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Peregrine Falcon Parentage
A peregrine falcon DNA test to determine parentage is a powerful tool for breeders, falconers and conservationists, allowing the determination of genetic links between offspring and parents.
We are able to carry out DNA testing to determine genetic relationships for pure peregrine falcons. Falcon parentage testing can be carried out at any age.
Our Gold parentage service establishes a chain of custody for samples to provide evidence of parentage with a specialised report.
Important Information
Important information to note before proceeding with a parentage test:
Pricing is for each bird participating in the test as a DNA profile has to be generated per bird to be. For example if you would like to determine the parentage of 2 offspring with 2 potential fathers you would need to order: 1x female parent, 2x male parent, 2x offspring.
The female parent/mother must be available to participate in the test.
You will be required to contact a vet to arrange an appointment for the samples to be taken by an independent third party. Pricing will be dependent on your chosen veterinary practice and an additional charge to the pricing above.
Please note that this service unfortunately cannot be used to determine parentage for hybrid species. If there is a chance that any of the birds participating might be a hybrid falcon, please contact us before ordering.
Standard & Gold serivce comparison
Sample Types
Blood
Mini Buccal Swab*
*Mouth swabs will only be accepted using the specialised mini buccal swabs available from chXout®
How does a peregrine falcon DNA test work?
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.
chXout® uses fourteen independent autosomal DNA markers to carry out the parentage analysis.
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.
Each individual has two alleles (variations between individual sections of DNA) at each DNA marker. One of these is inherited from the mother and the other from the father.
Similarly to 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.
By process of elimination, we are then left with the alleles corresponding to the alleged father. If the remaining alleles match at each marker, we can conclusively say that the tested male is the biological father of the chick.
Instructions
- You will be required to contact a veterinary practice to arrange an appointment for a DNA sample to be taken and advise that we will be sending them a sampling kit directly. Pricing for this appointment is dependent on your veterinary practice and is not included in the test price.
- Please complete our order form as soon as possible and email it to sales@chxout.com (please ensure that there is plenty of time before your appointment for us to send out the sampling kit).
- A bespoke sampling kit will be sent directly to your chosen veterinary practice in time for the appointment.
- The vet will take the samples at the appointment, checking that the ring numbers on the birds match the ring numbers provided on your order form.
- Samples will be sent from the vet directly to our laboratory at The Durham Genome Centre.
- Samples will be processed by the laboratory and we will notify you of the expected due date. Results will be provided within 8 working days following receipt of the samples from the veterinary practice. The day we receive the samples is classed as ‘day 0’.
- The data is analysed and a report is produced which is sent to you by email as a PDF attachment.
- The DNA of each bird is stored in our biobank for one year.
- The DNA will be destroyed after one year or you can continue to have the DNA stored for a small yearly fee.
DNA Storage For Future Tests
As standard our peregrine parentage service includes the storage of the DNA profile in our database which means that the profile can be used again as part of future parentage tests without the need for further testing.
Our gold service also includes the storage of DNA samples in our database for one year. After one year the samples will be destroyed or we can continue to store them for a small yearly fee.
Falcon DNA Test FAQs
The mother's sample is used to rule out the maternally inherited alleles to check if the remaining alleles correspond with the potential father.
Currently there are fourteen DNA markers used to confirm falcon parentage. If there was an instance where the potential male parents were closely related enough to not be able to confirm a result due to the similarity of the DNA profiles at those particular markers, this would be explained clearly in the report. Falcon parentage is not quite yet at the same stage as that of dogs and other animals, where additional markers are available to carry out extended parentage testing.
If you are aware of or suspect that any potential male parents may be closely related it is always useful to notify us so that we have all of the information when completing the analysis.
Please note that this service unfortunately cannot be used to determine parentage for hybrid species. If you think there could be a possibility one of the birds you require to be tested could be a hybrid, please contact us prior to placing an order.
In this case, we can extract the DNA from the samples that we do have and hold it ready to complete the rest of the steps in the process when we have the remaining samples. This means that the DNA is extracted while the sample is still at its best and we can store it appropriately until needed.
Please note that there is an additional cost for this service as you will be required to arrange a DNA sample collection appointment with your vet (independent third party). Pricing will depend on your chosen veterinary practice.
