Frequently Asked Questions
Avian DNA Sexing
· How much are the
sample collection kits?
· What kind of samples can be submitted?
· How do I collect a blood sample?
· How much blood is needed?
· What feathers would be best
to send for a sample and how many?
· Why do I need to resubmit
a sample?
· What is the Bird ID on the submission
form?
· How do I send the sample?
· How long does it take to receive
results?
· How can I receive my results?
· How much does the test cost?
· Are there any discounts if I
send in a lot of samples?
· Resubmission Policy
· Customer Appriciation Program
Infectious DNA Testing
· What kind of
samples can I send?
· How long does it take to receive
results?
· What if I have a lot of birds
I want tested, but do not have the money to test each
individually right now?
Avian General
· How can I pay and
when do I pay?
· Who do I make the cheque or money
order out to?
· Where are you located?
· How can I contact you?
· What are your hours of operation?
· Is there a test that can tell
the age of my bird?
· How much
are the sample collection kits?
- The sample collection kits are free. Order your collection
kit (link here).
· What kind of samples
can be submitted?
- Blood, feathers, and eggshells can be submitted as samples.
Blood submission is preferred.
· How do I collect
a blood sample?
- To collect a blood sample, all you need to do is to
cut a toenail a little too short and put a few drops of
blood on both corners of the card. For step-by-step instructions,
please click here.
· How much blood
is needed?
- Only a few drops of blood is needed.
· What feathers
would be best to send for a sample and how many?
- 2-3 medium-sized blood feathers (blood on the tips)
would be best to send and are preferred.
Or 4-6 medium-sized feathers from the chest area that
have skin cells on the tips (white colouration).
All feathers need to be plucked. For step-by-step instructions,
please click here.
· Why do I need
to resubmit a sample?
- If you were asked to resubmit a sample, it means we
were unable to extract enough DNA from the sample you
provided to us in order to receive a result. Therefore,
we need you to submit another sample. Please read our
new resubmission policy
at the end of this section.
· What is the Bird ID
on the submission form?
- The Bird ID on the submission form is where you put
an identification of your bird. This can be the bird’s
band number, the bird’s name or any other method
you use to identify your bird. This will be on the certificate.
If you have a male and female name picked out, specify
both on the form and we will put the correct one on the
certificate, depending on the result.
· How do I send the
sample?
- You can send the sample by regular mail or by a courier
(FedEx, Purolator, etc).
· How long does it
take to receive results?
- Once we receive the sample, it takes 1-2 business days
to receive results.
· How can I receive
my results?
- There are four ways you can receive your results:
(1) By phone
(2) By fax
(3) By email
(4) By mail
There is a section on the submission form where you can
specify how you would like to receive your results. The
certificate(s) will be mailed to you within a week of
receiving the result(s).
· How much does the
test cost?
- The test costs $20.00 for blood samples and $24 for feather samples(plus 5% GST for Canadian clients only) per bird.
This price includes the certificate and postage. Please
read about our new Customer Appreciation Program at the
end of this section for special savings.
· Are there any discounts
if I send in a lot of samples?
- As of June 1, 2005, our Customer Appreciation program
goes into affect for those of our customers who send a
lot of samples. To learn more about it, please read the
Customer Appreciation Program at
the end of this section.
· How can I pay and
when do I pay?
- You can pay by one of four methods:
(1) Cash
(2) Cheque
(3) Credit Card (VISA, MasterCard, American Express)
(4) Money Order
There is a payment section on the submission form where
you can fill out the method of payment. Payment is to
be sent with the submission form and sample.
· Who do I make the
cheque or money order out to?
- HealthGene Corporation
· Where are you located?
- We are located at the following address:
2175 Keele St.
Toronto, ON M6M 3Z4
Canada
· How can I contact
you?
- You can contact us by one of three methods:
(1) Phone: 416-658-2040 or toll-free: 1-877-371-1551
(2) Fax: 416-658-2042
· What are your hours
of operation?
- We are opened Monday-Friday from 9:00am-7:00pm Eastern
Standard Time, and Saturday from 10:00am-3:00pm.
· What kind of samples
can I send?
- Whole blood in a lavender top EDTA tube is acceptable
for all of the infectious disease and genetic tests.
Other samples that can be sent are tissue, feathers,
feces, and swab, depending on what test you want done.
· How long does
it take to receive results?
- For infectious diseases, it takes 2 business days.
- For profiles, it takes 3 business days.
- For genetic tests, it takes 7-10 business days.
· What if I have
a lot of birds I want tested, but do not have the money
to test each individually right now?
- If you want to test all of your birds but want to
save cost, we can pool the samples for you. If the result
turns out to be positive, we will have then have to
test each sample individually in order to find out which
bird is infected. We will not do the individual testing
until we contact you to confirm it is okay to go ahead
with it. Payment can be discussed at that time.
· Is there a test
that can tell the age of my bird?
- No, there is no such test. You will have to rely on
the breeder or pet store on how old your bird is.
Resubmission
Policy
HealthGene would like to inform clients that starting
May 1 2005, only blood samples on cards are accepted
for resubmissions free of charge.
There have been a number of cases in which due to poor
feather samples clients were asked to resubmit samples
for avian DNA sexing several times. HealthGene is testing
EVERY sample submitted and if the sample does not contain
enough genetic material for proper analysis, HealthGene
does not report results and requests samples to be resubmitted.
To avoid any delays with the results and to ensure high
quality of service, only blood samples will be accepted
for free resubmission. All feather samples resubmitted
for avian DNA sexing will be considered as a new submission.
Customer
Appreciation Program
To show our gratitude
to you, we are starting a customer appreciation program.
In this program, you can save 10% off on any avian DNA
sexing test that you send in.
Rules:
1. The discount cannot be combined with other discounted
prices.
2. To receive the discount, you have to send in 50 samples
for sexing within the same year.
3. The discount will be applied to every sample that is
received after you have reached the 50 sample mark.
4. Resubmissions are excluded.
5. The program starts yearly.
For example, from January 2005 to July 2005 you send
in 48 samples. Then in August 2005 you send in 5 more
samples. For 3 of those 5 samples, you receive 10% off.
Any other samples you send in after that and before December
31, 2005, you receive 10% off as well.
