Abstract
In August of 1986, after the death of my second macaw (a hand-raised greenw ing) to surg ical sexing I searched for a better method . I had always used competent avian veterin-arians; no pseudo, backyard breeders playing veterinarian for me. But after surgically sexing over thirty birds, my " luck" had run out. Now you must understand, breeders are a skepticalintergroup
of individuals who pride them-selves on dependable methods. I am part of a network of breeders who believe in modern avian medicine. I was around before surgical sexing was available, when we never knew if our birds were the same sex or just incompatible. Surgical sexing revolu- tionized our lives. But progress has brought a new revolution , " feather sexing."