trace the band to the breeder.

Answer 6

She sounds insane... she got him from the wild? That is c**p. What kind of bird? Most of the exotic birds come from other countries. These days they are bred domestically.. the chicks are hand reared by humans to make them tame. A wild adult bird would not be so tame as to give cuddles. If she has no proof or papers.. so what woulds DNA determine anyway?  She sounds like a crazy person and she can't take the bird away. I don't believe her story, and she can't prove anything anyway. She has no basis for a court case and it sounds like she is trying to intimidate you. She is wack-o ... keep your bird away from her.