Making use of a special technique known as Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), we are able to copy all the regions of DNA we require for a falcon DNA test to determine parentage.
We make use of PCR to copy multiple highly variable regions, known as short tandem repeats (STR’s). By copying and analysing these regions we are able to produce a DNA profile for each individual bird.
As with a human paternity test, we are then able to compare the DNA profiles of the chick and mother to rule out the alleles inherited maternally (alleles are simply variations between individuals of sections of DNA).
By process of elimination, we are then left with the alleles corresponding to the alleged father, if we can then find a match we can conclusively say that the tested male is the biological father of the chick.